Don't Torture a Duckling

Rating:
Summary: Don't Torture A Duckling, classic Italian giallo
Review: Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture A Duckling is a superb little giallo. It features a haunting score, beautiful cinematography, a gripping storyline about the murder of young boys. As the body count increases so do the number of leads and red herrings. A superb little film with a great sense of atmosphere. There is a powerful scene, one of such brutality but it remains integral to the plot. Overall I'd give this film 5/5, the films transfer onto DVD is quite brilliant with hardly any problems, there were only a few hairs and scratches visible for a very short period of time. The transfer looks beautiful, you can hardly believe the film is so old. The sound was fine on the disc, the film has a great music score. The film has no extras but who cares, when a film is this good I don't give a damn about extras. Check this film out if you like good murder mysteries or are a fan of Italian giallo films. This film doesn't rely on the heavy gore techniques that Fulci would use later in his career. Instead the film concentrates on it's characters and the atmosphere. Highly Recommended.

I'd also recommend Fulci's A Lizard in a Woman's Skin.

Rating:
Summary: Giallo goldmine
Review: No figure in the horror film genre is as divisive as Lucio Fulci. After watching one or two of his films, viewers tend to move into one of two camps. One side hails Fulci as a master of terror, a man who upped the gore quotient in his films while creating wonderfully atmospheric pictures. For these people, Fulci is right up there with the likes of Dario Argento as one of the best filmmakers ever to emerge from Italy. The other camp sneers at these claims, pointing to the plodding pace of his films, the use of extreme gore to camouflage plot holes, and the director's inability to draw good performances out of his cast as evidence of mediocrity. Initially, I enjoyed Fulci's films, specifically "Zombie," "City of the Living Dead," and "The New York Ripper" because I did not know any better. When I came on the scene, you went to Fulci to feed your craving for gore. What a difference a few years exploring the genre makes! While I will not go so far as to remove Lucio from my play list altogether, I have seen enough of his films to realize he is not a cinematic genius. He is at best a competent director, at worst an abysmal one, and there are plenty of examples of bad filmmaking in this director's filmography. "Zombie" is without a doubt his best film, but "The House By The Cemetery" runs a close second along with "The Beyond" and "The Gates of Hell."

This giallo, however, is magnificent, as good as many of Dario Argento's efforts. "Don't Torture a Duckling," set in a small village out in the Italian sticks, follows the activities of journalist Andrea Martelli (Tomas Milian) as he attempts to ascertain the identity of a killer preying on children. The first part of the film shows us one of the crimes and introduces us to three of the potential suspects. Possible killer number one is Maciara (Florinda Bolkan), a gypsy and practitioner of black magic whose child passed away some time before. She buried her child out on a hillside only to discover that three local youths desecrated the grave. Her anger over the crime, as well as her ethnicity and the suspicions of the heavily Catholic locals, make her a prime suspect when one of these kids disappears. Possible killer number two is Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet), an extraordinarily beautiful young woman with a shady past and a penchant for long drives at night. She also engaged in questionable behavior with one of the victims immediately before he perished. Possible killer number three is the local priest, Don Alberto Avallone (Marc Popel), a strange man who is on intimate terms with all of the youngsters in town thanks to his youth programs.

As the film progresses we learn more about the odd behaviors of the three principal suspects. Maciara, it is safe to say, fails to stay a suspect for long after several men in the town beat her to death with a chain. Patrizia's background rapidly comes to light partly through police investigation and partly through Martelli's persistent inquires. It turns out that she has a history of drug abuse, never a good thing when you're a suspect in a murder investigation, and she is staying in the village because of problems she incurred in Milan. Patrizia eventually teams up with Martelli to help solve the crime, but her continued evasion of critical questions--what about her cigarette lighter at the scene of a crime, for example--keeps her at the top of the list of potential killers. This journalist better watch his back whenever Patrizia is around. As for Don Alberto, well, we soon learn quite a few things about him and his mother Dona Aurelia (Irene Papas) that make us wonder if he isn't the one behind the despicable crimes. The strength of the film, as is the case with all wonderful gialli, is that it keeps us guessing right up to the final minutes. In fact, I think "Don't Torture a Duckling" takes us up to the very last minute of the film before revealing the identity of the killer.

