Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Don't Torture a Duckling was released theatrically in Italy on September 29, 1972. 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, … Cancel Series Recording. Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Duckling (a.k.a. As an antitheist myself I’m biased in proclaiming the virtues of this film, however as the opposing view is delighting in a cult of human sacrifice which has an instrument of torture as its most prominent symbol, I regard my own bias in this review as trivial by comparison. The BR is essential for Fulci and Italian horror fans. This print is based on the film, *Don't Torture a Duckling* by Lucio Fulci. [13] He is attempting to send them to Heaven while they remained in a stage of uncorrupted grace. If you like gialli, dont miss it. (1972) and The Bloodstained Shadow (1978). A body is found, we have a suspect, will they find the REAL killer? Dario Argento lauded it as "one of Lucio Fulci's best films and a superb giallo." Buy. Nonetheless, the hostile and superstitious villagers are not convinced: Magiara is shunned by the local women and then attacked in a local graveyard by a small group of men who savagely beat her with heavy chains and then leave her for dead. Rent/Buy. AllMovie gave the film a positive review calling the film "one of Fulci's more successful outings". Watched it nearly 2 decades ago on the Anchor Bay DVD release and decided to re-purchase it on Bluray. It's a movie you have to see to believe. 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. She has various seemingly sinister interactions with several children from the town, including Michele, with whom she seductively teases, then rejects, while nude; Mario, a young boy whom she offers the choice of either payment or a kiss in exchange for fixing a flat tire; and Malvina, priest Don Alberto’s disabled sister, who is dragged by Patrizia across the town square against her will, in order that Patrizia could buy Malvina a doll. Martelli becomes convinced that the little girl is a witness to the killings after seeing that she compulsively pulls the heads off her dolls, as if imitating the strangulations. Several young boys are murdered in a remote village rife with sex and superstition, and the townspeople go mad with rage and violence. A few nights later during a raging thunderstorm, another boy, Michele Spriano, sneaks out of his house to meet with someone he speaks to over the phone, and he too is strangled by an unseen assailant and his body is found the following morning. He is also rumored to have had (and then disposed of) a baby from a tryst with Magiara. Sign in to see videos available to you. It has a serious and interesting plot, tragedy surprise, and wonderful cinematography and editing. The police race against the growing rage of … Original Title: Non si … If you're looking for a good murder mystery film directed by Italy's most celebrated directors, then this is the film for you. 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 … Highly recommended. An alibi provided by a policeman sighting Magiara miles away from the latest murder scene clinches her innocence and she is released. Even watching it in the original Italian there are many places where the audio does not match the actors speaking, and you can tell there were parts that were dubbed in post-production. The film that Lucio Fulci was most proud of, Don't Torture a Duckling also features performances from cult stars Tomas Milian, Barbara Bouchet and Florinda Bolkan, as well as a very memorable score by Riz Ortolani. Murder scenes are always shown from the killer's perspective, the plot is fairly complex and full of twists, and when the killer is revealed in the climax, it's typically a shock--at least in the best gialli. [7], Bloody Disgusting awarded the film a positive score of 4.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} 1⁄2 out of 5. Modify Recording. Under interrogation, the fevered woman gleefully confesses to the murders. Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 A hidden classic. One of them is Andrea Martelli (Tomas Milian) a sharp-witted journalist from Rome whose insights into the case are acknowledged by the regional police commissioner (Virginio Gazzolo) working with the collaboration of the village chief of police Captain Modesti (Ugo D'Alessio). Here we see the quaint Italian village which has recently been plagued by a series of brutal child murders. Martelli also meets with the amiable young village priest, Don Alberto Avallone (Marc Porel) and his strangely reserved mother Aurelia (Irene Papas). Meanwhile, in the hills surrounding the village, a reclusive Gypsy witch named La Magiara (Florinda Bolkan), is conducting sinister black magic ceremonies, first by digging up the skeletal remains of an infant, and then plunging pins through the heads