Anyone who is a fan of genre cinema at one point or another has to watch a giallo film…there is just no getting around it. Giallo films are essentially over-the-top, Italian-made, murder mysteries, often with extremely graphic gore and take their name from the old pulp paperbacks with yellow covers that inspired these films (giallo is the Italian word for ‘yellow.’) They usually have a very unique soundtrack and exaggerated camerawork. Typically these films have all the characteristics of a slasher film, but at the basest level they retain a whodunit motif that harkens back to dime store pulp-novels. While it is true that giallo films use slasher conventions and rules, it should be noted that they came first; giallo films are actually what inspired most modern slashers (that, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho).

The biggest names of the genre include Dario Argento (Suspiria), Mario Bava (Twitch of the Death Nerve) and Lucio Fulci (Don’t Torture a Duckling). Argento is often referred to as the master of giallo films, but another director who made a big splash in the genre was Sergio Martino. Martino had all the talent of Bava and Argento, but is often forgotten among giallo masters because he has done so much work in other areas: Several post-apocalyptic films and spaghetti westerns await those who are interested in following Martino’s entire catalog. NoShame Films has found that quite a few of Martino’s films have never been released uncut in their original aspect ratio in the United States and decided to start a line of his films, regardless of genre, just to rectify this.

One of the first releases in this series is The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh. Like most giallo films, this one starts off with a murder. Jump forward to our heroine, Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) who has flashbacks to an ex-lover, Jean, who used to torture her sexually. After this we follow her to a party where the female attendees decide that it would be a fun idea to rip each other’s paper clothes off. After meeting a few relatives at this party, Julie decides to hook up with a gentleman named George (George Hilton), regardless of the fact that her husband Neil is out on the job makin’ the bacon so she can live this lifestyle. Meanwhile, that kinky and abusive ex-lover, Jean, is lurking around, and someone has taken some photographs of her and George doin’ the hibbidy-dibbity.

Oh, Mrs. Wardh! What strange vices you have indeed!

Of course, by this point not nearly enough people have met their demise via a well-lit blade, but that’s coming. No worries. Soon enough, you get a fantastic shower scene and several more murders that are intentionally molded in such a way as to line up several increasingly hard to believe twists. This includes several attacks and near-misses on Mrs. Wardh herself. There is even one point where she herself gets some comeuppance! Perhaps this revenge sequence was particularly memorable to film director Quentin Tarantino, as composer Nora Orlandi’s main theme for this film is used in Kill Bill: Volume 2.

This whole genre is certainly known more for its style than its substance. As a result, when going into any of these films, you have to know that what you are about to see doesn’t necessarily need to be coherent. It doesn’t need to conform to logic at all. Its only job is to entertain you with the way kills are presented and keep you guessing who is wearing the black gloves. The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is quite refreshing in this way, because while the situation presented is a bit far fetched, the story does come full circle. It makes perfect sense – even if it isn’t very plausible.

Meanwhile, it still delivers all the goods that one comes to expect from a giallo film, but certainly not expected pre-Argento’s reign. The viewer can only imagine how shocked a lucky theatrical viewer of 1970 might have been at this completely new style of filmmaking. As a DVD fanatic of 2005, you will be amazed that you are getting this opportunity for the first time since.

Presentation
NoShame releases The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh in its original uncut form in a 2.35:1 anamorphic presentation, and it looks superb. The package indicates it was remastered and restored from the original vault negative. I have no real complaints with the video at all. Some of the opening scenes seem a bit on the dark side, but it is very possible that was the intended effect. Audio is available in your choice of Italian or English Mono. As always, watching an English dub of a foreign film is punishable by death in 17 countries. (Okay, that isn’t true, but I am lobbying for that law to be passed). The subtitles are easy to read and match up pretty well. There are a couple of moments where I think the subtitles don’t completely convey what is being said, but I am sure NoShame retained the point.

Extras
Dark Fears: Behind the Door – (30:57) The expected featurette containing interviews with director Sergio Martino, producer Luciano Martino, writer Ernesto Gastaldi, actor George Hilton and Mrs. Wardh herself – Edwige Fenech. This feature is considerably more enjoyable than the similar, but much too long feature on the Story of a Love Affair DVD. There are many amusing anecdotes here and it is great to hear these people reminisce. As for Edwige Fenech, she is still quite an attractive woman. What do they add to the water that keeps Italian women so gorgeous at all ages? Sadly, that is one question this feature doesn’t answer.

Venice Film Festival Screening – (3:00) Martino in less than three minutes tells the story of his work in the genre. It’s a pretty interesting quickie, but I wish there was more to it. It could have easily been worked into something longer and still enjoyable.

Italian Theatrical Trailer – (3:02) Old trailers are almost always awesome, and it is a prize to have this. No English subs here, but you should really watch the movie first anyway.

Poster & Still Gallery (0:39) A series of eight various stills and posters pass by with the soundtrack playing in the background.

Like all other NoShame releases to date, included is an awesome little six-page booklet featuring an articles and filmographies on Sergio Martino, George Hilton, and Edwige Fenech. Some of this is covered in the featurette but all three of these articles are well done and information-heavy. It’s nice to see a company putting value in inserts when so many others are removing them outright.

Fine
Since the DVD format has come into play, it is staggering how much respect the giallo film has been given. Back in the ‘70s, drive-in and grindhouse distributors, would import these films and re-edit them so much that often it was an altogether different movie (sometimes even under a different name) than what was shown to Italian theatre patrons. The bulk of the VHS releases in the ‘80s used these hacked-up edits for their transfers instead of tracking down the original source material. Now, with studios such as Something Weird, Anchor Bay, Blue Underground, and NoShame, it is finally possible to view these films as intended… in all of their original luster. Mrs. Wardh is a very good entry to check out if you are interested in seeing what giallo films are all about. As one of the debut releases of the Sergio Martino Collection, this film is something to get excited over. With a presentation this good, I am looking forward to each new release in this series, even the films I have already seen.