Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'Death Will Have Your Eyes'
This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is:
“Death Will Have Your Eyes”
Hardcore fans of “spaghetti noir,” or more precisely the arcane Italian hybrid of gritty crime/mystery, thriller and horror known as “giallo” films, might be the only ones celebrating the resurrection of the pulp obscurity called “Death Will Have Your Eyes,” due out on DVD Tuesday.
This little-known and highly muddled 1974 crime saga (also released under the title “Savage City”) is a Spanish/Italian production that piles on enough sex, violence, cynicism and nudity to just qualify as a true “giallo,” although it’s a far cry from top-line works in the genre by directors such as Dario Argento (who in fact wrote and directed a 2009 tribute to the cinematic type titled “Giallo”).
Giallo films generally refer to any kind of crime thriller but specific conventions evolved from cheapjack mystery/crime novels first published in the 1920’s and ’30s in Italy and distinguished by their trademark yellow pulp covers. These juicy novels, and the films adapted from them, were usually characterized by liberal scenes of nudity and sex, extended murder sequences and bloodletting and on screen by stylish camerawork and odd musical arrangements.
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