Bezenby
I am required by law to mention that this film is similar to Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now, made a year later. So that's that out of the way. Who Saw Her Die begins in the French mountains with a red-haired girl being murdered by what looks like an old woman wearing a black veil. We then kick in with Ennio Morricone's outstanding soundtrack made up of a child's choir and harpsichord – a far cry from twangy guitars and harmonicas! I should note here that this soundtrack woke my daughter up and freaked her out from two rooms away! In Venice, skinny sculptor George Lazenby is happy that his daughter Roberta has come from London to visit him, although it's clear by her absence that things aren't going too well with his wife Anita Strinberg as she's stayed behind. Worse still, an old woman in a black veil stalking the kid and seems determined to murder her, which happens while George is banging his mistress. George is distraught and blames himself for his daughter's death, leading him on an obsessive quest to find the killer, which will lead him down sleazy avenues involving the rich and powerful in Venice. This being a giallo, the killer gets wind of this and tries to eliminate some of the witnesses
Even though it's not a top tier giallo, this film is still worth a watch due to the misty Venice location shooting, Morricone's creepy soundtrack, and the acting talents of Adolfo Celi, who here, like in the film Eye of the Labyrinth, can seemingly change his mood and personality with subtle facial expressions and posture. The mystery isn't that hard to solve if you've watched a few of these films, but that's not going to put anyone off, is it?Why are Lazenby and Strinberg so thin though?
gridoon2018
Wow, looking at George Lazenby here, you wouldn't believe that merely three years earlier he had played James Bond! With his worryingly skinny body, his unkempt hair and his "porn mustache", he looks as if he was deliberately trying to distance himself as much as possible from the image of Bond. The film itself is a well-made but slow and diffuse giallo; there are sporadically effective scenes (mostly the stalkings and the killings), but the Lazenby's investigation is not as gripping as it should be, and the ending may strike some viewers as a cheat, because the killer is a character who is barely in the film! The on-location shooting in Venice and Ennio Morricone's extraordinarily weird score help; the traditionally poor English dubbing doesn't. **1/2 out of 4.
lastliberal
You might be inclined to watch this just to hear another brilliant score by Ennio Morricone. Of course, it is available on CD, if you can find it.You might tune in to see George Lazenby, who did a turn as James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and also did Universal Soldier between that film and this one.Or maybe you just want another lecherous look at Anita Strindberg (Women in Cellblock 7, Your Vice Is a Locked Room, A Lizard in a Woman's Skin). There is also Rosemarie Lindt (Salon Kitty) and Dominique Boschero (All the Colors of the Dark) Enjoy.More than likely, you are a Giallo lover like I am and, even though this isn't the best one available, it is still worth the time.
Vomitron_G
Gripping giallo with slightly more disturbing themes than we're used to. Mainly because little girls are being killed here, as well as there seem to be decadent sex-sessions going on amongst a group of selected adults. Apart from the opening scene, this movie takes place in Venice, but doesn't exactly extol this romantic city. Director Aldo Lado prefers to portray a city in decay, showing us several rundown buildings where some of the chase scenes take place and a sleazy cinema-theatre as well as drawing out some perverted characters. The sometimes sloppy editing and grainy cinematography help in giving this movie a raw feeling. Ennio Morricone's score is pretty haunting. The main theme has a children's choir singing creepy chantings. Though that theme is over-used more than a bit too much, it never misses its effect. There was just one disappointment, though: this was the third time in a giallo-row that I guessed, very early on in the movie, who the killer was... Oh well, it's still a decent and disturbing giallo. Certainly worth it if you're a fan of the genre.
AD
