Shudder Saturday: The Psychic (1977)

I was going to start this review by saying that this was one of the few Lucio Fulci movies I hadn't seen before, but that's not quite true. There are lots of Lucio Fulci movies I haven't seen before. The Psychic just happens to be one of the other titles I was already aware of, although I don't think I ever saw it mentioned as one of his best film.

A murder mystery that revolves around the visions of a clairvoyant woman, Virginia (Jennifer O'Neill), who hopes to use her particular talent to prove her husband (Francesco, played by Gianni Garko) innocent of a murder, The Psychic is an enjoyable bit of nonsense that is susprisingly satisfying by the time it plays out a fairly predictable finale. The mixed cast of characters aren't really people you care about, this is all about atmosphere and plot ahead of characterisation (standard for Fulci . . . although you could easily argue that he often doesn't even care about plot), but our lead is strong enough to carry the film on her shoulders, and acts in a way that feels plausible and understandable.

I will admit that my memory of this is already fading, having only watched it a few days ago for the first time, but horror fans will certainly view this as a very tame work compared to other Fulci horror movies. There aren't any standout set-pieces, no extreme gore or tension, but the script, co-written by Fulci, the prolific Roberto Ganviti, and Dardano Sacchetti (who would also work with Fulci on the Gates Of Hell trilogy), never tries to pretend it is aiming for anything other than a solid amateur detective tale in which the detective has the "gift"of second sight that may help or hinder her investigation.

It may have helped that I didn't know what to expect from this, all I knew (assumed) was that it didn't feature any major zombie outbreak, but The Psychic won me over quite early on. A large part of that is due to O'Neill, who is extremely watchable in the lead role. Nobody else is quite as good, and that includes Garko, Marc Porel, Gabriele Ferzetti, Ida Galli, and one or two others, but it doesn't matter. What matters is the lead that we are most closely attached to for the bulk of the runtime.

It's easy to see why this is rarely mentioned by people listing the best films from Fulci. It's just a decent little thriller, nothing more and nothing less. But I liked it. The use of the fragmented visions, lacking crucial context until much later in the movie, is a fun, albeit familiar, device, and the musical motif also plays in nicely before the end credits roll (the original Italian title is Sette Note In Nero, which translates to "Seven Notes In Black" . . . if Google Translate can be trusted).

Not an all-time great, but this was a decent distraction while it was on. Oh, and there's some excellent music contained within the score, including a section that will already be familiar to anyone, like myself, who saw the Kill Bill movies before seeing this.

7/10

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Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)

Once Upon A Time In The West is, for me, the greatest Western of all time. It's better than anything else out there, including the masterful "Dollars" trilogy, also from Sergio Leone (as if you didn't know). It's not without problems, in terms of both pacing and attitudes towards certain characters, but the sheer scope of the film and grandiosity of it all is enough to keep me in love with this film forever.

The simple core of the story is about a Harmonica-playing man (Charles Bronson) who comes to a small town, intent on meeting up with a villain named Frank (Henry Fonda). He gets involved with a recently-widowed woman (Claudia Cardinale) who is of great interest to Frank, and the villainy and treachery of the plot also brings a charismatic criminal ('Cheyenne', played by Jason Robards) into the mix. There's more to it than that, however, and the script takes time to explore the progress of industry changing the types of crimes being committed, viewing the heroes and villains as archetypes on the very brink of extinction, something that can be viewed as good or bad, depending on how romanticised your view is.

Leone often makes me feel hypocritical. There are so many times when I view a movie and complain that a little editing wouldn't have gone amiss. I never think that with Leone movies, and this is the film to really test the patience of viewers who want fists and bullets flying throughout their Westerns. It's slow, to say the least. And I can understand people who find it interminably so. This is a film I urge everyone to see, yet it's not one I could recommend to anyone. Give it your time though, just once, and see how you feel. It's just under three hours in length, and feels longer to many people, but if you end up loving it as I do then you won't be bothered by the runtime at all.

Based on a story by Bernardo Bertolucci, Dario Argento, and Leone, the screenplay (co-written by Leone and Sergio Donati) is typically sparse. Which isn't to say that the dialogue is unimportant. Almost every line is essential, revealing something about the speaker, or allowing for some amusingly playful interactions, especially whenever Robards is onscreen. There's so much here to dig into that my small review won't begin to do it all justice.

The score by Ennio Morricone is as wonderful as any of his other works. Each main character has their own "theme", the harmonica tune becomes especially poignant when the backstory is revealed, and things really step up a notch just in time for the finale that viewers are waiting for.

As a side note, this was my first time seeing Once Upon A Time In The West on the big screen and I HIGHLY recommend the experience. Whether it was seeing a huge steam engine roll into shot or watching a massive side shot of Charles Bronson moving into the screen while the bombastic score signifies the beginning of the end, this was a viewing experience I'll never forget.

Everyone does well in their main roles. This was the film that finally showed me why so many people consider Bronson an iconic star, and he is. Claudia Cardinale is gorgeous and spirited, Robards steals almost every scene he is in, and Fonda is one of the great screen villains, an absolute bastard who viewers want to see get his just desserts from his very first scene. And there are some fun supporting turns from Gabriele Ferzetti, Lionel Stander, Paolo Stoppa, and Jack Elam and Woody Strode.

I can see why people have problems with this film. I can see why some will never like it. But cinema is a medium for the moving image and, by god, did Leone say more with visuals alone than almost any other non-silent director I can think of. If I was more academically-minded then this review would be the first in a series of essays exploring all of the choices made. But I am not. I am just a big fan who still gets goosebumps when I bask in the glow of a film that is THIS good.

10/10

I have, and love, this disc.
Americans can buy it here.