| Short Night of Glass Dolls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Aldo Lado |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Giuseppe Ruzzolini [1] |
| Edited by | Mario Morra [1] |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone [1] |
Production companies |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes [1] |
| Countries |
|
Short Night of Glass Dolls (Italian: La Corta notte delle bambole di vetro) is a 1971 Italian giallo film. It is the directorial debut of Aldo Lado and stars Ingrid Thulin, Jean Sorel and Barbara Bach.
The corpse of reporter Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel) is found in a Prague plaza and brought to the local morgue. But Moore is actually alive, trapped inside his dead body and desperately recalling how the mysterious disappearance of his beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Bach) led to a terrifying conspiracy of depravity. He begins to walk in through his mind. How Mira's sudden disappearance made the police suspect him instead. He delves more & more into the matter & discovers a mysterious Klub99 which supposedly practices music but is actually more sinister. He ends up visiting the club discretely and searches or at least tries to search every corner of the club. But Moore ultimately fails to search the very room where his missing girlfriend Mira's dead naked body is lying covered with flowers with her sightless eyes staring at the ceiling. As Moore leaves, the janitor of the club checks on Mira's body and praises how lovely she is even after death. Ultimately, the entire fact bounces right back at Moore which takes him to even a more sinister and shocking end. Moore remembers the club patrons telling him that they use the death of young women as part of a means to control the world, and to crush freedom wherever they find it. Furthermore, they tell him that he will be trapped in his mind, buried alive, and go mad.
The original story for the film took place in Sardinia with a story Aldo Lado described as being a story about Sicily and the mafia. Following the events of the Prague Spring, Lado was sent to Prague to scout locations for a production which never got made. The film was influenced by Lado's time in Prague, and went through various drafts. one titled Le Notti di Malastrana involved screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi. Lado maintained that the screenwriter who put the final script into form was Sergio Bazzini, who is not mentioned in the credits. [2]
The went through several directors initially. First was Maurizio Lucidi, followed by Lado who initially turned down the offer to direct. The script then was given to Antonio Margheriti who tried to produce the film, and have Lado shoot the film in Greece. [2] The film then moved on to producer Enzo Doria who got Lado to direct. [3] Lado initially wanted to have the film as an Italian and Czech co-production shot in Prague. Lado had to fall back on Yugslavian funding, shooting nearly the entire film in Zagreb, Ljubljana, with indoor scenes shot in Rome. He did eventually get to have three days of shooting in Prague with Barbara Bach. The film took five weeks to shoot in total. [4]
Short Night of Glass Dolls was released in Italy on October 28, 1971 and in West Germany on May 30, 1972. [1] The film was released on DVD by Blue Underground on February 26, 2008. [5]
Alison Nastasi of Shock Till You Drop called it "nail-biting" and wrote, "Lado is at his best when Short Night of Glass Dolls confronts political and social unrest with nuanced symbolism." [6] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club wrote, "Short Night presages Eyes Wide Shut in its account of a man wandering through a shadow city while uncovering layers of sleaze, and the film's simple social metaphor, imaginative setpieces, and unsettling finale make it a prime example of diverting suspense." [7] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide rated it 3/5 stars and called the ending "a genuine shocker". [8] AllMovie praised the film's use of tension as opposed to the gore and violence common to the subgenre. [9] Mike Long of DVD Talk called it "incredibly boring and poorly paced". [10]
Ingrid Lilian Thulin was a Swedish actress and director who collaborated with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She was often cast as harrowing and desperate characters, and earned acclaim from both Swedish and international critics. She won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in Brink of Life (1958) and the inaugural Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Silence (1963), and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA for Cries and Whispers (1972).
In Italian cinema, giallo is a genre of murder mystery fiction that often contains slasher, thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural horror elements.
