This year, the late-night selection pays homage to Italian thriller cinema – the “Giallo”. What initially began in Italy at the beginning of the twentieth century as a criminalistic dime novel with a yellow cover (Ital. giallo = yellow) was produced for the screen in rows from the 1960s and especially in the 1970s due to rapidly growing popularity. Directors such as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Sergio Martino and Lucio Fulci made a significant mark on this genre with their works.
Classically, the films deal with a series of murders – in accordance with the style-defining giallo motif: a person cloaked in a cloak, hat and black gloves commits several murders and is observed by a chance eyewitness carrying out one of these acts. By investigating on his own, the eyewitness gets more and more deeply involved in the case and thus naturally becomes the target of the killer himself.
Away from this stereotypical whodunit success formula, a few outliers within the genre rank and experiment. In these deviants, the reality and perception of the protagonists are completely turned upside down, the viewers are led on the aberrations of the surreal, and the profane architecture of social conventions is violently shaken. With the focus on Europe, we bring the genre of the “Giallo” into the program, an original European genre that cannot be compared to other genres that originated outside of Europe. Due to its experimental and expressionistic camera work, lighting and editing techniques, the “Giallo” was and still is groundbreaking and inspiring for many directors worldwide. With a total of three “Giallo” contributions we present a small selection of the Italo genre. The films range from whodunit to experimental. (Texts: Simon Büchting)
- A Lizard In A Woman’s Skin | Una Lucertola con la Pelle di Donna
Lucio Fulci’s great giallo contribution can certainly be considered one of his best works and clearly shows that his talents went far beyond the production of bloody splatter effects. - Malastrana | La Corta Notte delle Bambole di Vetro
Aldo Lados Regiedebüt ist einer der unkonventionellsten Genre-Beiträge im Giallo und führt in das düster und okkult portraitierte Prag der 1970er Jahre. Nichts scheint real oder konventionell greifbar: Wo bin ich? Wie komme ich hier her? Diese existenziellen Fragen muss sich Journalist Gregory Moore während seines Aufenthalts in der „goldenen Stadt“ stellen. Des Rätsels Lösung birgt eine grausame Entdeckung … - Profondo Rosso
Dario Argento’s masterpiece “Profondo Rosso” is a grippingly staged giallo, which is definitely one of the best works of the genre director due to its visual component and staging brilliance.