Product Details

• Actors: Giancarlo Giannini, Claudine Auger, Barbara Bouchet, Rossella Falk, Silvano Tranquilli
• Directors: Paolo Cavara
• Writers: Marcello Danon, Lucile Laks
• Producers: Marcello Danon
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Blue Underground
• DVD Release Date: March 28, 2006
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000E41MTU
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,348 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Black Belly of the Tarantula, following the release of Dario Argento's first feature, Bird With the Crystal Plumage, is one of the films that defined the Giallo genre's attractive blend of horror and high fashion. With a score by Ennio Morricone, direction by Paolo Cavara, and starring the handsome Giancarlo Giannini, Black Belly makes the story of a perverted serial killer who first paralyzes his victims with the poison wasps used to stun tarantulas seem cool and intriguing. This could be due to the fact that three of the killer's sexy victims went on to become Bond Girls (Claudine Auger, Barbara Bouchet, and Barbara Bach). Murders set in a massage parlor, an upscale fur shop, and in various white-sheeted beds showcase the aesthetic beauty of bloodshed. Giannini, who plays the suave police inspector, sleuths his way to the killer and finally fights him with the same vampiric ferocity that a wasp attacks a tarantula. In fact, stock footage of the carnivorous insects are interspersed throughout the film for added effect. Plots in Giallo films are basic; rather, the way murders are shot make the films memorable. The finest scenes in Black Belly occur during the stalker's pursuit of his "prey." Women's faces smear across the screen, their makeup palettes carefully matched to the rooms in which they are sliced open. With less actual gore than some other classic Giallo films such as Perfume of the Lady In Black and All The Colors of The Dark, Black Belly of the Tarantula relies more on style than on brutal violence. For this reason, it would be a good introduction to Italian horror for those who want to avoid witnessing serious carnage. --Trinie Dalton

Product Description

A deranged killer is injecting beautiful women with the poison of a rare wasp, paralyzing them and forcing them to witness their own brutal murders. Academy Award(r) nominee Giancarlo Giannini (SEVEN BEAUTIES, HANNIBAL) stars as the dogged detective who takes the case only to find himself trapped in a web of immorality and murder. From the tantalizingly erotic opening to its vicious stunner of an ending, experience what is considered to be one of the most riveting and acclaimed films in the entire giallo genre.

Claudine Auger (THUNDERBALL, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE), Barbara Bouchet (CASINO ROYALE, DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING) and Barbara Bach (THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS) co-star in this rarely-seen classic directed by Paolo Cavara (MONDO CANE) and featuring one of Ennio Morricone's best scores ever, now transferred in High Definition from the original camera negative and available for the first time ever in America.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous transfer of Pop-Art vision of '70s Rome, June 18, 2006

By	mojo_navigator - See all my reviews

La Tarantola dal Ventre Nero, to give it it's Italian name, is much more than just another piece of trashy European cinema. It is an exquisite example of how wonderful cinema was in the late '60s / early '70s and an excellent reminder as to why I seldom bother going to movies these days.

Essentially, it's a whodunnit and we could debate the strength and weaknesses of the plot (and there are plenty of weaknesses) but the key to this film is it's cinematic style, a kind of garish Pop-Art vision of '70s Rome that mesmerises with each frame. It's loaded with '60s accoutrements - retro-futuristic furniture, glamorous women's fashions, old-school Alfa Romeo's (was there ever a cooler vehicle?). And the acting is stellar together with yet another legendary Morricone soundtrack.

As for the DVD itself, this is the first Blue Underground disk that I have bought and I can say without equivocation that it's the best looking picture that I've ever seen in this format. Really vibrant colors that are a joy to watch even at moments when the plot begins to sag. And full marks to BU for including the original Italian mono soundtrack with English subtitles. In all, it's a great product that really captures how good DVD can be when someone takes care with these things. I will certainly be buying many more Blue Underground films in the future.

So, you get '70s Rome, funky decor, brash colors, a reasonable plot and if that ain't enough, there are not one, not two but THREE Bond girls in this film (and one of them gets nude and all).

