The Fifth Cord

Any fan of 1970s Italian Giallo films has seen enough of them to know what to look for, but, of course, everyone sees something different in art. We all know about The Cat o Nine Tails (cool as hell) and Deep Red (bloody amazing), but some lesser-known Gialli have been available for re-discovery courtesy of Blue Underground and Shreikshow labels.

One of the better ones has to be The Fifth Cord starring Franco Nero. For me, the number one thing in these films is not plot points but ATMOSPHERE. This film not only has the great Franco Nero as its protagonist, but is brilliantly shot by Vittorio Storaro. Also, the director knows what to show most of the time, and when and how to show it. The finale is set in one of those funky 1960s European open concept homes with the stairwell to the second floor in the middle of the living room and a huge fireplace fit for Cortina! The kind of films we don't see any more, unfortunately. Without these DVD releases, we'd be stuck with a lot of modern would-be thrillers involving cell-phones and teeny-boppers.