R.I.P. Adam Yauch

Reasonably late, we would also pay some attention to the death of a Beastie Boy. After all, this is the first update since May 4, the date of MCA’s unfortunate death. And while critics may argue if it’s necessary that the Avenue – largely a film blog – should pay tribute to a deceased rapper, there are two reasons why it is appropriate: 1) the Avenue occasionally devotes a lot of attention to music and 2) there is a noteworthy link between the Beastie Boys and a cult movie. Their video for Body Movin’ is an ode to a movie by one of the Avenue’s favourites: Mario Bava is the director of the schlocky joy that is Danger Diabolik. In the olden days, VJs would take some time to draw your attention to this, but this is the 2010s and music channels hardly play any videos. Therefore, by way of tribute to the deceased MCA/Adam Yauch, here’s the video for Body Movin’ back to back with the trailer for the movie. Rest in peace.

And now the (American) trailer:

Primal Scream go giallo

Yes, the brand new Primal Scream video (for “Can’t Go Back”) is a tribute to the giallo genre, an ode to Bava, Argento and the others. Well deserved, giallo. And thank you, Primal Scream.

(With thanks to Moon in the Gutter, where I discovered the video)

The Girl Who Knew Too Much

It’s no wonder so many novels by Vladimir Nabokov were made into movies. After all, we are talking about the man who once said: “If you don’t admire all the colours when you are outside, there is no point in becoming a writer.” The same goes for watching a movie by Mario Bava: he was a genius at composing colourful movies.

La Ragazza che sapeva troppo (1963) is a black-and-white movie. There are no colours to admire, apart from the variations in grey. Is it still a good movie? Yes. While colours add that little bit extra, it’s just the bit that makes a good movie excellent.

In Ragazza we follow Nora, an American girl who goes to Italy to visit her sick aunt. There she witnesses a murder, or so she thinks. There is no body to be found and, only moments before the murder, Nora had been attacked by a thief.
As we follow her on her journey to the truth, it becomes clear why the European title (a literal translation from the original Italian title, La Ragazza che sepeva troppo) is The Girl who Knew too Much. This is the Bava version of a Hitchcock movie, a case study for Bava’s later gialli.

If you’re American you should look for the DVD of La Ragazza che sapeva troppo. The video version, called The Evil Eye, is a pretty different American cut of the same movie. This cut makes the movie more confusing and the soundtrack is different too.

If we forgive Ragazza for being a bit too sketchy at times, we are left with an intriguing puzzle, with a movie that wants to show beauty in almost every scene, with a few scenes that’ll remain in your head for at least a few months. in short, with a very good movie.
Letitía Román is so intriguing it looks like she is having an affair with the camera.
There is no reason why you shouldn’t be the voyeur.

No, to finish off, here’s a scene from the movie: