Italian horror
maestro Lucio Fulci spent the better part of the 1960s making a series of comedies
and musicals for the silver screen, showing no hint at the man synonymous with
blood-soaked gore he would become in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1969,
Fulci made his first venture into the horror/thriller genre with ONE ON TOP
OF THE OTHER (entitled on the disc and packing, PERVERSION STORY, one of its
many release titles), a practically perfect Hitchcock-influenced murder mystery
involving mistaken identity, infidelity, and a large sum of insurance money.
Anchored by a dual performance from memorable DANGER DIABOLIK sex symbol Marissa
Mell and a marvelous script filled with twists and turns, PERVERSION STORY finally
comes to DVD, albeit in a very unusual package that will make or break your
decision to purchase.
Confident young doctor George Dumurrier, when not running his own controversial
private clinic in San Francisco, leaves Susan, his sick, unhappy wife, home
alone for the arms of his more adventurous mistress, Jane. An adulterous trip
to Reno is interrupted with the startling news of Susan’s death, and upon
his return to San Francisco, George learns that she bought a life insurance
policy shortly before her demise, leaving him a large sum of money in passing.
The plot thickens as he is told by a stranger to visit the Roaring Twenties
Club, a psychedelic wonderland filled with nude women on swings and cavorting
amongst colorful balloons. The star of a revealing stage show that evening:
Monica Weston, a striking blonde who is a dead ringer for the late Susan!
With
a number of great plot twists and turns, and a great deal of tension during
the final 30 minutes of the film, PERVERSION STORY is a great indicator of the
kind of quality film Fulci should have consistently delivered in the next decade.
In addition to directing duties, he also co-wrote the script, and his influence
is evident with the hero being duped by a mischievous female (Fulci has just
fallen victim to an adulterous wife in his personal life). Though the film is
at times a psychedelic colored time capsule of San Francisco’s hippie
era (including some great hairdos, fashions, and actual Frisco locations), it
succeeds more as a tight, gripping thriller, with a surprising nihilistic view
of women and relationships. Contrary to popular sentiments, this is not a giallo
by any description, but fits well into the mold of an Edgar Wallace or Dashiell
Hammett pulp novel beautifully. Fulci would keep up his streak of excellent
thrillers, with the addition of A LIZARD IN A WOMAN’S SKIN and DON’T
TORTURE A DUCKLING creating a triumvirate of genre masterpieces. However, it
wasn’t long before the cinema scene changed and he went with it, graduating
to the zombie gutbusters he is best known for today. Fans of those strange classics
might be disappointed with PERVERSION STORY, as it’s a completely different
kind of animal, but it’s surely one of the five best films Fulci ever
made, simply unforgettable and long overdue for re-evaluation and praise from
a new audience. It should be noted that another film from the same year, A DOPPIA
FACCIA (English title: DOUBLE FACE), starring Klaus Kinski and Margaret Lee,
features a similar storyline (coincidentally co-written by Fulci) and is much
deserving of a DVD release, too.
Eurocult icon Marissa Mell has rightfully been given the lion’s share
of attention and credit for the film’s enduring popularity, and it’s
no surprise. Whether as a brunette or a blonde, the Austrian beauty not only
commands the camera like few others among her contemporaries, but could also
act, an important attribute many overlook. As the dubious Monica, Mell is a
sexual nymph, suspicious red herring, and criminal mastermind all rolled into
one, with not one false moment in her entire performance. Her sultry introduction
in a stage performance involving a motorcycle and strategically placed body
painting is nothing short of show-stopping!! On the flipside, co-star Elsa Martinelli
is woefully miscast as Jane, George’s mistress; in a completely bland
and cold performance, she exudes no sexuality or personality that would interest
George in an extramarital relationship. Poor George can’t win; he has
a sick wife who loathes him, and a mistress who looks as if she’d rather
be spackling her ceiling than show emotion during sex with him. As our hero,
Jean Sorel does a fine, if unremarkable job, and is the perfect brand of handsome
everyman personality that makes the final series of surprises so effective.
Vacationing Americans John Ireland and Faith Domergue (barely recognizable)
fail to make an impression, and considering they were marquee value for overseas
sales in 1969, it’s funny that they’re rarely mentioned when discussing
the film today. Attribute this to Mell’s mesmerizing screen presence,
overshadowing all other cast members! Watch for a cameo by Fulci himself as
a handwriting analyst!
