He has some films from the 70s that I like quite a bit, especially Don’t Torture a Duckling and Four of the Apocalypse . Never liked Zombie. His films in the 80s that I’ve seen are terrible. He really fell off. Even a film that has its fans – like The New York Ripper – I find pointlessly misogynistic, vile, and perhaps its greatest sin, boring.
i think he is a trash peddler that occasionally makes a stylish, if completely putrid, film, analogous to a garbo clearing out the bins in an armani suit,
few like him these days, a genre director that was actually a credit to horror.
Cat in the Brain is one of my all time favorites
@Ari, I completely agree that The New York Ripper was pretty extreme, but that’s what it was supposed to be. It’s like (and I know I might get slammed here for comparing the two) Irreversible. That film was unbelieveably extreme, but that’s EXACTLY what was spposed to be. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
@Joks: LOL!! I understand your point completely XD But still, his movies may not be the best, but you’ve got to admit, they are pretty fun to watch (with the exception of a few, of course… I mean… Manhattan Baby was DREADFUL!).
@ Dennis Brian: I agree with you totally. It’s a shame that even when Quentin Taranino tries to ressurect a solid fanbase by releasing The Beyond, it gets ignored. Shame. And yes, Cat in the Brain was indeed a classic ;)
“It’s a shame that even when Quentin Taranino tries to ressurect a solid fanbase by releasing The Beyond”
That reminds me when I saw the Rolling Thunder reissue premiere of The Beyond at the Angelika, I ended up sitting in front of Tarantino and his entourage at the screening. Yes, he was exactly as annoying as you’d imagine him to be.
Are you serious?? HAHAHAHAAAAAA I can imagine him talking through the whole thing with that annoying laugh he has!
Lol, I mean I can imagine him talking AND laughing through the whole thing!
All of the above. He’s good, bad AND ugly. But his stuff is usually very entertaining.
See, now THAT was a response I was looking for :D
Big fan of Zombie and The Beyond.
If I had to pick a favorite I’d say The New York Ripper. Zombie would be a close second, and The House By the Cemetery a VERY close third.
“@Joks: LOL!! I understand your point completely XD But still, his movies may not be the best, but you’ve got to admit, they are pretty fun to watch (with the exception of a few, of course… I mean… Manhattan Baby was DREADFUL!).”
yeah, he is fun, sure, if the mood takes me, but i don’t rate him personally. i’ve mostly stuck to his horrors though
And I commend you for it, good sir!
And I commend you for it, good sir!
Fulci fans ought to check out The City Of THe Living Dead blu-ray from Blue Underground. the transfer is great. the film will probably never look better.
Judging from his early Giallo , Italian sex comedy The Eroticist, and Zombie in particular he can be brilliant and stylish.
Contraband is one violent mobster flick- I love the ending too.
I haven’t seen Contraband :O
Fulci is fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.
^ exactly!
I was really into Fulci when I was younger, but kind of outgrew him. I’d figured I’d seen his good stuff (there is some) and the fun bad stuff already and I got tired of unwatchably bad stuff. I just watched Demonia a later work movie of his, and this thing was a great bad movie; it’s like a Tim & Eric remake of The Beyond or The Church, and it deserves some attention.
It’s got other killings that equal that one, Fulci himself wandering around as a cop in his Uncle Junior glasses, Fulci regulars like Brett Halsey, Al Cliver, and annoying kids, and some “Hey-A! Dont-A play around-A the old-A Church-A!” Sicilian villager dubbing. This is a true underrapreciated cheese classic, and coming from Lucio Fulci, that’s saying something.
I love Lucio Fulci. Most of his films have some awesome shots of 70s New York. I really dig Manhattan Baby despite its rep as a lesser Fulci, its got a lot of interesting shots and the actor Chris Connolly is like a more bad ass Harrison Ford.
His westerns are interesting, The Four of the Apocalypse is like the most gory spaghetti western Ive seen. Massacre Time has an interesting plot and Franco Nero.
I haven’t seen his any of his Comedy movies, which I hear is one of his best works nor Have I seen Beatrice Cenci, which I also hear good things about.
The Beyond and Zombi are the most popular and are both great. City of the Living Dead is another favorite. Manhattan Ripper is very sleazy and goofy, I watch it for the old NYC locations. Its ridiculous, perhaps making it the grind house movie, a definite favorite on 42nd back in the day. The Black Cat has a great soundtrack and isnt as bad as IT is made out, I rather watch Black Cat over New York Ripper.
Fulci worked in a lot of genres and his work demands more attention
Have only seen a handful so far, mostly from the 80s, which range for me from great (“The Beyond”) to fascinating (“Conquest”) to interesting (“House of Clocks”) and partly interesting (“Demonia”). Seems to be one of THE great surrealist filmmakers in cinema history. And I have yet to see a bad or uninspired film from him (and I’ve seen some supposed stinkers). I’m always looking forward to more Fulci!
CONQUEST
god i love that movie, even if it is, in just about every objective respect, pretty terrible. but it’s so EARNEST about it and refuses to do anything by half measures, while constantly just running off on bizarre idea jags — why NOT smear the lens with vaseline for the entire shooting schedule? — that i can’t help but get a kick out of it.
‘The Beyond’ is putrid… A truly horrid movie…
‘House By the Cemetary’ and ‘Zombie’ have their issues, but are strong horror vehicles nonetheless.
Placed alongside Italian horror contemporaries such as Argento and Bava (I know that this comparison is unfair, being that the only thread that links them in any real way is nationality…their films are too dissimilar in content), he is second rate. However, he DID work with much smaller budgets and less talented collaborators than those two.
In the end, Fulci can’t be dismissed entirely, for he directed the fantastic ’Don’t Torture a Duckling’. In content, it is unlike anything in his entire filmography, and would be a staggering achievement for ANY horror/giallo director.
I LOVE Fulci’s films. Don’t Torture a Duckling is a fav.
Conquest is such a badass movie I fucking love it!
Maurice Lee
As a horror movie fanatic, I’ve had the pleasure (and sometimes the displeasure) of watching all the horror movies I could. It doesn’t really matter. Good. Bad. Makes no difference to me. The films of Lucio Fulci in particular have always stuck with me, and I’m proud to declare my love for the late director. From his giallo classic A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (which Ennio Morricone did the music for, somewhat suprisingly) to the infamous Zombie (or Zombi 2, or Zombie Flesh Eaters, or Woodoo, OR any other alternate titles there have been) and beyond. Personally, his films have been an inspiration to me as an aspiring film maker, and a definite guilty pleasure (or maybe I just love extreme gore in films THAT much… is that weird?), but maybe it’s not the same for any of YOU. So, what does the general consensus say, huh?