Six Women for Murder, directed by Mario Bava in 1964, marks the birth of a genre that would become iconic: the giallo. It is a mainly Italian cinematographic movement located on the border between detective cinema, horror cinema and eroticism. It experienced its golden age in the 1960s and 1980s.
This masterpiece isn’t the only one returning to the big screen on October 11, it’s joined by another classic: David Cronenberg’s The Naked Feast.
59 years after its theatrical release, Six Female Assassins returns to theaters in a restored 4K version thanks to Tamasa Distribution, which presents a retrospective of Mario Bava’s 6 feature films: Vampires, Demon Mask, The Girl. Who Knew Too Much, Terror Island, Mad Dogs and Six Women for Murder.
This latest work presents a series of murders committed on models in a high fashion house in Rome. Countess Cristina, the owner of the place, seems uncannily aware of the victims’ pasts, and her lover, the evil Morlacci, seems to know a lot about the crime maniac.
“Foundation Act of GIALLO”
According to Olivier Gonod of DVD Classik, the film “Seems to be the founding act of Giallo, its numerous fetishistic crimes committed by a masked and leather-gloved killer. Six female killers is a marvel thanks to the colorist talent of the great Mario Bava.”he notes.
This disturbing and visually striking work, playing with the color red and refined aesthetics, especially inspired directors such as Martin Scorsese or Pedro Almodovar.
For Jean-Francois Rager, of the French Cinema, “For Six Female Assassins, with the unforgettable figure of the faceless killer, radically breaks away from any analogy with the real world with a crazy use of color and a vision that rejects the naturalism that is necessarily associated with any self-respecting detective story.
The staging of various murders, both sophisticated and barbaric, is about a sophisticated form of weirdness in abusing the audience’s nerves.
If Mario Bava signed Giallo’s birth certificate, Dario Argento popularized it 6 years later with a bird with a crystal feather. This work borrows heavily from Six Female Assassins, particularly in its murder sequences.
The film, which stars Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner and Mary Arden, was not easy to shoot. Arden, who plays Peggy Peyton, said she had to transcribe some of the English dialogue herself.
Chaotic movie
“The Italian who wrote it didn’t know how to speak American or English, so the script was full of mistakes”– the actor explained in Tim Lucas’s book, Mario Bava – All Colors of Darkness.
Requiring a small budget, the actors also performed their own stunts under the direction of coordinator Goffredo Unger. Actress Mary Arden suffered a severe injury, injuring herself while filming a scene where a door spring hit her in the face and lost her eye. An accident that angered the actor. It took the diplomatic Mario Bava to ease the tension.
Additionally, makeup artist Emilio Tran took 4 hours to apply fake burns to Mary Arden’s face in the scenes where she plays a corpse. This shooting took 5 days.
In order not to add and remove makeup every day, the actress left it on her face for the last days of filming. His appearance scared his mother, who was in Rome during the filming.
Shown in many countries, Six Women for the Assassin achieved great critical and commercial success. However, apart from this, the film left its mark in history by signing the founding act of the Italian Gialos.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
