Short Night of Glass Dolls

Rating:
Summary: Not good
Review: Admittedly the idea of narrator being a corpse is a very intriguing hook for a film. Thus Lado's debut begins with much promise. It seems to have the makings of a fine giallo. Where it completely and utterly tanks, however, is in the gialloness itself, for this isn't a giallo so much as it is a conspiracy story dressed up in the thinnest Hitchcockian device of a vanishing girl. To me, what makes giallos so fun and fascinating to watch is the sheer edginess of the violence and sex. You will find none of this here, except for an atrocious orgy scene. There really isn't even that much of a body count to provide an added element of menace-come to think of it, aside from the dead narrator, there really wasn't anything menacing about this movie. The climax and unravelling are both a joke: Lado couldn't seriously expect any view to swallow the kind of world domination theory he was trying to shroud his film in. He'd of done better trying to marginalize the threat/'menace' in the film as was done in a far superior manner with the Prisoner television series (when our hero was spinning in a chair and getting freaked out looking at a chandelier) where the setting was a tiny village in a remote and isolated location. Finally, could somebody please explain the title? I don't remember any reference to a glass doll at any part of the story. If it's a metaphor, then both it and the title have to be the mother of all cinematic non-sequitors.

Rating:
Summary: Not good
Review: Admittedly the idea of narrator being a corpse is a very intriguing hook for a film. Thus Lado's debut begins with much promise. It seems to have the makings of a fine giallo. Where it completely and utterly tanks, however, is in the gialloness itself, for this isn't a giallo so much as it is a conspiracy story dressed up in the thinnest Hitchcockian device of a vanishing girl. To me, what makes giallos so fun and fascinating to watch is the sheer edginess of the violence and sex. You will find none of this here, except for an atrocious orgy scene. There really isn't even that much of a body count to provide an added element of menace-come to think of it, aside from the dead narrator, there really wasn't anything menacing about this movie. The climax and unravelling are both a joke: Lado couldn't seriously expect any view to swallow the kind of world domination theory he was trying to shroud his film in. He'd of done better trying to marginalize the threat/'menace' in the film as was done in a far superior manner with the Prisoner television series (when our hero was spinning in a chair and getting freaked out looking at a chandelier) where the setting was a tiny village in a remote and isolated location. Finally, could somebody please explain the title? I don't remember any reference to a glass doll at any part of the story. If it's a metaphor, then both it and the title have to be the mother of all cinematic non-sequitors.

Rating:
Summary: rare giallo
Review: An interesting debut from director Aldo Lado.An unusual plot is brought to life with some striking visuals and another memorable Ennio Morricone score(though not as haunting as his music for Lado's Who saw her die.)
The film is a little too talky in places but is punctuated with some great scenes of superbly edited action.
This more fantastical than usual giallo is definitely worth a look.Another great transfer too from Anchor bay.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended for horror/detective fans
Review: An unusual and challenging horror/suspense film. Great concept, story line, editing, and overall wallop. Not much like a traditional giallo. Only downside is the dubious dubbing and sometimes awkward foreign dialogue, but if you're used to the genre, it's not too bad. This original film deserves a bigger audience. This deserves a place with the best of Italian horror/fantasy cinema.

Rating:
Summary: A great giallo
Review: It was a beautiful day indeed when Anchor Bay released a box set of four classic Italian gialli films. Most fans of Italian horror films know all about these colorful murder mystery pictures-- thanks to Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci, and Dario Argento--but how many of us know about Aldo Lado? Two of his films appear in the boxed set, "Short Night of Glass Dolls" and the impenetrable "Who Saw Her Die?" On the surface, both films look like absolute grand slam winners. We've a killer on the prowl, gruesome murders, red herrings, and a protagonist determined to bring the guilty to justice. Lado also gives us point of view shots from the killer's perspective, an evil and powerful conspiracy working behind the scenes, and style wafting off the screen in waves. Yep, "Who Saw Her Die?" and "Short Night of Glass Dolls" are definitely gialli in most respects. The latter film measures up well when compared to the giants of the genre. "Short Night of Glass Dolls" approaches the greatness of Argento's epic films "Deep Red" and "Tenebre," and compares just as well to Lucio Fulci's massively entertaining "Don't Torture a Duckling." "Glass Dolls" is definitely a better picture than "Who Saw Her Die?"

