If you only know Lucio Fulci as the director of ultra violent zombie films like Zombie, The Beyond, and City of the Living Dead, or even his other late '70s-early '80s horror films like New York Ripper or House by the Cemetery, you could be forgiven for characterizing him as a filmmaker who prefers to paint in very broad strokes, rather than with the finer details. For the last twenty years - give or take - I've found myself in that position. However, with A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, it is easy to see the kind of filmmaker that Fulci was at heart, before the producers had their way with his gentler touch.
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin is the story of Carol Hammond, a housewife who lives next to a sexually liberated woman named Julia. As Carol sleeps, all she can see are the various orgies she imagines in Julia's apartment, until one night, her dream ends in Julia's death. When she wakes to the news that Julia has died in real life, the story begins to take every twist and turn possible as the inspectors on the case try to unravel the mystery of Julia's gruesome demise.
This is my first foray into pre-gore Fulci, and I couldn't have been happier with the results. This giallo is certainly one of my favorites from Fulci now, and sits nicely within the genre. It doesn't quite reach the lofty status of Argento or Bava from the same period, but it is certainly on par with much of the work of filmmakers like Sergio Martino (Torso). Fulci's deft ability to mislead for the sake of building tension is incredible, this is a key component to a successful giallo, and one that the best filmmakers used to their advantage. The film comes right off the trailing edge of the Swinging Sixties, that time in Europe, and London especially (where the film is set), that sexual liberation and freedom were primary in the hearts and minds of the younger generation. This is just one of many films of that time that seeks to show the darker side of that liberation, and it does it quite well.
If anything, A Lizard in a Woman's Skin definitely has inspired me to dig into my own collection for those other Fulci films that I own and purchased simply based upon the fact that his name was listed as director. For a filmmaker who has become known as one of the godfathers of gore, Fulci was remarkably diversified in his oeuvre. Along with his other giallo, like Don't Torture a Duckling, there are the Fulci sexploitation films like The Eroticist, there are Fulci westerns like Four of the Apocalypse and Massacre Time, and dozens of others. If you've only ever known Fulci for the gore films, A Lizard in a Woman's Skin is a great place to start spreading your wings. Not quite a horror film, but certainly bloody enough for the serious fan, it's a gem that is well worth digging up
The Disc:
I mentioned a recent French Blu-ray of Lizard in my opening comments, and that release by Le chat qui fume is pretty good, but even it pales in comparison to Mondo Macabro's new definitive release in a number of areas. First of all, A Lizard in a Woman's Skin is like thousands of other international horror films of the '60s and '70s in that it was cut to shreds to fit different markets over the years, leaving the world without a definitive version of the film, only a legacy of a thousand unkind cuts. Mondo Macabro was well aware of this and sought to provide the most complete version possible with their release. The result is the longest existing version of the film, transferred from the original negative and intercut with a few sections of SD footage when HD sources weren't available.
As a fan of Mondo Macabro, as well as David Mackenzie, the gentlemen who puts together their releases on the technical end (along with releases from Arrow Video and others), I've been following the saga of the challenges since almost day one. They've hard to make this version as perfect as possible, and I can say with full confidence that you won't believe how good it looks until you see the film in motion. The SD footage, which I knew was there all along and was looking for, blends seamlessly thanks to some digital manipulation of the positive kind. Add to that the fact that no version of this film, including that French disc, is as long as this one, and don't think collectors will have much to complain about.
We are given three audio options for the film, two original audio tracks, an English and an Italian dialogue track, and a third track for the commentary with Kris Gavin. The audio tracks are both solid, with no distracting hisses or pops and clear dialogue. Seeing as the film would've been shot silently (without synced sound), there is no intrusive ambient noise either. The commentary track with Kris Gavin is extremely informative and honestly perhaps a bit more formal than I was expecting. However, that turns out to be in its favor as Gavin's depth of knowledge is impressive.
In terms of extras, this disc includes the best of both new and existing materials exploring the film in depth. One archival piecethat really impressed me was "Shedding the Skin", a 34 minute documentary that first appeared on a 2005 DVD release of the film. This feature, hosted by "Hippy Girl" Penny Brown, talks to all of the major performers, including Jean Sorel, Florinda Balkan, and special effects genius Carlo Rambaldi (Possession, E.T., Alien, etc.). While it is a bit dated these days, the conversation is lively and it's a remarkable look back.
Next for me in terms of quality is Dr. Lucio Fulci's Day for Night, a 30 minute "Fulci on Fulci" career retrospective interview with the man himself from Italian TV. Fulci is very open with hisown feelings on his place in Italian cinema, and how he feels about having become a gore filmmaker, when that was never something he sought out. The disc follows that interview up with a kind of video essay on the film from Fulci expert Stephen Thrower. Thrower, a veteran of these types of essays, dissects the film in terms of plot, style, pacing, and its struggles with censorship in a fascinating way. I love listening to Thrower talk because he answers all of the questions that you never asked because you thought they were just too geeky.
Last of the major extras is an interview with Tony Adams, who played a cop in an early role here. Adams's interview is mostly the story of how he became an actor and worked with men like Richard Burton and Dr. Who's Stephen Baker. Adams is an engaging speaker, but his interview only marginally addresses the film here, so while it is interesting, it's not terribly topical.
From there we still have some additional trailers, the always impressive Mondo Macabro show reel, and some radio spots round off the disc.
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin is an easy early contender for disc of the year for 2016, and we're only in February! I'll definitely be watching this one again as soon as my schedule clears. VERY highly recommended.