The biggest surprise about Fulci's giallo is the lack of heavy gore. Most of us are so used to seeing his over the top gorefests that we assume he never made anything else as memorable. Not true. Besides this gem of a giallo, Fulci also made a spaghetti western ("Four of the Apocalypse"), a science fiction potboiler ("The New Gladiators"), a sword and sandal flick ("Conquest"), and a mafia thriller ("Contraband"). None of these films achieves the greatness of "Don't Torture a Duckling," although "Four of the Apocalypse" does come close. While there are a few disturbing scenes here that signal the bloody atrocities to come a few years down the road, such as the chain whipping and a body tumbling down a steep cliff shown in extreme slow motion close up, the movie is a relatively bloodless affair. Fulci seems more interested in launching pointed attacks condemning the Catholic Church, the police, and the irrational prejudices of rural Italians. There's nothing like an old-fashioned murder mystery spiced up with social commentary, eh? Throw in an interesting musical score consisting of lots of twangy strings, and Fulci blends every element into a seamless whole.

The only problem I had with "Don't Torture a Duckling" involved the pacing. As good as the film is, it at times slows down to a snail's pace. By the time the credits roll you realize Fulci needed to include everything you just saw in the movie to make it work, but the film still felt slow in parts. Of course, life moves slowly in a small town, so perhaps Fulci merely tweaked his film to match the environment. Anyway, this is a great Italian flick that's sure to entertain. Give it a shot.






Rating:
Summary: Effective giallo thriller from Fulce--but what a title!
Review: The idyllic Italian countryside, with a highway snaking along concrete supports, with church bells, houses clustered like barnacles on mountains, seems an unlikely place for murders to occur. Well, guess what happens in the village of Accendura?

Three boys, roughly 11 or 12 years of age, are strangled by an unknown killer. As the police point out, the killer's a maniac, "but his minds works in certain logical patterns which has a reasonable meaning to him."

At first, Giuseppe Barra, the village idiot, is accused, as he is caught picking up ransom money. Then suspicion falls on Maciara, an outcast and local witch who claims she did kill them for disturbing the grave where she buried her dead and deformed child, but only by making wax effigies and stabbing them with a pin thirteen times so that anyone can kill them.

A further suspect is Patrizia, a hottie who is lying low in Accendura following a drug scandal in Milan. She is so bored with nothing to do, that when one of the boys, Michaele, brings her orange juice, she, lying stark naked on a sofa, walks up to him, and asks him if he'd like to sleep with her. That is something that would never if not rarely be touched on in mainstream American cinema. She drives a cool red dune buggy and carries an expensive golden lighter. Oh yes, and she really steams things up when she appears.

A reporter, Andrea Martelli, is trying to solve the case and enlists the help of Patrizia. He also befriends the local priest, Don Alberto, who is worried about the effect material things have upon contemporary society. While speaking to Martelli about the boys in his flock, he says, "people aren't worried much about their immortal souls. They watch TV, go to the movies, they read the paper with all these scandalous photographs..." He tries to keep the boys occupied by having them play soccer, which is better than them playing in the streets and getting into trouble. After all, at their age, they're most liable to temptation. Indeed, there's a scene of Michaele is drawing dirty pictures, probably after seeing Patrizia in the altogether.

The most famous performer here is Irene Papas, and she has a relatively small role in the movie.

The music, with its intense, staccato strings, really helps work the tension up, especially in the opening, when Maciara's dirty hands dig the ground to produce the skeleton of her baby. And the wailing song that is sometimes heard in the background provides that provincial small village touch.

Originally titled Don't Torture Donald Duck, or in Italian, Non Si Sevizia un Paperino, this giallo thriller ranks alongside Dario Argento's Deep Red. Small question: if Lucio Fulce was to make a sequel, would he have called it Don't Kick Mickey Mouse In The (...)? Just wondering.

Rating:
Summary: Effective giallo thriller from Fulce--but what a title!
Review: The idyllic Italian countryside, with a highway snaking along concrete supports, with church bells, houses clustered like barnacles on mountains, seems an unlikely place for murders to occur. Well, guess what happens in the village of Accendura?

Three boys, roughly 11 or 12 years of age, are strangled by an unknown killer. As the police point out, the killer's a maniac, "but his minds works in certain logical patterns which has a reasonable meaning to him."

At first, Giuseppe Barra, the village idiot, is accused, as he is caught picking up ransom money. Then suspicion falls on Maciara, an outcast and local witch who claims she did kill them for disturbing the grave where she buried her dead and deformed child, but only by making wax effigies and stabbing them with a pin thirteen times so that anyone can kill them.

A further suspect is Patrizia, a hottie who is lying low in Accendura following a drug scandal in Milan. She is so bored with nothing to do, that when one of the boys, Michaele, brings her orange juice, she, lying stark naked on a sofa, walks up to him, and asks him if he'd like to sleep with her. That is something that would never if not rarely be touched on in mainstream American cinema. She drives a cool red dune buggy and carries an expensive golden lighter. Oh yes, and she really steams things up when she appears.

