Marcus Daly is a pianist working in Rome who witnesses a brutal murder and rushes to the crime scene, but the killer eludes him. Recalling events later, he becomes convinced he saw something crucial but cannot think what. With the help of Gianna, a journalist, he embarks on his own investigation of the crime, but the killer is lurking close at hand ...
This is undoubtedly the touchstone Argento picture; a big commercial success and the most critically admired (if any of them are) of his movies. It set the timbre of his films - mad killer on the loose, violent set-pieces, confused protagonists, slippery twists, screwy characters, intricate camera-work and insane music - although in many ways it's one of his least original films, with lots of Hitchcockian influences (The Wrong Man and Psycho in particular) and the presence of Hemmings recalling Blowup, whilst the premise is nearly identical to Argento's earlier L'Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo. Aside from the unique style, what makes it work for me is the odd couple pairing of Hemmings and Nicolodi. Reversing the usual gender types, he is nervous and vulnerable, constantly sweating and peering around anxiously, whilst she is confidant, aggressive and poised (and also a little nutty). Together they bring a nice comic-romantic relief to the proceedings, like the arm-wrestling scene, all the slapstick in her old banger of a Fiat 500, and the lovely moment when she twirls a cigarillo between her fingers. The film is also chock full of scares, most notably when Hemmings is wandering around the ultra-creepy mansion, and the score by Giorgio Gaslini and synth-rock band The Goblins is one of the very best of the seventies. One other reason I love this film is it's the only whodunnit I know where, if your eyes are sharp enough, you can actually see the killer's face right at the start - even Agatha Christie never tried that. Also, the premonitory images are deviously clever (Hemmings being scalded by the coffee machine, his dialogue about bashing his father's teeth in, the winch repair-track he passes on the road); prefiguring the murders, and puzzling us into believing Marcus might be the maniac. Argento's first film with some key collaborators; actress Nicolodi, composers / musicians The Goblins and talented production designer Guiseppe Bassan, this is one of his best and most influential thrillers.
This is undoubtedly the touchstone Argento picture; a big commercial success and the most critically admired (if any of them are) of his movies. It set the timbre of his films - mad killer on the loose, violent set-pieces, confused protagonists, slippery twists, screwy characters, intricate camera-work and insane music - although in many ways it's one of his least original films, with lots of Hitchcockian influences (The Wrong Man and Psycho in particular) and the presence of Hemmings recalling Blowup, whilst the premise is nearly identical to Argento's earlier L'Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo. Aside from the unique style, what makes it work for me is the odd couple pairing of Hemmings and Nicolodi. Reversing the usual gender types, he is nervous and vulnerable, constantly sweating and peering around anxiously, whilst she is confidant, aggressive and poised (and also a little nutty). Together they bring a nice comic-romantic relief to the proceedings, like the arm-wrestling scene, all the slapstick in her old banger of a Fiat 500, and the lovely moment when she twirls a cigarillo between her fingers. The film is also chock full of scares, most notably when Hemmings is wandering around the ultra-creepy mansion, and the score by Giorgio Gaslini and synth-rock band The Goblins is one of the very best of the seventies. One other reason I love this film is it's the only whodunnit I know where, if your eyes are sharp enough, you can actually see the killer's face right at the start - even Agatha Christie never tried that. Also, the premonitory images are deviously clever (Hemmings being scalded by the coffee machine, his dialogue about bashing his father's teeth in, the winch repair-track he passes on the road); prefiguring the murders, and puzzling us into believing Marcus might be the maniac. Argento's first film with some key collaborators; actress Nicolodi, composers / musicians The Goblins and talented production designer Guiseppe Bassan, this is one of his best and most influential thrillers.