Originally
announced by Anchor Bay but dropped with little notice from their upcoming releases
list, Severin Films (the heir apparent to currently dwindling Blue Underground)
stepped up to bat to release PERVERSION STORY to the digital format. However,
upon revisiting the film through this DVD, I almost immediately noticed that
the film felt more disjointed and choppy in its narrative than I initially remembered.
Several dialogue scenes abruptly began or ended that I remember running longer
and giving more in-depth characterization and plot development, and I knew something
was up when several lines of dialogue being spoken on-screen couldn’t
be heard on the English language track. Further investigation turned up the
fact that Severin had in fact found only one decent film element for the DVD,
a long-lost negative of the French cut of PERVERSION STORY (is this why Anchor
Bay dropped the title to begin with?). The problem: the French version, while
featuring additional sex and nudity (featuring Marisa Mell and Elsa Martinelli),
omits a number of dialogue scenes, thus making the film harder to follow and,
as mentioned before, disjointed; the flow is off. As with many international
co-productions of the 1960s and 1970s, various countries received different
theatrical cuts than other nations, resulting in no one definitive version existing
of certain titles. In the case of PERVERSION STORY, the closest to representing
Fulci’s vision would seem to be the English export version, which runs
103 minutes and demonstrates his mastery of the thriller genre and what he could
do with a strong script. Rather than make an ill-fated attempt at comparing
the two, I invite everyone to check out Michael MacKenzie’s very detailed
comparison at the link found HERE.
Despite MacKenzie’s valiant efforts to inform fans and consumers, there
are already those in our fine fan community seeking to make him out to be nitpicking
and viciously attacking Severin for this release. His points are valid, and
if this was indeed the only surviving film element in good enough shape to use
on the DVD, then the question must be asked: why aren’t the deleted scenes
at least included from a less-than-optimum source? The choice is yours: PERVERSION
STORY is Fulci’s first of a select few masterpieces, and featuring a strong
central performance by Marissa Mell and a completely involving script, stands
up beautifully almost 40 years after it was made. But this abbreviated version,
while including a few more minutes of exploitive material, loses some of its
power and flow. Those who have never seen the film should definitely check this
disc out, but fans of the popular English language cut can’t be blamed
for feeling unhappy about having to continue to wait for a “definitive”
DVD version.
Culled
from the aforementioned negative, the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer
of PERVERSION STORY is leaps and bounds beyond any previous home video incarnation
of the title. Though there are a number of unfortunate discoloration issues,
some debris here and there, a handful of in-frame hairs, and some splice marks
in certain scenes (to indicate moments cut out of the French version, most likely),
colors are consistently eye-popping, with accurate skintones and deep blacks.
A slight sheet of grain appears in some scenes, but for a film shot in 1969,
this is a pretty splendid restoration job. Two audio options, English mono and
Italian mono with optional English subtitles, are included. The English track
has some moments of hissing, but is the preferable option, as it is the language
the film was shot in. The English subtitles are valuable, however, during the
scene in the Roaring Twenties, when a dialogue between George and Jane isn’t
heard on the English track.
The only other extra on the disc is the theatrical trailer, which creates much
ballyhoo over the fact that Fulci was allowed to shoot at San Quentin (an unprecedented
move). It’s unfortunate that star Jean Sorel, who was interviewed for
the LIZARD IN A WOMAN’S SKIN disc, couldn’t be called upon to discuss
his first Fulci film here. But it’s probable that the entire supplements
budget went towards the major addition to this two-disc set: Riz Ortolani’s
jazzy score is presented on a separate CD. Personally, I don’t feel this
is one of his better scores; it fits the film well, but unlike other Ortolani
soundtracks, can’t really be listened to on its own, except perhaps as
mood music. For fans of the film who don’t want to shell out more money
for an import CD of the soundtrack, however, this is a very welcome addition
that more DVD companies should attempt to include.
For reference’s sake, here is the track listing for the 30-minute soundtrack
CD (the Dagored import soundtrack includes four bonus tracks, all alternate
takes; Riz Ortolani completists might want to seek that out, but these 11 tracks
should suit everyone else just fine):
1. Una Sull’Altra (Titoli)
2. Susan and Jane
3. Lombard Street
4. Sitar in Blues
5. St. Francis Railways
6. St. Quintin
7. Golden Gate Bridge
8. Latin Quarter
9. Susan and Jane
10. The Roaring Twenties
11. Una Sull’Altra (Finale)
(Casey Scott)