A reporter, Andrea Martelli, is trying to solve the case and enlists the help of Patrizia. He also befriends the local priest, Don Alberto, who is worried about the effect material things have upon contemporary society. While speaking to Martelli about the boys in his flock, he says, "people aren't worried much about their immortal souls. They watch TV, go to the movies, they read the paper with all these scandalous photographs..." He tries to keep the boys occupied by having them play soccer, which is better than them playing in the streets and getting into trouble. After all, at their age, they're most liable to temptation. Indeed, there's a scene of Michaele is drawing dirty pictures, probably after seeing Patrizia in the altogether.

The most famous performer here is Irene Papas, and she has a relatively small role in the movie.

The music, with its intense, staccato strings, really helps work the tension up, especially in the opening, when Maciara's dirty hands dig the ground to produce the skeleton of her baby. And the wailing song that is sometimes heard in the background provides that provincial small village touch.

Originally titled Don't Torture Donald Duck, or in Italian, Non Si Sevizia un Paperino, this giallo thriller ranks alongside Dario Argento's Deep Red. Small question: if Lucio Fulce was to make a sequel, would he have called it Don't Kick Mickey Mouse In The (...)? Just wondering.

Rating:
Summary: Great Looking Giallo - Fulci in Fine Form
Review: This 1972 giallo by Fulci may disappoint fans of his later gore films (although there is a bit of grue in this one as well), but it's a must for fans of euro-horror and giallos. This widescreen 2.35:1 presentation on DVD from Anchor Bay is a triumphant visual experience. Fulci shows that he can use the camera's eye as a canvas...filling each side of the image with a character or action....if you've only seen this film in a pan and scan bootleg, you're missing half the picture! It's a joy to see it in the correct aspect ratio -- it's stunning especially since it's 2.35. The film itself is fun as a standard giallo, albeit a bit more grim than usual, and includes some nudity (Bouchet), gore, and another great wide-eyed performance from Florinda Bolkan. Young boys are being murdered in a small village...who can the killer be? And what the heck does Donald Duck have to do with it all? Watch it and find out! The DVD is a very basic package from AB --- the only extra is the Fulci bio-info that is on some of the other Fulci discs. So the movie is the key here -- and although there is some graininess here and there --- you shouldn't be disappointed. Who would have ever thought someone would be releasing such titles on DVD? Accolades to Anchor Bay!

Rating:
Summary: aged
Review: This film would almost work on mystery science theater. It might've been somewhat shocking 25 years ago, but these days it's pretty tame, pedantic, and predictable. If it had been just a little lamer, it would've at least been funny for its ridiculousness.

Rating:
Summary: aged
Review: This film would almost work on mystery science theater. It might've been somewhat shocking 25 years ago, but these days it's pretty tame, pedantic, and predictable. If it had been just a little lamer, it would've at least been funny for its ridiculousness.

Rating:
Summary: A DIFFERENT KIND OF FULCI
Review: This is Lucio Fulci in rare form.If you think his movies only consisted of flesh eating zombies and disgusting throat rippings and harsh gore,then you must be a zombie.Buy this DVD and witness Fulci's giallo,this is brilliance!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Finally, Lucio Fulci's giallo is released!
Review: We can finally throw away our 8th generation Video Search copies... Don't Torture A Duckling is here! By far one of the most twisted giallos ever made, it is also one of Maestro Lucio Fulci's best films... truly a masterpiece.

This film remains one of the most atmospheric films I have ever seen. Every time you see it, you are drawn into every aspect of the film and are left both disturbed and relieved. One of the best! BUY OR DIE!

Rating:
Summary: Wot, no Zombies?
Review: Why does this film have such an odd title? Does it include zombie ducks? Or exessive scenes of bird torture? No. Sorry, Fulci horror buffs may be disappointed with this one, but it's actually a pretty good film. It's more of a "giallo" mystery, concerning the murders of young boys in a small rural village, and does provide an entertaining story, but with hardly any gore, and a tiny bit of completely gratuitous nudity from Barbera Bouchet in a completely wasted role. Well, some scenes showing the corpses of small children may upset viewers, but there isn't really much to upset the stomach, as no child murders are graphically shown. What is most memorable, however is the sickening death that accompanies the climactic unmasking in the final few minutes, a seriously unpleasant scene involving a cliff edge, but capped with a surprisingly poetic denouement...worth holding out for. This film has certain similarities with Argento shockers, but it wasn't until later, with the mind-boggling "Aenigma" that Fulci really tried to copy Argento ("Aenigma" is "Phenomena" with snails!!) Try that one for size, it's hilarious, but watch "Don't Torture a Duckling" in a more serious mood, and you will enjoy it as a surprisingly effective film.