Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

GL84 Arriving in Venice from a vacation, a separated couple finds that their daughters' death is a part of a larger conspiracy when their investigation into the incident brings them in contact with a seedy underground in the city and race to find the true killer before he strikes again.This was quite the enjoyable if slightly overrated Giallo. When this one works, it's in the details of the film's central premise involving the abduction and eventual discovery of their daughter. The sequence where it takes place, featuring her playing with the other children in town only to have the ominous figure watching all along and striking when she's alone, while his frantic search around the city to find her resulting in the exceptionally disturbing and shocking centerpiece sequence of the body being discovered in the middle of the canal. That is quite an impressive sequence and readily steals the show with its impact and grief, as well as their impending relationship that's brought out of the sequence as their clumsy and inelegant attempt at lovemaking following the requisite funeral makes for a nice completion to this arc of the story. Beyond this, it does go for a couple of impressive stalking scenes here which are quite thrilling, from the suspected sequence of the killer in their apartment bathroom before a nice false scare, a more thrilling stalking in a crowded movie theater where the striking killer appears during a showing and offs the suspect in the middle of the packed audience without anyone noticing and several frantic foot-chases through the city's underground buildings and streets that all ends with a fantastic encounter in an under-construction building. The fine finale, taking place in a large church full of differing corridors and floors is an endlessly chilling series of set-pieces full of nice interplay with the darker shadows revealing the killer coming after them and resorting to some fine attempts at hiding away before the final reveal is made which gives this quite the effective and startling finish. While these here are what give this one some of the more enjoyable and atmosphere elements, there's a pretty big and damaging flaw that does lower this one significantly. The biggest issue here is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of action within here where the film slows down considerably after the main strike occurs as this one becomes quite stilted featuring an endless series of scenes showing them first reconnecting before going into their investigations which are so dull and dragging that film sloughs through its middle portions. The body count is so low for these types of efforts that it really highlights the lack of action to be found here as so many of these scenes are brought up and then pushed aside without much effort in connecting the events to the central storyline, so not only is the pacing dull but there's just not all that coherent a storyline. Trying to piece out the killer's rationale and motive is next to impossible to piece out which does nothing to help the action here as it doesn't really make sense what's going on and it's not that interesting anyway so it does come down after that opening. While it does have some solid work here, there are some flaws to hold it back.Rated Unrated/R: Nudity, Violence, Language, sex scenes and the intense theme of violence-against-children.

Nigel P George Lazenby, in one of his first acting jobs since his solo stint as James Bond in 1969, here looks about ten years older, a lot thinner and less well-groomed. He is excellent as Franco, father to a little sweetheart called Roberta who is murdered. Lazenby has to share the spotlight with the sumptuously filmed streets of Venice, where most of the film is set, and Ennio Morricone's relentless and sinister chanting soundtrack. The detailed, ornate architecture and glistening misty streets (also used to such good effect in 'Don't Look Now (1973)' and 1989's 'Vampires in Venice') make this one of the most atmospheric of giallo films. The cast of eccentric characters also add to the sense of heightened reality.As a heterosexual male, I must point out Anita Strindberg (as Elizabeth Serpieri) and especially Dominique Boschero (as Genevra Storelli) as being stunning additions to the cast. It's difficult to express an opinion on physical appreciation in what is in many ways an exploitation film without being seen to condone such exploitation. I would argue (at tedious length) that exploitation has existed for some time in virtually every film – especially mainstream, where anyone under the age of, what, 40 is invited to at least partially undress without unduly bothering any plot-line. Whether or not the approach to displays of flesh differs 'now', as opposed to 'then', is probably subject for a discussion elsewhere. In 'Who Saw Her Die', amongst other films, I like it.This isn't flawless – as often happens with giallo films, the pace slackens in the middle, but Lazenby's increasing desperation keeps things ticking along. The unmasking towards the end and the reveal of the mysterious killer's identity is satisfying. Recommended.

