Saturday, September 3, 2016

J & B and Giallo

From: Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key  photo 032dbdba-4be9-438e-9bc1-e5f8edc1b8aa_zpshnrg4m5s.png

Have been watching a lot of Giallo films lately. Giallo is a Italian film genre that was popular in the late 60s - 70s. Giallo simply means yellow in Italian. It derived from popular pulpy crime novels with yellow jacket, hence the genre title. Gialli are mainly slasher films with some supernatural, crime elements with sexy heroines usually appearing in nude. Directors who were known for their craft in making delicious combination of thriller and softcore porn are Sergio Martino, Mario Bava, Umberto Lenzi and to some extent Dario Argento. Fetching Edwige Fenech became a big starlet of the genre and appeared in many gialli.

Killer eyelashes: the eyes of Edwige Fenech
 photo 9c087311-6e8a-4f01-b9ab-0b5b3727e3bd_zpssfpfra0r.png

As I was going through many well known Giallo films, I couldn't help notice recurring motifs. It seems that J&B, a blended scotch whiskey by Justerini & Brooks Liquour and Wine company based in England is the go-to beverage in these slashers, loved by killers and victims alike. So I was compelled to compile these J&B shots from the Gialli I've seen so far. And as I delve deeply into more Giallo, I am hoping to prove that this is not an isolated phenom.

From: Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) - Martino J&B meter 2/5
 photo c24f2e00-0c04-4e2f-9ede-08f0cb048254_zpshdcrc6kl.png

All the Colors of the Dark (1972) - Martino J&B meter 1/5
 photo 275ee837-af09-497e-be01-c5b0bf5ac8e7_zps7xsxsdjv.png

Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975) - Bianchi J&B meter 5/5
 photo 9f26ba4a-38fb-4459-9b03-81af89d29709_zpsebl8zwqd.png
 photo f411d416-2aed-46be-a9dc-6ae200b3e1e0_zpsfqbcygjl.png
 photo 0fb08d9f-8466-45c2-8f93-28f461cb2b4d_zpshbw7job0.png
 photo 451a249a-6e55-4a8d-8a9d-deba30956943_zpsvhq1q9gt.png

Torso (1973) - Martino J&B meter 2/5
 photo 24275664-28c8-459e-9652-b5786ef06494_zpskc6jwe5l.png

Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970) - Bava J&B meter 2/5
 photo 0aa851e8-97c3-499e-85bf-1f33c7a7a25f_zps6qcaquy7.png