No excuses for not owning this one.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Giallo, March 30, 2006

By	The Doctor (The TARDIS) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I can't go quite as far as Horrorview: this is not quite the "best giallo ever made." It is, however, one of the best I've ever seen. It would be a solid contender, for example, for "best giallo ever made - that was not directed by Dario Argento." The Black Belly of the Tarantula certainly has a lot going for it. The acting is superb, and the lead, played by Oscar nominee Giancarlo Giannini (Hannibal, Seven Beauties), is excellent. Further, the suspense level is occasionally quite high, the climax is good, the score by Ennio Morricone is classic, and oh, yeah, there are three Bond girls. The lead, a haggard and down of his luck detective, investigates a series of murders that seem to be linked to a blackmailing case. The killer's modus operandi is to insert a large acupuncture needle into the spine of his victims, rendering them paralyzed, and then to kill them while they are conscious but unable to fight back. The back of the DVD claims that the killer uses the poison of a rare wasp to achieve the effect of paralysis; however, watching the film it is unclear whether this is really true. The tarantula/wasp conflict, in which a rare wasp paralyzes a spider and lays its eggs inside - the larvae growing and feeding while the spider is still alive, seems to be a mere analogy in the film and not an identification of how the killer achieves his/her effect. The story contains some nice touches, typical of the giallo genre - such as identifying an ambiguous object in the background of a photograph and using it to identify the possible location of the killer's house. The film also includes a truly harrowing rooftop chase, wonderfully filmed, and, as mentioned above, and a very well done climax. Also of note is that the clinical explanation of why the killer killed, offered at the end of the film, is actually very psychologically sound. Perhaps the film's most notable trait, however, is the quality of the acting - Giancarlo Giannini is a far better actor than the genre of giallo is accustomed to (with the notable exceptions of David Hemmings in Deep Red, Ray Milland in The Pyjama Girl Case, and Max von Sydow in Sleepless), and it really helps the film. On the down side, the plot could have easily been made tighter. Also disappointingly lacking is the typical giallo touch of having a character struggle with deciphering a psychological mystery, whether stemming from misperceiving a crime, a false or inaccurate memory, etc. Such has been an earmark of the genre since the first giallo film, Mario Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much, and has been made famous by Argento's masterful films. Perhaps this is an unfair complaint though, as surely not ALL giallo films should be expected to adopt the same tricks. So, while not perfect (and while not the "best giallo ever made" as Horrorview claims - for me that title easily goes to Argento's masterpiece Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), The Black Belly of the Tarantula is certainly ONE OF THE BEST, is far better than most of the modern swill that passes as thrillers these days, and is certainly a must have for fans of the giallo genre.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One By One, Gorgeous Women Fall Prey To The Sting Of The Deadly Tarantula Wasp, April 3, 2008

By	J. B. Hoyos (Chesapeake, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Black Belly of the Tarantula" is a superb giallo in the tradition of Dario Argento's "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage." Both are very similar in that someone is viciously knifing beautiful women to death.

"The Black Belly of the Tarantula" was produced with a high budget and was well received throughout the world. Everything about this movie is beautiful and extravagant: the photography, the settings, and the actors/actresses themselves. Three gorgeous women who starred in James Bond movies are in this giallo. Barbara Bouchet, a giallo regular, is the first victim. (She gave great performances in Lucio Fulci's "Don't Torture a Duckling" and Emilio P. Miraglia's "The Red Queen Kills 7 Times). There is plenty of action and suspense in a plot that involves blackmail, drug smuggling, revenge, and creepy crawlers.

Dressed all in black, the killer looks like a wasp as he injects wasp venom into his female victims. As they lay on their beds paralyzed, the killer disembowels them while they watch helplessly. The killer's motive is mundane but doesn't detract from the overall chilling effect of the film. A great lounge score is provided by Ennio Morricone who provided the music for many Spaghetti Westerns and Italian gialli.

"The Black Belly of the Tarantula" is a must see for all fans of Italian gialli and fans of the lead actors/actresses, such as Giancarlo Giannini, Barbara Bouchet, Claudine Auger, and Barbara Bach. It is definitely a keeper in my collection.