Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)
February 20, 2025 8:08 AM - Subscribe
[TRAILER] Roberto, a drummer in a rock band, keeps receiving weird phone calls and being followed by a mysterious man. One night he manages to catch up with his persecutor and tries to get him to talk but in the ensuing struggle he accidentally stabs him. He runs away, but he understands his troubles have just begun when the following day he receives an envelope with photos of him killing the man. Someone is killing all his friends and trying to frame him for the murders. The third feature film from Italian director Dario Argento (Suspiria).
Starring Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Francine Racette, Bud Spencer.
Written and directed by Dario Argento. Story by Dario Argento, Luigi Cozzi, Mario Foglietti. Produced by Salvatore Argento. Cinematography by Franco Di Giacomo. Edited by Françoise Bonnot. Music by Ennio Morricone.
57% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Find streaming options for your locale/services via the listing on JustWatch.com.
Starring Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Francine Racette, Bud Spencer.
Written and directed by Dario Argento. Story by Dario Argento, Luigi Cozzi, Mario Foglietti. Produced by Salvatore Argento. Cinematography by Franco Di Giacomo. Edited by Françoise Bonnot. Music by Ennio Morricone.
57% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Find streaming options for your locale/services via the listing on JustWatch.com.
I think this is probably the only Argento film I have not seen, in all likelihood because of its total unavailability.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:35 PM on February 20
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:35 PM on February 20
This is very much in that end of giallo where if you discuss the plot at all, you probably do a fair bit of hand waving and yadda yadda-ing.
If you're watching a giallo and hoping for some kind of Ian Rankin style crime fiction you're doing it wrong. It's a feature not a bug.
I think this is probably the only Argento film I have not seen, in all likelihood because of its total unavailability.
It is on disc in Europe and North America now. Of the hard to find Argento's (his spaghetti westerns were the hardest for me to find for years but thanks Video Search of Miami) this was a favourite. In fact I think it was the first of the rare Argento that I managed to find. Which meant it was a grainy VHS of a RAI broadcast that had been resynced with an imperfect English audio dub. Kids today don't know the suffering we had to endure... *shakes composite cable at the clouds*
When I watched it finally my viewing was a bit tarnished by the fact I had seen the Paul Nachy Spanish giallo Una libélula para cada muerto (A Dragonfly for Each Corpse) prior to Four Flies. Why? Well it is "influenced" by the Four Flies and I couldn't help thinking about the Naschy film (Naschy in general being a solid love for aeons for me) as I watched it.
So in short I should rewatch this at some point.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:20 PM on February 20 [1 favorite]
If you're watching a giallo and hoping for some kind of Ian Rankin style crime fiction you're doing it wrong. It's a feature not a bug.
I think this is probably the only Argento film I have not seen, in all likelihood because of its total unavailability.
It is on disc in Europe and North America now. Of the hard to find Argento's (his spaghetti westerns were the hardest for me to find for years but thanks Video Search of Miami) this was a favourite. In fact I think it was the first of the rare Argento that I managed to find. Which meant it was a grainy VHS of a RAI broadcast that had been resynced with an imperfect English audio dub. Kids today don't know the suffering we had to endure... *shakes composite cable at the clouds*
When I watched it finally my viewing was a bit tarnished by the fact I had seen the Paul Nachy Spanish giallo Una libélula para cada muerto (A Dragonfly for Each Corpse) prior to Four Flies. Why? Well it is "influenced" by the Four Flies and I couldn't help thinking about the Naschy film (Naschy in general being a solid love for aeons for me) as I watched it.
So in short I should rewatch this at some point.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:20 PM on February 20 [1 favorite]
It's also streaming on Plex in the US at least (see JustWatch link above).
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:56 AM on February 21
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:56 AM on February 21
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This film stands out among the Argento giallo stuff I have seen in that it actually has a fair bit of humor. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage had the insane guy who eats cats and the pimp called "Solong" because he compulsively ends every sentence with "So long." But this goes further, with the disheveled fisherman who lives in a shack named "God" (short for Godfrey) and the eccentric (and flaming gay) detective Arrosio who figures that after failing to solve his first 84 cases, surely he's due for a win. I also loved the absolutely unhinged coffin convention. "Not one of our customers has complained about being uncomfortable!"
I watched this via the lovely Severin re-release, which is not generally available, even as it's not out of print. I gather there is some sort of hitch in the rights where they can only make it available online occasionally as part of designated sales. [shrug] I got a copy from the Severin table at a local horror marathon. It's great fun and the 4K transfer is stupidly gorgeous.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:17 AM on February 20