This 1971 classic is key for any Fulchi collection. A woman's nightmarish fantasies of murder and sadism come to life. Contains the legendary disemboweled dogs scene, courtesy of Carlo Rambaldi's special effects.
Lucio Fulci's LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN earned the director a measure of infamy because of a very believable scene involving disemboweled dogs. So believable, in fact, that Fulci had to prove before a judge (with special effects man Carlo Rambaldi) that their dogs were, in fact, fake. A giallo that ranks among the director's best films, the movie stars Silvia Monti as Deborah, a woman who has disturbing dreams about murdering her neighbor. After she relates them to her therapist, her neighbor is actually murdered, exactly the same way she was in Deborah's dreams, leading to a police investigation and some strange revelations.
Stylish and inventive, LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN is surely one of the best giallos ever made. Featuring some unbelievable chase sequences, outrageous plot twists, and hallucinatory camera work, the film is a riveting and bizarre mystery that keeps the audience guessing as well as entertained.
Lizard In A Woman's Skin Reviews:
"The genre thesaurus is well thumbed: there are spiral staircases, organs resounding through cavernous halls and even bats in the belfry, but also more outre moments that anticipate Fulci's later career."-- Michael Brooke, Sight and Sound
A Tough One To Call This is a difficult one to judge. An anamorphic widescreen presentation of the censored US theatrical realease and a horrible cropped version in Italian with English subtitles which is uncut. There's a great documentary plus some trailers, deleted scenes and a decent booklet.
The actual quality of the movie though is beyond question, 'Lizard in a Woman's Skin' is one of Fulci's better films and this edition is still worth buying, despite the flaws. A near miss if ever there was one from Shriek Show/Media Blasters. Submitted by Rich (Liverpool, UK) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
MEDIA BLASTERS BOTCHED THIS DVD!!! I'd been looking forward to this DVD release for almost the last two years. This is a 2-DVD set with extras. Sounds great, right? A classic Fulci giallo that everyone has been waiting for with bated breath, continuously and seemingly eternally pushed back by Media Blasters. All this time I foolishly believed that the results would ultimately justify the wait. When I explain to you what they did your blood will boil.
There are two versions of the film included in this package. Disc one has the American version called Schizoid. It is letterboxed with 5.1 sound and has a great picture, except in some spots where they had to use a different source for the footage. No big deal, these things happen. Disc 2 has the Italian version, A Lizard in a Woman's Skin. This is poorly cropped, contains a sub-standard picture, and is not 5.1. Now, whenever I buy a DVD I fast forward through the disc in its entirety: one thing I hate is to encounter a defect midway through and discover I am stuck. When I did this with these two discs, I noticed that the latter version was 2 minutes longer. Immediately I was suspicious; this did not bode well. Now here comes the part that will raise your blood pressure:
ONLY THE LATTER VERSION IS COMPLETE. THE GORIEST EFFECTS ARE MISSING FROM THE GOOD VERSION.
And here's the clincher:
THE "MUTILATED DOGS" SCENE, THE ONE WE'VE BEEN DYING TO SEE FOR YEARS, IS ALSO ONLY IN THE LATTER VERSION.
In other words, if you want to see these moments, you will have to watch a cropped, sub-standard picture with inferior sound.
I've had it. I'm tired of DVD companies screwing up these projects that mean so much to us. Would they fumble like this if it was some crappy Lucas film? They delayed release of this DVD since May 2003, for crying out loud!
I'm mailing my DVD to Media Blasters, demanding both a refund and compensation for the shipping. My advice: DO NOT BUY THIS DVD. TEACH THESE HUMPS A LESSON.
Submitted by dmacewen (Queens, New York) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 2 found this helpful.
Not worth the wait A great giallo - botched by Shriek Show. I have a fully uncut w/s print in English with no subs. Why could they not find this and remaster it? Instead we have a cut w/s version and a reprehensible full screen uncut poor quality version. Not the treatment this classic film deserves. Submitted by phil (Midlands, UK) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Well,they say it's coming...... According to Fangoria this DVD will see a release early next year (2005).
But knowing Media Blasters that could easily be next millennium!But lately it's better though.Plus when they do release it,it'll be one hell of a transfer.Look what they did with Zombi and All The Colors Of The Dark (both recommended by the way)
Anyway I'm very looking forward to this since it's said to be Fulci's best.
Only one star for the long wait but I'll be back to change that when I have the DVD.
Cheers!
Submitted by "Crystal Plumage" (Holland) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 0 of 1 found this helpful.
Farout! This is one of Fulci's better films supposedly, but for me this is one that has a hard to plot to follow. Again riding in on another directors trilogy of movies(Argento's Animal Trilogy)this "giallo" is very similar in style with what Argento was doing at the time, but leave it to Fulci to always out do the director before him, by being even more over the top in extremes. Lots of nudity, butality, etc.. And let's not forget this is the movie that got him and Rambaldi dragged into Italian court for supposed animal cruelty.
Not his best, but a must see for all Fulci fans! Submitted by rock2731 (DAYTON, OHIO) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
A Tough One To Call
MEDIA BLASTERS BOTCHED THIS DVD!!!
Not worth the wait
Farout!
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