The New York Ripper is a 1982 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci. The film is about a police lieutenant who is tracking a sadistic killer who slashes women with a switchblade and straight-razors because his daughter in the hospital will never grow up to be beautiful.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a 1970 giallo film written and directed by Dario Argento, in his directorial debut. It stars Tony Musante as an American writer in Rome who witnesses a serial killer targeting young women, and tries to uncover the murderer's identity before he become their next victim. The cast also features Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho and Mario Adorf.
Tenebrae is a 1982 Italian giallo film written and directed by Dario Argento. The film stars Anthony Franciosa as American author Peter Neal, who – while in Rome promoting his latest murder-mystery novel – becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer who may have been inspired to kill by his novel. John Saxon and Daria Nicolodi co-star as Neal's agent and assistant respectively, while Giuliano Gemma and Carola Stagnaro appear as detectives investigating the murders. John Steiner, Veronica Lario, and Mirella D'Angelo also feature in minor roles. The film has been described as exploring themes of dualism and sexual aberration, and has strong metafictional elements; some commentators consider Tenebrae to be a direct reaction by Argento to criticism of his previous work, most especially his depictions of murders of women.
Maitland McDonagh is an American film critic, writer-editor and podcaster. She is the author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento (1991) and other books and articles on horror and exploitation films, as well as about erotic fiction and erotic cinema. In 2022, McDonagh was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame. She is the founder of the small press 120 Days Books, which became an imprint of Riverdale Avenue Books.
Opera is a 1987 Italian giallo directed and co-written by Dario Argento and starring Cristina Marsillach, Urbano Barberini, Daria Nicolodi, and Ian Charleson. The film's plot focuses on a young soprano (Marsillach) who becomes involved in a series of murders being committed inside an opera house by a masked assailant. The film features music composed and performed by Brian Eno, Claudio Simonetti, and Bill Wyman.
Jean Sorel is a French actor.
The Card Player is a 2004 giallo film directed by Dario Argento. The film stars Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham and is Argento's second giallo feature of the decade.
Aldo Lado was an Italian film and television director, screenwriter and author. He was known internationally for his contributions to the giallo genre during the 1970s, through his films Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) and Who Saw Her Die? (1972). Several of his films are considered cult classics.
The Embalmer is a 1965 Italian giallo film directed by Dino Tavella, and starring Gino Marturano, Alcide Gazzotto, and Alba Brotto. Dino Tavella had a very short career in the Italian film industry, writing and directing only two films, The Embalmer and Una Sporca Guerra.
Satan's Baby Doll is a 1983 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bianchi.
L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco is a 1971 giallo film. It is directed by Riccardo Freda, who was unhappy with the film and had his name replaced with the pseudonym "Willy Pareto".
Spasmo is a 1974 Italian giallo film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Robert Hoffmann and Suzy Kendall.
Oasis of Fear is a 1971 giallo film directed and co-written by Umberto Lenzi, and starring Irene Papas, Ray Lovelock and Ornella Muti.
The Sweet Body of Deborah is a 1968 giallo film directed by Romolo Girolami and starring Carroll Baker and Jean Sorel. It was written by Ernesto Gastaldi based on a story by Gastaldi and producer Luciano Martino.
Baba Yaga is a 1973 horror film directed by Corrado Farina based on the Guido Crepax Valentina comic series. The film stars Carroll Baker, Isabelle De Funès and George Eastman. The subject is Valentina Rosselli, a Milanese photographer, who meets a middle-aged seductress who inexplicably calls herself "Baba Yaga."
Formula for a Murder is a 1985 Italian giallo film co-written and directed by Alberto De Martino.
The Murder Clinic is a 1966 slasher giallo film directed by Lionello De Felice and Elio Scardamaglia. It was produced by Elio Scardamaglia, Francesco Scardamaglia and Luciano Martino;. The screenplay was written by Martino and Ernesto Gastaldi from their own story. It stars William Berger, Françoise Prévost, Harriet White Medin, Mary Young and Barbara Wilson.
Il notturno di Chopin is a 2012 Italian film directed by Aldo Lado.
