Una sull'altra
| Una sull'altra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Lucio Fulci |
| Produced by |
Edmondo Amati Maurizio Amati |
| Written by | José Luis Martínez Mollá |
| Screenplay by |
Lucio Fulci Roberto Gianviti |
| Story by |
Lucio Fulci Roberto Gianviti |
| Starring |
Jean Sorel Marisa Mell Elsa Martinelli Alberto de Mendoza John Ireland |
| Music by | Riz Ortolani |
| Cinematography | Alejandro Ulloa |
| Edited by | Ornella Micheli |
Production company |
Empire Films Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld Trébol Films C.C. |
Release dates | 15 August 1969 |
Running time |
97 min 107 min (uncut version) |
| Country |
Italy France Spain[1] |
| Language | Italian |
| Box office | ₤869,000,000 |
Una sull'altra (aka One on Top of the Other or Perversion Story) is a 1969 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci. Written by Fulci and Roberto Gianviti, the film stars Jean Sorel, Marisa Mell, Elsa Martinelli, Alberto de Mendoza and John Ireland.
Una sull'altra was filmed on location in several United States cities, including a scene filmed in San Quentin State Prison's gas chamber. The film went on to gross ₤869,000,000, and has been cited as a thematic precursor to later films such as Basic Instinct and Body of Evidence.
Plot summary
The wife of a doctor (Jean Sorel) is murdered. He had a mistress a long ago, since his wife (Marisa Mell) always begged herself out of engagements because she is a asthmatic. On the other hand, she enjoyed a part time job as a stripper. Did the doctor kill her?
Production
Prior to Una sull'altra, director and screenwriter Lucio Fulci had mostly worked in comedies. The move to the giallo genre coincided with the suicide of his wife; although there is no indication that these events were related and that he was not simply dabbling in an emergent and popular genre.[2] Una sull'altra has been cited as having been inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo.[3] Fulci felt that the script for Una sull'altra was among his best work.[4] Fulci and fellow writer Roberto Gianviti collaborated on a number of films together, including Operazione San Pietro, Una lucertola con la pelle di donna, Zanna Bianca, Il ritorno di Zanna Bianca and Sette note in nero.[5] Producer Edmondo Amati agreed to work on the film as he was already present in the United States, working on Alberto di Martino's Femmine insaziabili.[4] Fulci worked with two assistant directors on the film, Mario Castellani and Albino Cocco; while Vittoria Vigorelli served as script supervisor.[1]
Much of the film was shot on location in San Francisco, Reno and Sacramento; however, interior shots were filmed in Italy. Production began on 2 December 1968 and lasted eight weeks.[4] The film's gas chamber scene was filmed on location in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison in California.[6]
Cast
- Jean Sorel - George Dummurrier
- Marisa Mell - Susan Dummurrier/Monica Weston
- Elsa Martinelli - Jane
- John Ireland - Inspector Wald
- Alberto de Mendoza - Henry Dumurrier
- Riccardo Cucciolla - Benjamin Wormser
- Bill Vanders: Insurance Agent
- Franco Balducci: Officer Loveday
- John Douglas: Brent
- Felix De Fauce: Royal Insurance Official #1
- Jesús Puente: Sergeant Rodriguez
- George Rigaud: Arthur Mitchell
Release
Una sull'altra was released in Italy on 15 August 1969,[6] and went on to gross approximately ₤869 million.[4] The film was also distributed under the titles One on Top of the Other[7]—which is a translation of the original Italian title—and Perversion Story.[8] It has been released on DVD under the latter title by Severin Films, packaged together with the film's soundtrack.[9]
Reception
AllMovie's Donald Guarisco felt that the film was "a memorable example of [Lucio Fulci's] work", noting that it "isn't quite as masterful as Argento or Mario Bava's best giallo outings, but Una Sull'Altra is a worthy, well-crafted outing that fans of the genre will find impressive."[10] The film has been cited as a thematic precursor to the later films Basic Instinct and Body of Evidence.[3] Writing for DVD Talk, Ian Jane rated the film four stars out of five, calling it "a well made thriller with some great twists, a strong plot and some fine performances". Jane compared the film to Double Face, an earlier film Fulci had written for Riccardo Freda.[8] The film has been described as contributing to the emergence of the giallo genre as one of increasing eroticism during the late 1960s and early 1970s.[11]
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Una sull'altra | BFI". British Film Institute. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ↑ Hutchings 2009, p. 135.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shipka 2011, p. 107.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Albiero & Cacciatore 2004, pp. 91–97.
- ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | GIANVITI, Roberto". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fountain, Clarke. "Un Sull'altra (1969) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | UNA SULL'ALTRA (1969)". bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jane, Ian (15 March 2007). "Perversion Story : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". DVD Talk. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ "Perversion Story |Severin". severin-films.com. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ↑ Guarisco, Donald. "Una Sull'altra (1969) - Review - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ Moliterno 2009, p. 151.
References
- Albiero, Paolo; Cacciatore, Giacomo (2004). Il terrorista dei generi. Tutto il cinema di Lucio Fulci. Uno monde a parte. ISBN 8890062967.
- Hutchings, Peter (2009). The A to Z of Horror Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810868873.
- Moliterno, Gino (2009). The A to Z of Italian Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810868962.
- Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980 (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 0786448881.