26/01/2011

Cosa Avete Fatto a Solange?/What Have You Done To Solange? - 1972 Italy/West Germany d: Massimo Dallamano



A stone classic.  I'd say this was right up there with the very best of all Gialli.  A superb mystery set in London involving the murders of a string of Catholic schoolgirls. All the classic elements are here: a non-professional dragged into the criminal investigation and becoming obsessed, witnessed information revealed a bit at a time, a gloved killer with a purpose...this is a textbook Giallo mystery, yet it still seems fresh and inventive within the field.

Performances: great, particularly Fabio Testi, Camille Keaton and Christine Galbo. Story: excellent (Bruno Di Geronimo and Dallamano). Dialogue: well written (Bruno Di Geronimo and Dallamano). Camerawork: mostly good, not always up to the ultra-professional standards of the rest of the film (Joe D'Amato). Music: exceptional (Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai).

It's a visual feast too - perhaps not so much as a Dario Argento or Mario Bava film, but certainly noticeably lovely to look at.  Then there's the sound...

...ah the sound. Well, I watched the 01 Distribution DVD and the English soundtrack was essentially unlistenable.  It was thin and tinny and the dialogue was phasey and echoey. I could not stand it,. I restarted the film in Italian with English subs. Here the sound was superb for a film of its time and budget, but this was still unsatisfactory. The film was shot in English and the dubbing looked to be of extremely high quality in terms of synchronisation.  This is clearly the preferred manner of viewing this film.  Now, I have never seen any other versions, but I assume this is a fault of this release rather than of the English track as a whole.  So, I can't blame the film-makers, but must mention it.

That issue aside, my experience of watching Cosa Avete Fatto a Solange? was wholly positive. I loved this film and would recommend it passionately.

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