Search - The Case of the Scorpion's Tail on DVD

Gorgeous and Grisly

B. M. Kunz | Los Angeles, CA USA | 05/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Case of the Scorpion's tale has all the elements of a good giallo: grisly murders, inventive, eye-popping cinematography, expressive lighting, swanky interiors, a serpentine plot, and a couple of lovely actresses. While the plot does become a little convoluted, and there is too much dialogue (a lot of which is rather clunky) all of the film's minor faults can be forgiven because the movie is a spectacular visual feast that is just a lot of fun to watch. Many of the names famous to this genre are involved in this entertaining effort, the most prominent of which are, Sergio Martino, Ernesto Gastaldi, George Hilton and Bruno Nicolai.

This upcomming release, from a new company on the genre DVD scene NoShame, ranks right up there with releases from some of the more well established genre DVD companies like Blue Underground and Mondo Macabro. The image quality of the film print used for the DVD is absolutely outstanding, and there are two audio tracks, one in English and the second in Italian with optional English subtitles. Lastly, the few extras on the disc include interviews with Martino, Gastaldi and Hilton, the theatrical trailer and a poster and still gallery. If you're taking the time to read this review then this DVD probably belongs in your DVD library.

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A fine giallo

Mr. Daniel P. J. O'brien | Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom | 07/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The opening ten minutes are a little rough, with an overdose of crash zooms, distorting lenses, clunky dialogue and poor model work. After the first story twist, however, the film becomes a superior giallo, worthy of comparison with Bava and Argento. Director Sergio Martino stages some strong set-pieces, displaying a visual flair only hinted at in THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS WARDH. It's possible Dario Argento saw SCORPION'S TAIL before making DEEP RED, as some scenes are remarkably similar (check out the murder in the theatre). There's even a bold female reporter, who helps unmask the killer at great personal risk. While DEEP RED is the better film, Argento owes Martino a debt or two. George Hilton is a solid lead - is it his own voice on the Italian soundtrack? - and spaghetti western regular Luigi Pistilli adds a touch of class in a rare good guy role. The plot twists are satisfying, though the photo blow-up trick was well parodied by Mel Brooks in HIGH RISK."

Conventional and padded out giallo

Trevor Willsmer | London, England | 06/19/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The most memorable thing about giallo The Case of the Scorpion's Tail is the trailer, which shamelessly compares itself to other `masterpieces on violence' such as The Golem, Battleship Potemkin and M. The film itself is fairly conventional. Director Sergio Martino admits that he padded out the first half after the film's running time came up short, and it shows: it's not until the halfway point that the film gets much in the way of energy. The Scope location photography in London and Greece is attractive and there's some amusement to be had from the terrible model work in a plane explosion or a sunglass wearing villain called Omar who looks like a hung over Charlton Heston in Touch of Evil after being dragged through a thorn bush, but overall the film is nothing to write home about.



No complaints about the DVD presentation, which offers both Italian and dubbed English language soundtrack options, a retrospective featurette, brief stills and poster gallery and that wildly over the top trailer."