of three tiny clay dolls. I would have rated it 4 stars if it were not for those technical annoyances. The gore is insanely fake looking, but that is just a hallmark of the genre. The following day, another young boy is found murdered, drowned in a local stream, which further increases police frustration to the case. Released in the Autumn of 1972 in Italy, Don't Torture a Duckling is significant within Fulci's filmography as it is one of the first in which he began using violent gore effects, something he would continue to do in his later films, including Zombi 2, The Beyond and City of the Living Dead. [10], According to Danny Shipka, the small Italian town of the setting turns out to be an Italian version of Harper Valley PTA, with suspects including voyeurs, drug addicted pedophiles, gypsies and priests. The violence in this film is honestly some of the more disturbing than any of his Zombie movies I have seen. DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING (Lucio Fulci - Italy 1972). She is ostracized by the rest of the insular villagers, because of her big-city ways, perceived lack of morality, and modern style of dress with halter-tops and mini-skirts. It's a completely fails at its obvious, stated mission – to be a successful giallo – but, simultaneously, it is interesting and … Meanwhile, Captain Modesti and his aide visits Francesco (George Wilson), an eccentric old hermit living in a tumbledown stone hut in the hills overlooking the town, who practices black magic, offering charms and potions to the superstitious. Martelli soon meets and befriends Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet) whom he recognizes from newspapers where he used to work in Milan. A Great Film. Thank you Lucio for encouraging people to think about these things! [6], In the United Kingdom, Shameless Screen Entertainment made the film available on DVD on 29 August 2011 in a "Shameless Fan Edition", which contains, for the first time, optional English and Italian audio and subtitles, the Italian theatrical trailer and a booklet adapted by Stephen Thrower from Beyond Terror, his definitive book. The plot follows a detective investigating a series of child murders in an insular village in Southern Italy whose residents are riddled with superstition and mistrust. Don't Torture a Duckling. TV Guide awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars. Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020. Don’t Torture a Duckling is a truly unique entry into the gialli subgenre. "Beyond Terror, the Films of Lucio Fulci". While many Italian murder mysteries (or gialli) involve black-gloved killers stalking women in the big city, Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling (Non si sevizia un paperino) turns the formula completely inside out to produce a violent, sweltering masterpiece of cultural and religious oppression. Shocking plot twists and amazing visuals rounded out with fantastic acting will set your mind adrift in a landscape of sex, black magic, murder and intrigue! It turns out that Don Alberto strangled those young boys not for their sins, but to prevent them from committing sin when they grow up. [3], When the film was first released in 1972, it received only a limited release in Europe, due to the film's themes, among which was criticism of the Roman Catholic Church. Don't Torture a Duckling. Amid local hysteria, Giuseppe is arrested when he picks up a ransom he demanded from the boy's parents for the boy's return. Don't Torture a Duckling (Italian: Non si sevizia un paperino) is a 1972 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci, starring Florinda Bolkan, Tomas Milian, and Barbara Bouchet.The plot follows a detective investigating a series of child murders in an insular village in Southern Italy whose residents are riddled with superstition and mistrust. AKA: Non si sevizia un paperino, Don't Torture Donald Duck. 8. It represents a high point in Fulci’s career in terms of production value and available financing. Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2019. Cruel, beautiful and all the colours in between, Don't Torture a Duckling is a compelling and beguiling work from a greatly underrated filmmaker. Rent. 