France, 1968: a young child is murdered in the snowy woodland by an unseen killer, identified only the black veil covering his or her face. Four years later, the case has not been solved, and it would appear that the killer has relocated to Venice, where he/she sets his/her sights on a new target. The victim this time is young Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi), visiting her estranged father Franco (George Lazenby), a renowned sculptor whose relationship with his wife, Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg), has all but broken down. When Roberta's corpse is found floating in the river, Franco, overpowered by guilt for not having taken better care of her, sets out to apprehend his daughter's killer by himself. His investigations soon bring to light all number of unscrupulous individuals, any one of whom could quite easily be imagined to be a child killer, and, perhaps even more disturbingly, a mysterious underground cult indulging in sadomasochism and paedophilia. As the various suspects begin to drop like flies and Franco edges his way ever closer to the truth, his own life and his wife's are put into jeopardy...

When I first watched and reviewed Aldo Lado's Who Saw Her Die? (original title: Chi l'ha Vista Morire?) back in 2004, my reaction to it was rather tepid. In comparison with some of the other gialli I had seen, by the likes of Argento, Bava and Martino, it seemed decidedly muted in tone and pace, lacking the outlandish visuals that the genre has become known for. "Completely generic" was the phrase I used, in fact. It's quite amazing how much difference a year can make, and while I think it is the weakest of the three Lado films I have seen (the other two being Short Night of Glass Dolls and Night Train Murders), I now consider it to be an extremely effective giallo with more going on than meets the eye.


Aldo Lado is an interesting filmmaker, and I think that viewing his entire unofficial "trilogy of terror" has given me a greater understanding of his work and what he was trying to do with these films. He is an extremely politically motivated director, and these three films each tackle a broad theme using a fairly straightforward framework as a basis. Short Night of Glass Dolls tackled political corruption and decadence via the structure of a "buried alive" scenario, and Night Train Murders would later use the rape-revenge paradigm to illustrate the class struggle and the depths of depravity hidden within outwardly respectacle people. With Who Saw Her Die?, Lado uses the tried and trusted giallo structure to portray the effects of the death of a child on a couple. What makes this undertaking particularly impressive is the fact that the giallo is generally not associated with complex characterization or genuine empathy for characters. Lado, however, has a talent for making his characters come across as human beings rather than the usual ciphers, an ability he demonstrated in Short Night of Glass Dolls and continues to hone here.

I also remember accusing Nicolas Roeg of ripping this film off wholesale in Don't Look Now. In retrospect, this was a spurious allegation. Certainly, there are certain similarities that cannot be denied: the Venetian setting, the death of the daughter, the sex scene between the two parents, and even to some extent their appearances: perhaps I'm just looking for similarities, but there is a striking resemblance between Donald Sutherland and George Lazenby, and Julie Christie and Anita Strindberg, respectively - at least in these two films. I don't know if Roeg has ever been asked if he was inspired by Lado's film, but I would honestly be very surprised if he had never seen it. Still, I am now of the opinion that these similarities are merely on the surface, and that the actual substance of the two films could not be more different. For all its ambitions, Who Saw Her Die? is primarily a murder mystery told in a relatively conventional manner, whereas Roeg's aspirations for Don't Look Now were obviously considerably grander.


What Who Saw Her Die? does, however, it does well. As usual, Lado's pacing is slow and deliberate, allowing tension to build before the killer strikes for the first time. During the first act, he carefully sets up the suspects by having a number his characters acting towards Roberta in a somewhat overly friendly manner. There are definite undertones of paedophilia, and more than anything that is what makes this such a powerfully unpleasant film. Unlike many other directors who tried their hands at gialli, he knows the meaning of restraint, later demonstrated in Night Train Murders and also shown here. The scenes showing Roberta being watched from afar by her future assassin make for uncomfortable viewing, but Lado does not set out to titillate. It is a shame, therefore, that the overall tone is sullied by some incredibly poor dubbing in the English version, which among other misjudgements saddles Roberta with what sounds suspiciously like an adult's voice, detracting from the film's otherwise sincere approach to its subject matter.

Lado is not a particularly stylish director, at least when compared to his compatriots Dario Argento and Mario Bava, but his camerawork has a quiet sort of confidence to it, no doubt partly helped by cinematographer Franco Di Giacomo, who also shot Argento's excellent (and sadly unavailable) Four Flies on Grey Velvet. In particular, the various point of view shots of the killer, especially those that take place during the stalking of Roberta, are very atmospheric and more than a little discomforting. Ennio Morricone, who worked with Lado on most of his films, also provides one of his most memorable scores, with a main theme comprised of a children's choir. Excellent casting also plays a part, with one hit wonder Bond man George Lazenby pulling off a character who is both tough and vulnerable at once. Anita Strindberg, too, is absolutely wonderful, playing a grieving mother rather than the sex kitten types she is usually known for. As was the case in Short Night of Glass Dolls, Lado populates his film with all manner of unpleasant individuals, all of whom are played with great aplomb by a line-up of experience Euro horror stalwarts.


DVD Presentation

Of the four Giallo Collection DVDs, this is probably the best-looking of the lot, with a rich, detailed anamorphic transfer preserving the films original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The print used (the original negative?) is in pristine condition, but Anchor Bay have wisely kept their digital manipulation in check and as a result the film does look like a product of its time. There are a number of tricky scenes in the film, many of them involving running water and vast flocks of birds, but the encoder never seems to slip up and there are no visible compression artefacts. It doesn't quite have the level of detail present in Anchor Bay's Suspiria (their best transfer), but it is still an excellent effort and one that looks very pleasing to the eye.

As is the case with the other films in the collection, the only audio option present is the original English mono dub in Dolby Digital 2.0. Like Short Night of Glass Dolls, the track has not aged particularly well, and suffers from some distortion and an overall strained quality. Morricone's score, however, sounds crisp and clear. There are no subtitles. For shame, Anchor Bay!


Extras

The extras for Who Saw Her Die? follow the same format as those of Short Night of Glass Dolls, with the main feature being an 11-minute interview with Aldo Lado, entitled Death in Venice. Lado is once again more than happy to talk about his film, discussing the Venetian setting, the series of events which led to him making the film, and all the usual matters such as casting, music and censorship. He recounts some interesting trivia, including the amusing anecdote that the reason George Lazenby agreed to appear in the film was to pay off the debts he had accrued when filming On Her Majesty's Secret Service, where the expenses he had run up had been deducted from his salary, leaving him with no money.

As before, the package is rounded off by the theatrical trailer and Lado's filmography.


Overall

The majority of gialli focus either on sex, on violence, or on both. While Who Saw Her Die? features both, it is that rare example of a film of this genre that uses story rather than either of these traits as its selling point. Lado's one true entry into the genre, it may not live up to his best work but it is itself no lightweight, and remains one of the strongest gialli produced to date.

Comment on this content - sign up for a Digital Fix login, or sign in now Username: Password: Remember: Register now!