Was just over at Xploited Cinema's web-site, and came across THE PERFUME OF A LADY IN BLACK (1974), as a new release from Raro-Video on dvd. I heard about it's upcoming release a while back, but don't know much about the movie itself, except that it's a Giallo, which are some of my favorite movies.

Anyone have it yet, and care to comment on the movie & quality of the dvd? Or is there a review somewhere that someone could link me to?

Here's the link to Xploited for the dvd: http://www.xploitedcinema.com/dvds/dvds.asp?title=3613


Thanks,

Dean

I got the Raro DVD of 'Perfume' a couple of weeks ago and it's a winner! The print is great, in pristine condition. Better still is that the 20minute interview with Francesco Barilli has English subtitles! It's definate 'MUST BUY' as far as I'm concerned, a beautiful film.

I wouldn't call it a giallo, more a grim and beautiful arthouse/exploitation hybrid with some effectively creepy scenes, a macabre atmosphere and a rather notorious ending. Worth watching and worth getting.

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I'll be ordering this one pretty soon.

Dean :)

I ordered myself a copy too. I've never seen the film or indeed owned any of Raro's releases, but given the praise both have received I'm looking forward to this DVD.

I just got this one today. I can't wait to see it. According to the liner notes, the little ghost girl is Lara Wendel under her real name. I've seen a couple films with her and she seems to be a really good actress - though that might be the dubbing. Does anyone know if she dubbed her own performance or actually spoke English for on-set recording for KILLING BIRDS because she's really good in that?

I just watched this one and am very pleased with it. As far as the transfer goes, why can't all films of this vintage look this good? The subtitles are very good and seem to be actual subs for the Italian dialogue given that they vary greatly from the English dialogue track (I'll have to give the Italian track a listen).

I wouldn't say that the film is a giallo at all. As the liner notes mention, it seems to be part of a branch of films inspired by ROSEMARY'S BABY (even down to Nicola Piovani's beautiful soundtrack) although its denoument is much more subversive than the similar ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK could've been if Martino & co had done away with the logical explanation or if that rumored alternate ending had ever turned up.

Great disc, great transfer. Really glad it's there in my collection. The translation of the Italian is also pretty spot on too (unlike THE HOUSE WITH THE WINDOWS THAT LAUGH).

One gripe, no interview with Mimsy Farmer, which would have made it complete. Especially as it's one of the films she likes to talk about.

My copy of this arrived this morning. I've only had a chance to watch a few minutes of it, but I can confirm that this is a splendid transfer and one which puts a number of the other Eurocult labels (I'm sure you know the ones I mean) to shame.

I guess I misinterpreted it that the movie was a Giallo? Nonetheless, it sounds like a winner, and something I'd want in my collection. I've ordered it and it's on it's way.

Thanks again for the recommendations folks!!! ;)


Dean

Apologies in advance for tooting my own horn, but here's my full review.

Good review Michael (via the always useful DVDTimes site). I've seen covers for a handful of future Raro releases that look equally enticing - lets hope they keep their high standards up and bring a lot more interesting Euro titles out on disc.

Terrific review, Michael. I had no idea that both Bava and Argento used that same location, and as a huge "Inferno" (my favorite Argento film) fan your text was very revelatory to me. Thanks for the captions, too. And I agree 100% with your technical review. Most people praised the transfer of the disc to the seventh heaven, but like you I thought it was certainly nice but not problems-free. It's not up to the usual quality of Medusa's releases, just to name another R2 Italian label (whose transfer for Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome" was outstanding in my opinion). Raro is doing all of us a great service, however, by releasing such terrific titles in nicely presented and packaged (love the original artwork!) editions like this one and all the Di Leo films. Keep 'em coming!

Actually, I'm going to strongly disagree with that. In my eyes, Raro's transfer of The Perfume of the Lady in Black is quite a bit better than Medusa's The Stendhal Syndrome, which has way too much noise reduction and some very ugly edge enhancement in my opinion. The strongest Medusa transfers I've ever seen are Dellamorte Dellamore and Argento's The Phantom of the Opera, but none of their other transfers (that I've seen) are in the same ball-park.

BIG SPOILERS BELOW.....

Late to the party as usual, just got round to watching THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK last night and have to echo Michael's mixed feelings on the experience - in common with Pupi Avati's HOUSE WITH THE WINDOWS THAT LAUGH, this Euro-oddity is another much-anticipated Quality Product that somehow left me feeling underwhelmed, perhaps because of a slightly-too-careful attitude of style that promises a rather more nutritious feast than it ultimately delivers. It's probably an index of how jaded my tastes in Eurocult have become of late, but while PERFUME certainly has enough eccentricity and disreputable elements to satisfy most casual visitors to the world of Italian twilight cinema, it lacks a certain je ne sais quoi that might otherwise have elevated it in my estimations. It's not arty enough for arthouse, not (regularly) brutal enough for giallo, and not really fun enough for Eurotrash...

Part of the problem is that its inspirations stem from outside the realm of specifically Italian genre product: to name names, Barilli is clearly a devoted acolyte of Roman Polanski, and Mimsy Farmer's ice-blonde descent into the screaming ab-dabs seemed to me a very clear extension from REPULSION, with additional devilish conspiracy thriller elements sewn in from ROSEMARY'S BABY, as has already been pointed out by many other commentators. Interestingly, the Polanski film PERFUME most resembles hadn't actually been made at the time cameras were turning on Barilli's set: THE TENANT (1976), with its apartment-block paranoia, Philip-K.Dick-bad-trip-reality-warp ambiguity, and climactic drop-to-the-tarmac by the protagonist, sprang into my mind almost immediately, suggesting that PERFUME's director had learned from his mentor well enough to anticipate his next move...although, given that THE TENANT has also been accused of simply retreading key ingredients from REPULSION and ROSEMARY'S BABY, maybe the similarities aren't too surprising after all. (Oddly enough, I didn't pick up on the Roeg connections that seem so obvious to Michael; maybe they'll seem clearer on subsequent viewings.)

Strange, by the way, that nobody has ever queried the origins of the title THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK: it stems from Gaston Leroux's Rouletabille novel "Le Parfum De La Dame En Noir", coincidentally filmed just last year by Bruno Podalydes as the sequel to his fantastic LE MYSTERE DE LA CHAMBRE JAUNE. I presume Barilli's appropriation of the title refers to Mimsy Farmer's olfactory memories of her mother. And regardless of inspiration, it's an excellent "mood title".

Raro's DVD is pretty damned good, with a couple of caveats: the Italian audio is mixed at an incredibly low level, meaning that if you accidentally reboot the disc the Raro logo (mixed at a disproportionately high level) will attempt to destroy both your speakers and your ears. The soundtrack is also plagued by several instances of crackle-and-pop, but for a film of this vintage it hardly seems fair to complain about a bit of wear and tear. The Barilli interview I thought was terrific: and his circumlocutory way of saying that Farmer was a royal pain in the backside certainly raised a smile. (That said, she's good in the role, and certainly game for anything her director threw at her - although, playing a kooky, sexually-confused nutcase didn't exactly provide much of a stretch for her abilities...)

One final point, just to reiterate Michael Mackenzie's confusion: who is the naked girl in the interview featurette, and why is she there?

Some very interesting thoughts, Steve. Myself I thought the Don't Look Now connection - primarily the layering of various different contradictory moments in time - was fairly obvious, but then I also thought it was quite clear that the various women in Sex and Lucia were all elements of the writer character's imagination, and I still get odd looks whenever I try to explain it to people. So you could be right: I might very well be barking up the wrong tree, but the vibe at least seems very similar to Don't Look Now.