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. If unfamiliar with gialli, they're basically Italian murder mystery movies comparable to some of Alfred Hitchcock's works. Don’t Torture a Duckling piles on the paranoia and becomes a creepy and confusing watch at times, as you feel equally as perplexed as the investigators. Don't Torture a Duckling (Italian: Non si sevizia un paperino) is a 1972 Italian thriller horror movie directed by Lucio Fulci and stars Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomas Milian, Irene Papas, Marc Porel and Georges Wilson and was distribuited by Medusa Film.. Other websites. Don't Torture a Duckling About: From Lucio Fulci, the godfather of gore (The Psychic, The Beyond), comes one of the most potent and unsettling giallo thrillers ever produced: his 1972 masterpiece Don't Torture a Duckling. Warning: Streaming version is only in Italian, Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2020. I rank it high and proclaim it a worthy contender to the great Giallos of our time. Made a good seven years before his gorefests, starting with the excellent ZOMBIE, that defined his reputation here in America and the rest of the world, DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is just as intense and brutal, if a bit less gruesome, than the typical Fulci fan is used to. 10/10, Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Don't Torture a Duckling. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2018. Don't Torture a Duckling. Add to Wishlist. Modify Series Recording. Don't Torture A Duckling is one of Lucio Fulci's earliest horror films. Some say this is an anti-catholic film, however the experiences of a prominent non-catholic citizen demonstrates a more general antitheistic/anti-superstition theme. Clean picture with very interesting extras. However, it appears to Modesti and the Commissioner that she believes her voodoo dolls and incantations have alone brought about the deaths of the three interfering boys, and she professes to have no interest in or awareness of the physical methods used. Don’t Torture a Duckling (Italian: Non si sevizia un paperino) is a 1972 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci, starring Florinda Bolkan, Tomas Milian, and Barbara Bouchet.The plot follows a detective investigating a series of child murders in an insular village in Southern Italy whose residents are riddled with superstition and mistrust. There is no 'duckling' in the film but a doll in the shape of Donald Duck has its head removed by a girl with an intellectual disability, which provides a clue to the murders. Unlike its companion release, The Suspicious Death of a Minor, Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling (Non si sevizia un paperino, "Don't Torture Donald Duck," 1972) is a full-on, full-fledged Italian giallo, the singularly Italian crime- and sometimes horror-thriller. [9] Don't Torture a Duckling is one of the truly great Giallo films and maybe Lucio Fulci's most accomplished work. Don Alberto now attempts to throw his little sister, a witness to the crimes, off a remote cliff. As powerful and controversial now as it was then, Don't Torture a Duckling is both a challenging drama and a great giallo thriller. Non si sevizia un paperino) was released in Italy in 1972, but remained unreleased in the United States until the late 1990s when it first came to home video.It was received fairly well and has since been heralded by many as Fulci’s best work. A classic tale of the perverse from director Lucio Fulci.. A reporter and a promiscuous young woman try to solve a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town that's rife … 2007 102 minutes. [12] In other words, the killer attempts to preserve the innocence of the victims. Set Parental Lock. The special effects are uneven, but certain scenes are particularly well done and effective for the time. Complimenting the film's direction, atmosphere, and well executed murder scenes, stating "Lucio Fulci's murder mystery paints an exceptionally unflattering portrait of small-town Sicily as a backwater rife with perversion, ignorance, madness and murderous small-mindedness". The ending is grand-guignol to the extreme, but somehow very fitting. The film has been noted by critics for its commentary on sexuality in the Catholic Church.[2]. Barbara Bouchet is a lovely seductress, although the development of her character is a bit sketchy. One doll's head, that of Donald Duck, is found near the latest crime scene. When another dead body of a young boy, Tonino, is found, the police realize that Giuseppe is innocent. Duckling is one of the few films by Fulci to barely use any gore effects, but he still uses them. Perfect for a late-night movie. The story is about the killings of young boys and of course the town Witch is a suspect! Don't Torture a Duckling. Enjoyably bad but in a satisfactory manner. Although I'm not a huge giallo fan or connoisseur, this is one of my favorite films of this genre. Not for children or those that take offense where the church is concerned. The Subtitle(s) for Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972) may either be in single Srt format or multi file compress to Zip / Rar format. With a crisp lossless uncompressed soundtrack, the eerie silences, bursts of birdsong, and haunting vocals of Ornella Vanoni, shine through in clearest quality. Add to Favorites. It's still fresh and engrossing watching it now - and the print is superb. 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