Whereas "Who Saw Her Die?" took place in Venice, "Short Night of Glass Dolls" is set in Prague, Czechoslovakia. As the film opens, we see a groundskeeper finding the lifeless body of a journalist named Gregory (Jean Sorel) in a dense thicket. Not surprisingly, he calls in the authorities, who arrive and move the body to the local morgue in the hopes of discovering its identity and the cause of death. But Gregory, we soon learn, is not dead. Rather, he is in a cataleptic state as a result of an injection brought about by an odd series of events. The journalist tells us his story as the doctors examine his body before removing it to a freezer pending further investigation. At one point a doctor friend of the reporter arrives to identify the body, and expresses astonishment when he notices that Gregory's temperature seems much higher than it should be. This doctor even attempts to revive his friend since cases supposedly exist where someone who appeared dead did in fact wake up. Alas, there are also cases where a deceased individual's temperature remained elevated for some time after death. Thus it comes as no great disappointment when the attempts fail to bring the reporter back to life. It is an enormous disappointment to Gregory, however. Especially when they wheel him in for his autopsy...

The story behind this man's condition is an odd one, full of danger, intrigue, and a conspiracy to take over the world in order to install a new morality. It all started when Gregory's wife Mira (Barbara Bach) arrived on a visit and promptly disappeared. His friends at his place of employment, Jessica (Ingrid Thulin) and a Scottish reporter named Jack (Mario Adolf), do what they can to assist Greg in his time of despair. Since he's a reporter, it is inevitable that he will launch a full-scale investigation on his own to find out what happened to his woman. What follows is typical giallo, as a murderer (sans black gloves, oddly enough) starts wiping out people around Gregory. His friend Jack, for instance, soon falls prey to the murderer when his investigations on behalf of his pal set off alarm bells somewhere. Anyone who gets too close to the horrific truth risks his or her life, most of all Gregory when he uncovers the people behind Mira's abduction. A cult of elderly people, black magic, sacrifice, and a mess of glass dolls (yes, the title hints at a significant element in the film's resolution) lead directly to that injection which left our reporter friend in an irreversible state. "Short Night of Glass Dolls" ends on a note of utter hopelessness. This is one bleak film.

In an interview entitled "Strange Days of the Short Night," Aldo Lado discusses the reasons for making the film. In the true spirit of the age--meaning the 1960s and 1970s--Lado lensed a picture that took a scathing look at the wealthy old European elites. These are the figures involved in his black magic cult in "Short Dolls," and their abduction and corruption of the young mirrors the perception among youths of the time regarding their elders. The idea that a dark, evil plot lurked behind the façade of great power must have appealed to adherents of the counterculture. There is also an irony in the fact that this group indulges in scandalous behavior behind closed doors, behavior that they publicly profess to despise in the culture at large. Lado claims he used retirees living in a nursing home as actors in these scenes, and that they attacked their roles with gusto! Those Italians! Predictably, the conspiratorial nature of the film and the risqué final scenes brought Lado into direct conflict with censors. "Who Saw Her Die?" suffered a similar fate thanks to scenes involving violence directed at children. Lado seems to relish, even all these years later, the controversies his films sparked.

Anchor Bay provides another stellar DVD release. The picture and sound quality are good for a film this old, and they even throw in the trailer for the movie and a director's filmography along with the interview. I'm elated that I am finally seeing these sorts of films. This box set is an excellent addition to any horror film buff's DVD library, and the news that Anchor Bay will release a second set of four more Italian gialli is an exciting development. "Short Night of Glass Dolls" is an excellent way to spend a couple of hours.