Customer Reviews

Cold Eyes of Fear

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an average example of the Italian Giallo, the story set in London, switching between a solicitor's office and his stately house, which is occupied by his solicitor nephew and a prostitute.

The plot is fairly good, involving an elaborate revenge on the elder solicitor for a wrongful judgement some years earlier. This film has some good twists but is tense only at times. It seems to drag and much more could have been made of the frightful atmosphere in the house. Instead, we have over-used extreme close-ups and plenty of screaming and shouting.

Not a bad film by any means, but there are plenty better examples of the genre.

When one sees the name Enzo G. Castellari as the director of a film one expects action. This is because his specialty is action films. His entries into the spaghetti western, poliziotteschi, macaroni combat genres are classic and some of the best the films the genres have to offer. He could arguable be the best action director in Italy (See Kill Them All and Come Back Alone, Eagles Over London, Street Law, Keoma, The Big Racket, The Heroin Busters, and The Inglorious Bastards to see what I mean) . This here lies the problem with Cold Eyes of Fear.

Cold Eyes of Fear as it is not an action film but suspense thriller, or better known to Italian film buffs as a giallo. Perhaps wanting to try something different Enzo decided to give the giallo genre a stab as they were really popular at the time this film was made (1971). The results prove that Enzo should stick with action as he seems very uncomfortable at handling the suspense/thriller genre.

Don't get me wrong as I love the giallo genre. I own 37 giallo films on DVD and Cold Eyes of Fear is one of the most blah ones in my collection. The film has some cool trademark Enzo camera work but the plot is overly talky and rather dull. There are some good twists to keep fans of Italian cult cinema interested and Ennio Morricone's funky score kicks but overall the film is very passable.

Salvation/Redemption films also doesn't seem to know how to advertise it either. Proudly displayed on the cover is "The Director of Inglorious Bastards". The two films are totally different. That's like having "From the Director of The Exorcist" on the cover of William Friedkin's film "Rules of Engagement." It's also strange that Redemption would release this film as most of their catalogue is dark soft core material. Collector's of their other films wouldn't be interested in this film and vice versa. Their DVD release is decent but far from the reaches of such great companies like Anchor Bay, Blue-Underground, and NoShame. Those companies could have done a much better release but this dull giallo wouldn't gain much attention from those companies. The film is presented in widescreen but it's non-anamorphic which stinks. The transfer again is decent with the print (displaying the title "Desperate Moments") and soundtrack showing minimal damage. A trailer and still gallery is also included as well as some trailers to other Redemption "films". On a side note I hate that Redemption's symbol is a inverted cross and that symbol is displayed largely on the front right corner of the cover art and the on the spine. That symbol just looks tacky and is a eye sore for a film like this.

Overall get the DVD if you're a die-hard Enzo or giallo fan. Otherwise your money is better spent on other Enzo films or other films in the giallo genre.

If you're into Giallo...this is an average "Giallo". I would recommend seeing ones like: "Night Train Murders", "Death Carries a Cane", "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh", "Tenebrae".

As for Redemption dvds, I cannot stand the stupid "gothic chick" into and image. It's so cheesy, late night Cinemax softcore looking. Not cute at all! It's just annoying that Redemption thought it was a good idea. I also hate some of their dvd covers. Does not go with the film at all.

A young man picks up a girl at a disco (this is supposed to be set in London although the film is Italian) and takes her back to his uncle's country farmhouse for some nookie. There, they are interuppted by a man who murders the servant and keeps them hostage. The hero's uncle is a judge (Fernando Rey)and he sends a cop to investigate but the cop (played by Frank Wolff) turns out to be in league with the hostage taker and is in fact a man that the uncle sent to prison and is after revenge. He's also after something hidden in the house but we're never quite sure what.

Tedious and boring, poorly dubbed and ridiculously scripted - this is not a horror film and certainly not a giallo either. There's also practically no sex and violence despite the Redemption promises. The main problem is that there seems to be no point in the whole hostage saga at all since Wolffe has already planted a bomb in Rey's office. A number of convoluted plot twists are gradually revealed but the fact is nobody really knows what's going on here and the thing is padded out about twice as long as it should have been.

"Occhi freddi della paura" ( Cold Eyes of Fear ), by Enzo G.
Castellari, released 1971 is a major achievement for a
cinematographer, considering the extremely well filmed work, the
suspense that lasts reasonably long, with the caveat of not
falling into a bloodfest like too often happens with American
movies these days, that suggest that people are either totally
peaceful, or totally insane, with no shade in between, unlike
this picture.

The downside of the release, is the lack of wide-screen release,
as it pan and scans for the TV format. Another downside is the
graphics of the DVD jewel case itself, that is completely poor,
misleading the audience in terms of what lies in store for them,
should this rent this talented movie.

There are several positive aspects, the first, as said is the
story, the suspense, the effort put forth by the British actors
(and Italian ones, such as the lovely Giovanna Ralli), the
soundtrack, (reminiscent of Miles Davis' fusion period, not
unlike B*tches Brew, or Live at the Filmore West/ East, for
example, using a muted trumpet.)

The story revolves around a convict who does time in the pen for
15 years, for his participation in a gang that had committed
crimes and been organized, controlled, and planned out by a
series of individuals who were of Blue Blood and part of the
Establishment, later going on to important titles and positions
in society.

The "system" had decided to place the blame, all of it, on that
single felon, whitewashing all the others. As soon as the
individual is released, he goes about searching for details on
his case, having been decided back 15 years earlier, to recover
the proofs that he had submitted to the judge at the time,
implicating a series of high level people in society. He also
attempts to get revenge on the magistrate of the time and the
nephew, the first who had turned the other way, ignoring all the
evidence that didn't suit his one-sided approach of justice
obtained in exchange for a large bribe by those involved.

The result is a series of tense exchanges and a struggle that
ensues over 90 mins.

The only exciting moment occurs during the first ten minutes of the film. it then slowly drops into a confusing web of slow-paced melodrama and extremely boring dialogue scenes, unaided by poor acting from all parts. i give this a full, anti-recomendation, also known as a raspberry. if you have the patience to sit through a film this tastefully insulting, then buy something that is a. cheaper or b. contains more graphic violence to keep you awake.