hwg1957-102-265704 A series of murders occur with the only link between them being a glove which has a finger cut off. A reporter gradually tracks down the killer who may be someone he knows. He himself is a suspect but he is dogged in his investigation. It's a fair giallo with the familiar plot device of someone who murders several times to hide the fact they really want to kill just one person in the death toll. (Agatha Christie for one). It's also a bit confusing as it first appears the killer is killing for the sake of it (breathy sinister narration) when in actual fact they have a real motive. The meaning of the glove is obscure too. As often in giallos the end explanation is far too rushed. The cast are fine. Franco Nero makes a hero who is brave but is also a bit pathetic, particularly when drunk. The film benefits greatly from having the legendary Vittorio Storaro as cinematographer and the equally legendary Ennio Morricone providing the music score. They lift the film greatly.

GL84 After a rash of strange murders, an alcoholic reporter attempting to mend his relationship with his family finds himself drawn to solve the mysterious killers' identity only to discover that doing so may put more than himself into the target of the killer's rampage.This is quite the accomplished if still slightly downbeat offering. When this one works, it's mostly due to the rather impressive and outright gorgeous technical work here, which rather than just being decorative are far more useful in the scope of the film. The first attack, where the killer strikes the couple in the deserted tunnel along the highway features some utterly impressive work of the lone figure walking inside being utterly dwarfed by the size of the opening being a tiny speck inside the massive structure and we follow them walking along inside to discover the body of the first victim, the elaborate scene of the drugged victim crawling on the floor attempting to reach a ringing telephone is a grand suspense sequence that features a strong pay-off where the killer strikes unexpectedly and the stellar stalking sequence of the lone victim in the park at dusk makes for an elaborate showing where the dizzying nature of the killer striking and leaving them disoriented which makes for an utterly chilling sequence. The highlight stalking in the finale works as well with the idea of going after a child before going into the stellar chase which is what makes for a thrilling overall finale. What even makes this fun is the fact that there's more of this kind of work outside the stalking scenes as this gets carried over into the usually flat and functional dialogue scenes where we're treated to much more involved and elaborate setups for the scenes in his house talking with his wife or mistress, the fun of him threatening his bosses which is quite striking as well as the sensuous and charged scene set in the nightclub where the silhouetted bodies are seen first before the nude bodies are identified and they begin their lovemaking. This all helps to wrap this one up in a really elaborate package for a stellar murder- mystery that's far more engaging than it really should, bringing about some tense moments as he realizes the true nature of the culprit and tries to stop the rampage which does get somewhat confusing at times yet brings about a rather strong and engaging final half as all the pieces come together in fine form and injects some life into the proceedings. These here are what make this enjoyable enough to hold out over it's few minor flaws featured here. The biggest issue is the fact that the films' attempt to make the killer somewhat hard to guess gives this some rather inane and illogical ideas to decipher, going from the idea of all the deaths taking place at the specified dates to the astrological connection and how it all ties together to make him unravel, making for a rather messy plot line here. Likewise, without a whole lot of violence or gory kills here this one does become rather bland and formulaic here when it doesn't have any kind of stellar deaths to focus on. However, these aren't necessarily crippling flaws overall and it does have a lot to like.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language, Nudity, a sex scene and children-in-jeopardy.

fred-83 A stylish, atmospheric giallo. Great score, great locations, superb cinematography by the great Storaro. The story, however, is quite muddled, but here, the mood makes up for that to a large extent. The cheesiest moments are the killings, where the cinematography jarringly becomes quite sloppy and day/night continuity goes out the window. This film makes me more curious about Luigi Bazzonis Footprints On The Moon/Le Orme, which I came across on VHS in a second-hand store many years ago. I was intrigued by the cover and the summary on the box, but I stupidly did not buy it. Regretting that the day after, I went there again and it was gone. Now my hope lies with Blue Underground, may they soon release it on DVD. Back to The Fifth Cord, its interesting to watch the blocking of some dialog scenes. What could easily have become, in a lesser director and cinematographers hands, simple crosscutting between two talking heads, here often becomes beautifully composed wide shots, sometimes with a dolly, sometimes static, using the rooms, spaces and architecture in a very cinematic way, and with great variety of the framing. A great lesson for aspiring filmmakers.

astonmartin7 Any fan of 1970s Italian Giallo films has seen enough of them to know what to look for, but, of course, everyone sees something different in art. We all know about The Cat o Nine Tails (cool as hell) and Deep Red (bloody amazing), but some lesser-known Gialli have been available for re-discovery courtesy of Blue Underground and Shreikshow labels.One of the better ones has to be The Fifth Cord starring Franco Nero. For me, the number one thing in these films is not plot points but ATMOSPHERE. This film not only has the great Franco Nero as its protagonist, but is brilliantly shot by Vittorio Storaro. Also, the director knows what to show most of the time, and when and how to show it. The finale is set in one of those funky 1960s European open concept homes with the stairwell to the second floor in the middle of the living room and a huge fireplace fit for Cortina! The kind of films we don't see any more, unfortunately. Without these DVD releases, we'd be stuck with a lot of modern would-be thrillers involving cell-phones and teeny-boppers.