Most English language books on gialli focus on the 1960s-onward, this is in part due to the Phil Hardy edited The Aurum/Overlook Encyclopedia of Horror Movies, in which the word giallo appeared in a number of entries for Italian made thriller/horror movies., as there are fine lines between the two genres, and the book proved to be very influential as readers sought out little seen horror movies in general, not just the gialli, and as when DVDs became pop with home viewers, a number of Italian movies that fit the broad definition of giallo got marketed as gialli.
This book, the work of an author who lives in Italy and who has written in both Italian and English languages, is the first English language book to cover gialli in print, on state and on both the film and television mediums in 466 pages, which includes a 10 page introduction, 20 pages of notes, and a two page bibliography.
Now, how to sum up a book that is 466 pages long....
He starts with the literature, he not only covers the I Libri Gialli series that started in 1929 but also how books with yellow dust jackets were produced in other countries, in England "yellow back" books competed with penny dreadfuls and there were also book series in France and Germany that influenced the I Libri Gialli, he also gets into how Italian society was at the time the 1929 series came out and thus provides historical context when he covers the books, the plays and the movies.
He does not cover any silent era movies, he just mentions a key movie maker and a lost title, for example, instead he opts the cover the early soundies, examples Cort d'Assise (1931), Il Caso Haller (1933) and others, the latter is a redo of a German movie Der Anderer, which is an unauthorized adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Chapter two covers the years 1945-1961, starting with titles such as L'Urlo (1946), Fumeria d"Appio (1947), Tombolo, Paradiso Nero (1947) and ending with titles such as L'Assassino (1961), Il Sicario (1961), L'Impie Gato (1960), and Il Rossetto (1960).
The same chapter is when coverage of Italian gialli begins, as RAI starting to broadcast and in 1959 RAI started to air the USA imports Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Perry Mason. Coverage of Italian TV productions includes adaptations of plays and TV series, one of the latter is Giallo Club, which is a game show in which 3 contenders guess the solution of a whodunnit play that is 45 minutes long.
Chapter 3 covers how the style of gialli evolved in the 1960s, starting with coverage of some comedies and episodes of the UK teleserial The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theater got theatrical distribution and that the dubbed version of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) lead to a parody, Psycocissimo (1961). Plus, the influence of Krimi cranked out by studios such as CCC and Rialto is touched upon.
While most of the early comedies will be obscure to most readers, it is this chapter where gialli that a number of English speaking readers will be more familiar with, as a number got dubbed and imported, examples are The Embalmer, Blood and Black Lace, Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory, The Third Eye, Deadly Inheritance, Dark Purpose, The Ghost, The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, and more, and movies, and television productions that were never dubbed are covered as well.
The following chapters cover gialli from the 1970s to the new millenium, and he covers cross over Italian genres such as filone and poliziottesco.
He is so thorough that he will even give the exact month in which the Italian language version of Kenneth Royce's seminal William "Spider" Scott novel The XYY Man was published, to explain why it is unlikely that Dario Argento borrowed the notion of XYY for a twist in his movie known in English as The Cat O'Nine Tails.
There are plenty of monochrome pics and there is a color section with posters and lobby cards.
Frankly, there are too many titles for me to list, but you can rest assured that even unmade gialli are covered and he covers most of the key titles in depth, some titles such as one known in English as Human Cobras are not covered in detail as much, but no other English language book covers all of these. If a flick was inspired by a real life crime, he will say so, and he details where some flick were filmed. Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Pupi Avati, Sergio Martino, Umberto Lenzi, Damiano Damiani, Riccardo Freda, Luigi Cozzi, Bruno Mattei, in fact, too many for me to list out, they are all in this book, and there is a lot of behind the scenes info such as script changes and even casting changes as well.
He does tend to emphasize Italian language titles but he will usually mention the alternate title and the book does have a handy title index that is thoroughly cross referenced that starts with 4 Moschi de Velluto Grigio (1971) and ends with Zodiaco, a 2008 miniseries.
Some might find the emphasis on italian titles a little off putting, but the book is written in an informative, scholarly style that is not stuffy, but it is best to read the book in installments so that one can absorb the info better.
As I pointed out, not all of the titles are covered in depth, but many are, and with that in mind, this deserves the top rating.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Frequently bought together
$67.00
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
Only 8 left in stock (more on the way).
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Cliente Kindle
Una monografia monumentale sull'italian giallo
Reviewed in Italy on March 19, 2023
John Watson
The best book on giallo cinema
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2022