Friday, June 4, 2010

Day 20: Double Feature Part Two: Kill the Fatted Calf



So...last night...

I went to Cinema Cafe last night to perform.  Mostly the same set with a few new jokes sprinkled in.  My tennis bracelet joke really hit.  I may have to try to put it in regular rotation.

So, after the show, I got invited to Hooters with the other guys, including one comic I hadn't seen since I started almost two years ago.  I had to go.

By the time I got home it was 1:35.  I was tired and knew I wouldn't get to sleep until at least 4 unless I went to bed immediately.

Sorry again.  No performances next week, so this oughta be my last double feature.

Let's get back to the giallothon, shall we?

I totally forgot I had this movie in my collection until a couple days ago.  I kept all of my ZDD purchases in one spot because I knew I was going to use them for this giallo marathon, but this one somehow didn't make the pile.  Dunno if I set it aside because I wanted to see it or what.

Anyhow, I decided to watch it tonight as part of my double feature.

However, Kill the Fatted Calf isn't a true giallo (WTF, ZDD?).  No black gloved killer, no hot chick in peril.  There is a bit of a mystery, but the film is mainly a drama.

The patriarch of the Marlo family dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances.  Enrico (brilliantly played by Maurizio Degli Esposti) thinks something fishy is going on.  He investigates his father's death and finds out more than he wishes he had.

Meanwhile, Enrico is still tortured by the death of his mother ten years ago, playing reel-to-reel tapes of conversations between the two over and over again.  He had strange Freudian love feelings for his mother, which he eventually transfers to his sister.

I'm going to leave it at that, because Kill the Fatted Calf is an engrossing drama.  It's a slow burn the entire way through, but you can't look away.  The centerpiece of the film has to be Maurizio Degli Esposti's performance as the youngest child, Enrico.  I honestly wonder why his career stopped so soon after this film.  He had potential.

Another highlight is Ennio Morricone's score, a forgotten gem that is now available on Amazon.com (as both a physical CD and as an mp3 download).  Check it out.

Okay.  I'll let y'all go.

Later.
-Justin

2 comments:

  1. koschy, if you drop another "this didn't rilly turn out to be a true giallo..." i'm going to...

    nothing rilly, just be disappointed and pine for a write-up on pricey "twitch of the death nerve" dvd you should order now that i will eventually borrow from you.

    http://www.amazon.com/Twitch-Death-Nerve-k-Blood/dp/B000055ZCA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1275738004&sr=8-3

    do it!

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  2. Don't blame me. Blame ZDD Visual Media. They listed a lot of stuff as giallo simply because it was Italian or starred Jean Sorel.

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