Leofwine_draca Here's an atmospheric little giallo gem which bears many similarities with Nicholas Roeg's classic horror movie DON'T LOOK NOW - the Venice setting, the artistic camera-work, the murder of a child, and the father's obsession with hunting the mystery villain. This time, however, it's not a case of the Italians ripping off an American movie - WHO SAW HER DIE? is the obscure movie that actually came first, and obviously inspired Roeg enough for him to make his movie. The similarities are just too distinct. The Venice locations here are put to excellent use as the camera explores the labyrinthine streets, and there are many tracking shots and aesthetically pleasing images which make it a very beautiful film visually. Even the blood is bright red in colour, which make look fake but adds to the movie's colour palette and at least looks good. All this and an excellent score by music maestro Ennio Morricone, who uses a children's choir to give the film real atmosphere and tension.A virtually unrecognisable George Lazenby (the Australian Bond of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) takes the lead role of Franco, the man obsessed with discovering his daughter's killer. As the plot unfolds Lazenby does his bit, putting in a perfectly adequate performance that you wouldn't expect from this much-maligned actor. There's a strong female supporting cast (most of whom go naked at one time or another, as did most in the gialli genre of the period) including Anita Strindberg as Franco's grieving wife, Rosemarie Lindt (who holds the key to the mystery) and many others. Adolfo Celi enjoys himself in a minor part as an upper-crust critic with a dark secret, whilst Peter Chatel is very effective in the part of a sleazy paedophile, a character you can really believe.On the downside, the film is a little slow-paced and lacking in incident, but the top-notch cinematography and Aldo Lado's ultra-stylish direction, you just won't notice. Lado has fun with his mystery killer, inserting lots of point-of-view shots in which the murderer's face is covered by a black veil, an interesting and unique effect. Although the final revelations are quite small-scale (I was hoping for a conspiracy a little wider in reach) there are some fine set-pieces, including a really suspenseful moment in which Strindberg is trapped in a house with whom she thinks is the killer, and a cat-and-mouse game between Lazenby and killers at an abandoned warehouse. Although the identity of the killer is a bit of a letdown, Lado makes up for this by having a great fiery death for the slasher, who stumbles off a balcony whilst burning alive - and just for good measure he repeats the scene over and over. WHO SAW HER DIE? isn't a brilliant work but fans of the genre should be more than happy with this classy little movie.

ferbs54 For those of you wondering whether George Lazenby ever made another picture, after incarnating the most under-appreciated Bond ever in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"...well, here he is, three years later, in the Italian giallo "Who Saw Her Die?" In this one, he plays a sculptor named Franco who is living in Venice. When his cute little red-haired daughter is murdered and found floating in a canal, Franco naturally embarks on a quest to find the demented child killer. Lazenby, it must be said here, is almost unrecognizable from three years before. He sports a sleazy handlebar moustache in this film and looks decidedly thinner, almost gaunt, as if he'd been afflicted with a wasting disease in the interim. And the film itself? Well, it's something of a mixed bag. Yes, it does feature stylish direction by Aldo Lado, as well as a pretty freaky score by master composer Ennio Morricone, consisting largely of echoey chanting. We are also given plentiful scenery of Venice, which looks both beautiful and seedy here, an intriguing story to set our mental teeth into, AND Adolfo Celi, always a welcome presence (and another Bond alumnus, from "Thunderball"), here playing a mysterious art dealer. On the down side, I must confess that I was at a loss to understand what the hell was going on throughout most of the picture; what explanations do come toward the end are either half heard from distant rooms or grunted out during fisticuffs. Dubbing doesn't help matters (subtitles would have been a nice option), and the film is never particularly scary or suspenseful. I'll probably need to sit through this one again to get a better handle. Still, "Who Saw Her Die?" remains an interesting, nice-to-look-at giallo, nicely captured here in widescreen on yet another fine DVD from Anchor Bay.