A first-time watch for me of Mario Bava's THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1963, original title La ragazza che sapeva troppo), widely regarded as the first giallo film. I'd say that this is more of a proto-giallo as it has some elements and ideas that would become prominent in the genre while at the same time part of it feels very much like a romantic comedy instead - almost like a local version of ROMAN HOLIDAY complete with a flirtatious John Saxon and Leticia Roman as the put-upon protagonist at the mercy of an inexorable fate.
The opening scenes are nicely handled, keeping you guessing and introducing one of those witness-to-a-murder sequences that Argento would go on to popularise when he came to the genre the following decade. Bava's cinematography is quite excellent throughout; this was his last black and white movie and he makes the very best of that format, particularly in regard to shadow and lighting. I've got the Arrow blu-ray and of course it looks fantastic in high definition. Don't go in expecting gore murders or bags of creepy atmosphere, as this is tonally much more a light comedy while paying tribute to the murder mysteries of Agatha Christie and the like. Some of it gets a bit absurd, like when Roman sets up the string trap in her apartment, but a lot of it is likeable, particularly Saxon as the accident-prone love interest. Bava would go on to fully immerse himself in the genre with his next giallo, the all-time classic BLOOD & BLACK LACE.
The opening scenes are nicely handled, keeping you guessing and introducing one of those witness-to-a-murder sequences that Argento would go on to popularise when he came to the genre the following decade. Bava's cinematography is quite excellent throughout; this was his last black and white movie and he makes the very best of that format, particularly in regard to shadow and lighting. I've got the Arrow blu-ray and of course it looks fantastic in high definition. Don't go in expecting gore murders or bags of creepy atmosphere, as this is tonally much more a light comedy while paying tribute to the murder mysteries of Agatha Christie and the like. Some of it gets a bit absurd, like when Roman sets up the string trap in her apartment, but a lot of it is likeable, particularly Saxon as the accident-prone love interest. Bava would go on to fully immerse himself in the genre with his next giallo, the all-time classic BLOOD & BLACK LACE.