Shadows in an Empty Room

Unlike a lot of the low budget fare made around the mid to late '70s, it still holds up pretty well to repeated viewings. This isn't a fantastic movie, but it is at least watchable and features a cast that can actually act. The inimitable John Saxon, star of many a western Stuart Whitman, and even Martin Landau (Post 'Space 1999' I think) make their appearences, supported by the likes of Tisa Farrow (Mia's sister) and TV queen Gail Hunnicut (Where is she these days?). One great element of this film is the execellent music composed by Armando Trovajoli. At times, he has included themes which are a combination of classical music, along with synthesizer riffs. And the heavy bass line help to hieghten tension during the scary scenes. As someone has mentioned before, this is a mix of genres from the Italian giallo, to the usual US cop thriller. But it all seems to work well.

Methinks the over-rated Dario Argento could learn a lot from a film such as this!

I agree with Sol2118's commentary : the chase car is close in effectiveness with those of Friedkin and Peter Yates'titles that he mentioned, and I would add also the amazing one in THE SEVEN UP [Police pursuance 7] (USA 1973) directed by Philip d'Antoni with Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco. Besides, this Shakespearian plot including a murdered T.V. as "dea/deus ex machine" is directly connected with the great tradition of Film Noir. And it is Alberto de Martino under the pen-name of Martin Herbert who have done it ! In Canada, starring an incredible cast. This is enough to understand that this movie is mixing the best of both worlds : Italian "poliziotti" thriller and U.S. thrillers, at their most violent and deep backgrounds. The bank attack is amazing regarding the art of graphic cut - editing work - of violence on the screen. The final is also extraordinary. The rhythm itself of the movie is very strange and original : quite onirical sometimes and not only because there is a "flash-back" sequence shot as a nightmare. Between 44 magnum caliber and TV gang hardboiled encounter, Stuart Whitman plays a cool & sad character, a quite tragic one since it is a brother looking for his sister's murderer and learning that his sister was not at all an Angel sister (as Lautréamont said about Man in LES CHANTS DE MALDOROR), finally unveiling the darker from the dark. And as usual, of such a little masterpiece, no VHS and no DVD available worldwide except maybe the French VHS titled BLAZING MAGNUM in spite of the fact that the movie was released in France under the exploitation title of SPECIAL MAGNUM. And I agree also with the latest comment : there was, for sure, lower show on theaters than that one when it was released ! DVD soon : please !!

Now this is more like it! An Italian/Canadian 'joint' that isn't dubbed, starts with the feel of a seventies TV movie but then veers madly in tone as the film goes on, and has the distinction of being on of the few De Martino films that doesn't drag. At all!

On the campus of a Montreal college, a young man watches as his ex-girlfriend has a very public argument with her lecturer and possible lover, Martin Landau. Scheming with her, the young man and the girl later play a prank on Landau when the girl (Carol, her name is Carol) fakes being ill during a party. When she non-prankingly dies after being administered medicine by Landau, he becomes suspect number one. Unluckily for him Carol's brother is hard-ass actor Stuart Whitman, and he's a cop to boot, with John Saxon as his icy-eyed partner.

De Martino scores a winner here because he's been clever enough to have a giallo (murder, many suspects, photograph clue etc) with all the elements of a Euro-crime film thrown in for good measure. For example, when we first meet Whitman, he's too busy blowing away bad guys to answer an important call from Carol, and when he approaches the transvestite community to merely ask them if they knew any transgender mates that have been missing, it turns into a huge, random, over the top battle where people are punched through glass windows, Whitman himself nearly falls off a building, and a transvestite gets a pair of straighteners up the arse for his/her trouble!

Not content with that, De Martino also throws in a random car chase that lasts for ages too, and this time he only wanted to show a guy a photo! These two scenes make the film a lot more fun than it would have been as a straight giallo, some I'm grateful they're there.

Tisa Farrow, who would go on to some real Italian exploitation highs in a few years after this film (Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Last Hunter and Anthropophagus), gets the best scenes as the blind piano tutor who is unlucky enough to have quite a bit of the film's action take place in her apartment. This might actually be my favourite De Martino film. Well done mate!

There are 2 respected movies in the euro police movies that always shine above all the other great ones, the first one is in Fernando De Leo "La Mala Ordina", Part of his Milan trilogy films, with his extreme and fast paced chase that never let go and just keeps on going till the last brutal finish. The second one is blazing magnum's, which can be a very good lesson to all the action directors out there planing to do a one good chase sequence. There are 2 chases here, one in the beginning which is short but very efficient , and the second at the end, which you must see to believe, it got everything in it and more. I do urge you, the fans of this type of cinema to grab Blazing Magnumes if only for the chases that prove that you can do a bad acting movie with a simple thriller script, that still got some hard hitting sequences that shine overall. I can't finish without mentioning that the music is also a masterpiece in itself and it is always there at the right moment. If only Dark Sky/NoShame/Blue Underground or any other respected label will do us a favor and release a collector edition DVD, that would be fantastic!

With a great cast featuring Stuart Whitman, John Saxon, Martin Landau, AND Tisa Farrow this film glides with the greatest of ease. STRANGE SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM is sort of a cross between the Italian crime/police potboiler and your average giallo thriller. An interesting and fun blend it is. I'd rather not give too much of the film away since it's better going into it knowing next to nothing. Let's just say there's murder, mystery, car chases, blood, funky 70s music, karate-kicking drag queens, and of course your all-star cast! Have fun.