Don’t Torture A Duckling
Starring: Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomas Milian
Directed: Lucio Fulci
Studio: Arrow Video
Format: Blu-Ray
Disc Release Date: October 3, 2017
About:
From Lucio Fulci, the godfather of gore (The Psychic, The Beyond), comes one of the most powerful and unsettling giallo thrillers ever produced: his 1972 masterpiece Don t Torture a Duckling.
When the sleepy rural village of Accendura is rocked by a series of murders of young boys, the superstitious locals are quick to apportion blame, with the suspects including the local witch , Maciara (Florinda Bolkan, A Lizard in a Woman s Skin). With the bodies piling up and the community gripped by panic and a thirst for bloody vengeance, two outsiders city journalist Andrea (Tomas Milian, The Four of the Apocalypse) and spoilt rich girl Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) team up to crack the case. But before the mystery is solved, more blood will have been spilled, and not all of it belonging to innocents…
Deemed shocking at the time for its brutal violence, depiction of the Catholic Church and themes of child murder and paedophilia, Don t Torture a Duckling is widely regarded today as Fulci’s greatest film, rivalling the best of his close rival Dario Argento. Arrow Video is proud to present this uniquely chilling film in its North American high definition debut.
My Review:
Don’t Torture A Duckling is an Italian Giallo thriller mystery that loves to show case some gore. In a Southern Italian village children end up getting killed. A Few Black Magic believers could be the killers or this deranged mother who freaks out in a police station foaming out the mouth could be the killer, or it could be someone else in this town. Who is it? Bashing kids in the back of their heads and drowning them.
The story is pretty dark as it deals with killing kids. The plot runs the mystery of who is who and leaving some gory imagery of dead kids on the screen. Gore wise the film brings it, its gallons of blood gore but like holes in the back of a kids head and or a horrifying face of a dead child in the water. Not a ton of action or nudity.
Overall the movie was a good view and is considered one of the great Giallo films. Mostly due to its gore and subject matter. The film will not be for everyone as all the deaths deal with kids. The opening scene shows a woman digging up a dead baby. It can get dark in the subject matter. The Look of the Blu-Ray from Arrow looks great. Not picture perfect as it does showcase its age some but overall it looks great and sharp most of the time.
With that said I give this film a 4 out of 5. it can get a little slow and score doesn’t hit as much as other giallo films but horror showcased in the story and deaths on-screen make up for it. If you’re a giallo fan than this is a movie you need.
Extras:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original mono Italian and English soundtracks (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)
- English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- New audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
- The Blood of Innocents, a new video discussion with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
- Every (Wo)man Their Own Hell, a new video essay by critic Kat Ellinger
- Interviews with co-writer/director Lucio Fulci, actor Florinda Bolkan, cinematographer Sergio D Offizi, assistant editor Bruno Micheli and assistant makeup artist Maurizio Trani
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Timothy Pittides FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector s booklet with new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw and Howard Hughes