The juxtaposition of lovely pop music with nerve-jangling experimental jazz was a common approach he took to his giallo scores, repeated again in Lucio Fulci's A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, Short Night of Glass Dolls, (1971) and perhaps most effectively, Autopsy (1975). One other common trait among the three animal films is the score by the legendary Ennio Morricone, who provides one of his sweetest lullaby themes ("Ninna Nanna in Blu") amidst a cacophony of discordant suspense music. By the time Argento returned to the giallo after a brief hiatus with Deep Red in 1975, the approach had shifted significantly with the leading man, David Hemmings, not even batting an eyelash upon discovering his best friend's sexual orientation. As with the other two Argento films bookending this one, there's an unexpected set piece involving matter-of-fact gay characters who confound the straitlaced hero, this time a tortured love triangle between three gay men first unveiled at a velvet-shrouded bar unlike any other in cinema history. All of the suspects these men encounter, including seasoned French-born actress Catherine Spaak as the daughter of the institute's chief in command, are deeply damaged and dysfunctional, with an actual chromosomal abnormality potentially lurking behind the motivation of the actual killer.Īlso in keeping with the Animal Trilogy is the humorous but cockeyed attitude to human sexuality, with all-American golden boy Franciscus (fresh off of a one-year stint working on The Valley of Gwangi, Marooned and Beneath the Planet of the Apes) making an ideal confused everyman stumbling through a gallery of eccentrics. (The third film, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, arrived in 1971.) This particular film distinguishes itself by splitting hero duties between two men, and the chemistry between Malden and Franciscus gives it an accessibility and a sense of warmth that contrasts well with the often pessimistic nature of the story itself. In retrospect, The Cat o' Nine Tails (released at the tail end of 1970) came to be classified as the middle entry in Argento's so-called "Animal Trilogy," thrillers united by the animals in their titles and circuitous plots embedded with many eccentric characters and elaborate killings. Arno starts snooping around and teams up with a younger reporter, Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus), to unravel a web that soon includes several brutal murders involving strangulation, stabbing, and even a commuter train. A few hours later, the prestigious Terzi Institute, a genetic research facility, is infiltrated by an intruder for reasons not immediately made clear. While out strolling one night, they both overhear a conversation that sounds an awful lot like a blackmail inside a parked car.
Chief among them is Oscar winner Karl Malden as Franco Arno, a blind, retired newspaper reporter and guardian of his young niece, Lori (Cinzia De Carolis).
FILM IL GATTO A NOVE CODE FULL
The success of that film gave Argento a higher-caliber cast here with two American stars and a full stable of notable character actors from Italy and Germany. The young director made a splash in his native country and abroad with his debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), which brought a sexy, violent new aesthetic to that particularly Italian strain of thriller known as the giallo. Placcaggio (original single version) 3:17Ģ.The spirit of gimmicky pulp mysteries hangs heavily over this, the second feature film by celebrated Italian filmmaker Dario Argento.
FILM IL GATTO A NOVE CODE CODE
Il Gatto a nove Code (movie takes suite) 12:33ġ. Passeggiata Notturna (Film Version) 5:37ġ. Limited Deluxe Edition Only 250 Copies CONTAINS : YELLOW SMOKE VINYL + SILVER MARBLE VINYL WITH UNRELEASED TRACKS (FIRST TIME ON VINYL) + 2 POSTER + INSERT + GATEFOLD PHOTO BOOKģ. For Sure One of the most important, obscure compositional apexes of Maestro Morricone.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film, Rustblade releasing the definitive Edition of the Soundtrack to Dario Argento’s Thrilling / Cult film Il Gatto a Nove Code” (The Cat o ‘Nine Tails)Įnnio Morricone goes even further, creating a really dissonant and avant-garde sound with A Disturbing Tension.