The Fifth Cord

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.

Excellent giallo, with just a touch more of the thriller about it than is usual. Direction is assured, camera-work innovative and exciting with all the performances solid, especially the charismatic Mr Nero. The killer does not restrict themselves to women here, for a change, and has a go at men women and children. Fast moving and most entertaining with no pause for any ponderous detective work. Super stylish with amazingly spacious apartments, swirling staircases and contemporary concrete and glass splendour of late 60's Italian architecture. Last but by no means least a lovely understated but truly effective and sparingly used Morricone soundtrack. It's not a lot more than the same enigmatic theme repeated with various orchestrations but it helps the work enormously, as does the splattering of what sound like industrial music and also the silences, especially for the murders, no crashing crescendo, simply unnerving silence. A fave.

The Fifth Cord does not get the respect it deserves among the all time great Giallo films. It's directed quite well with some very beautiful cinematography as all good Giallo's should have.

The acting is of course not the greatest in the world and it takes some time to begin to like(or dislike the characters)

There are some excellent kills in it as all Giallo's must have. The soundtrack is a bit goofy but isn't that part of what gives these particular movies their appeal.

In a nutshell no The Fifth Cord is not the best Giallo you will ever see and is not even director Luigi Bazzoni's best although he does have a short career I still think if you give it a chance and are a fan of the genre you will agree it is actually a fairly good movie.

Sit back and take a watch you won't be disappointed.

Excellent Cinematography & Music. Story is lacking, maybe in the English Translation.

This is the same director and cinematographer who made Footprints on the Moon, excellent movie.

This movie also has great cinematography and the directing/editing is a fine job. Music is good as well. The acting is good. But the story is lacking. Maybe the story is lost in the English translation. Best suspense is when the killer was going after the kid. It's a good thing the kid didn't get killed, that would have been bad, and sick! Maybe in the original Italian, the story holds up better. And maybe some graphic scenes were cut out for the English release. If so, then this is a great film, and great production. But as it stands I can only give it a C, or B -, 6 stars. Worth checking out for the camera work.

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.