Orgasmo [DVD]

The first of three Umberto Lenzi giallo films in the ‘Les Diaboliques’ style (ie, psychological thrillers as opposed to the 1970s body-count, proto-slasher movies), ORGASMO finally gets the 88 Films blu ray upgrade it deserves. Both versions – the 97 minute standard edition, and the more explicit but shorter US cut – are included, along with a wonderfully knowledgeable and respectful audio commentary from genre experts Troy Howarth (whose Lenzi biography is essential reading for anyone fascinated by Italian cult cinema), Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson, and Italian film historian, Eugenio Ercolani.

For many years ORGASMO, like the other Lenzi-Baker collaborations, was hard to obtain in some markets, and available only in poor quality, no-extras home video releases, denying many fans the opportunity to connect the dots between the giallo movement’s emergence with Mario Bava’s THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1963) and his 1964 masterpiece, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, to what’s since been termed the ‘sexy gialli’ of the later 1960s. ORGASMO has much in common with the two Lenzi-Baker films which soon followed, SO SWEET SO PERVERSE and PARANOIA: themes of a debauched jet-set elite, degraded morality, sexual deviance, and mental cruelty are elegantly mixed in an achingly stylish cocktail of beauty, glamour and eroticism.

In ORGASMO, Baker plays a wealthy but emotionally stupid woman who comes under the spell of a psychotic stranger, Lou Castel (Miscast? Would any woman fall hard for those looks?). As their affair nears boiling point, Castel’s gorgeous step sister arrives, and effortlessly draws Baker deeper into a typically sordid and twisted giallo scheme of manipulation spiked with sexual hunger.

Anyone who loves ORGASMO should immediately buy both SO SWEET SO PERVERSE and PARANOIA. There is very little change in mood or tone across all three films: Chic, sexy, twisted and stylish in a very sixties way, they form a trilogy that’s equal parts beauty and poison. It’s astonishing to realize that all three movies were created in little more than twelve months. ORGASMO was filmed in late 1968 and arrived in cinemas the next year; the other two were shot in 1969, with PARANOIA reaching theaters during February of 1970.

Of almost equal importance are two other titles.

The first is an earlier film, which in many ways sets the blueprint for the sexy gialli cycle: THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH, released in 1968, and starring Baker and Jean Sorel, who later appears in PARANOIA. (Slightly surprised that 88 Films haven’t turned their attention to this one yet – only a matter of time before one of the boutique blu ray labels does).

The second movie is AN IDEAL PLACE TO KILL, also directed by Lenzi, but unfortunately not featuring Carroll Baker (Lenzi did plan to offer Baker the starring role, but decided he didn’t want to become pigeonholed as her main director… only for her to appear in his disappointing effort, KNIFE OF ICE, a year later).

Also included on this 88 Films edition of ORGASMO are an interview with Lenzi, a booklet, a poster, trailers, a reversible sleeve featuring the original artwork, newly translated English subtitles, a visual essay on Carroll Baker, and an interview with Eugenio Alabiso, whose editing brilliance has graced such classics as THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH, THE FIFTH CORD, THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS, TORSO, GAMBLING CITY, and FROM CORLEONE TO BROOKLYN – the list is almost endless, and it is quite staggering to marvel at how deeply involved this man was with the greats of Italian cult cinema.

All in all, ORGASMO, from 88 Films, is an exceptional title, not to be missed.