It is definitely better than the Zombi movies, but I don't think he was trying as hard later in his life. In Don't Torture a Duckling, he seems to be making a conscious effort to create what you call "a true work of Italian cinema." He is actually attempting to tell a story, one that (intentionally or otherwise) says a lot about attitudes toward the more poverty-stricken part of Italy. He isn't just trying to cater/pander to the gore hounds and he emphasizes atmosphere over violence in a way that no longer seemed possible in the Italian horror of 10 years later.
But more important are the visuals... They are much better than the later Fulci movies, which have only a couple of good shots in them. In particular, the slow-paced shot of the building that zooms out to show the whole cityscape, then zooms back in to the follow the peasant woman is absolutely mindblowing to me. Other shots are worthy of Argento. He does have a tendency to draw from other directors, though. There is a shot where the camera pans across the inside of the church and the priest spins around and looks into the lens... This is almost too Fellini-esque.
On the whole, though, I think the film's reputation is deserved. It is a giallo classic and probably the first I would recommend to an Argento fan who wants to branch out into non-Argento giallo.
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PostmortemG
17 years ago
"It is a giallo classic and probably the first I would recommend to an Argento fan who wants to branch out into non-Argento giallo."
Personally, i think Fulci surpasses Argento in many ways, especially in this film. I can't think of an Argento movie that dares to confront such taboo subject matter in such blunt fashion. D.T.A.D. does not only that; it confronts the entire Catholic religion with something its devotees would rather not face. I think Fulci used the murder of children to symbolize a more broad loss of innocence.
"There is a shot where the camera pans across the inside of the church and the priest spins around and looks into the lens... This is almost too Fellini-esque."
I thought the priest looked to the ceiling in prayer, not directly into the lens. I'll watch that part again to make sure. I love the shots of Maciara surrounded by the police dogs, her convulsing on the floor in the station, the priest holding his little sister while the reporter tries to take her away, etc. This movie's full of great shots.
"Cain and Abel will go to Heaven... if they can make it through Hell!"
-Los Hijos Del Topo
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ebm83
17 years ago
"I love the shots of Maciara surrounded by the police dogs, her convulsing on the floor in the station, the priest holding his little sister while the reporter tries to take her away, etc."
--The interrogation scene is one great shot after another... Why couldn't he maintain that level of visual creativity in his later movies?
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chrisasiama
16 years ago
I was actually really surprised at how good the cinematography was in this film. There are some really good pans, over-the-shoulder shots, focus switches and odd camera angles.
I thought Fulci's zombi films were terrible from a technical point of view but this giallo of his is very good.
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