Deadly Sweet (1967)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Well, Eva Aulin is certainly delicious and Jean-Louis Trintignant is sympatico as is usually the case, but the film in its entirety suffers from a poor script and from the director's misguided whimsy.Trintignant visits his partner's office, up the stairs from a dance hall, and discovers Aulin standing over the body, holding a gun, saying she didn't do it. Trintignant takes a second look at seventeen-year-old, blond, robustly figured, ex-Swedish-beauty-contest-winner Eva Aulin and quickly decides, "Right, she couldn't have done it." He runs off with her to search out the REAL killers, and we are treated to a tour of swinging London's most-visited sights. Here's Picadilly Circus. See all the skin shops? And, look -- here's a poster of The Beatles! There's also a kind of zoo. There are small shots of one of Trintignant's eyes. It gets confusing. I think they copulate on top of Nelson's Column but I'm not sure. I AM sure they copulate in Trintignant's apartment in a scene that is all apricot and rose and consists of unidentified hands caressing unidentified body parts. I guess Brass forgot to include the softly billowing crimson drapes and the lighted candles. When somebody hits someone else over the head, there are Pop inserts of the sounds, as in the old Batman TV series -- POW! and ZLONK! I've only seen three or four of Tinto Brass's movie but I'm already able to discern a kind of stylistic arc through the murk. In this film, the earliest of his that I've seen, he appears to be doing everything possible to draw attention to himself as the director. (The screen splits into three separate scenes at one point.) And the relentless use of pop imagery is symptomatic. Hey, look! Mamma mia, I'm inna movies!In a somewhat later film, I think called "L'Uolo," about a handful of people in a surrealistic hotel, the narrative is thrown out completely and we get one bizarre image after another -- no longer just pop, but a kaleidoscopic non sequitur that carries no weight at all after the first few shocking minutes.Finally, Brass found his metier, in the no-man's land between soft-core and hard-core porn. The stories in this later genre aren't original. Usually a bourgeois wife is bored with her marriage and finds a lover who introduces her to, well, a different kind of love. It wasn't original with "Emanuelle" either, or "Lady Chatterly's Lover," for that matter. I'd guess that the theme was first introduced to a public audience somewhere back in time, past Aristophanes, into the Masques, into the mists of antiquity.Of the three phases of Tinto Brass's career, I prefer the last one, the one with the preposterous, prodigious, prosthetic penises. At least there, the director seems to have found a comfortable and satisfying niche.The Italian title, "Col Cuore in Gola," means "With Heart in Throat," but the English title is as much a puzzle as the movie itself. "I Am What I Am." Is it from Yahweh or Popeye? I've been told this is a "cult movie." I wonder what a cult movie is.

When I see Tinto Brass, I think of Cheeky and Salon Kitty. T&A features, not traditional giallo. I am willing to be surprised.You are going to be reminded by a current jail occupant in Orlando, Fl, who was dancing the night away after her daughter went missing. The children. Jane (Ewa Aulin) and Jerome (Charles Kohler) Burroughs, in this film are in a nightclub right after they visit their father in the morgue. Guess death can't interfere with life.Bernard (Jean-Louis Trintignant) discovers her with his dead partner and takes her away.They go looking for the killer. It's not as bloody as most giallo, and there is no nudity to speak of, but it is worth watching. It had an almost comic book air at times, and the music was definitely upbeat.The cinematography was outstanding on this print and really made it worthwhile.

Just saw this tonight uncut on the big screen here in Hollywood. Visually very nice. But not really a giallo, I don't know why people keep calling it that. There is a murder which basically occurs off-screen and has almost nothing to do with the "story." Virtually no violence, some eyebrow-raising sex, obviously inspired by Antonioni, et al. Little story, lots of avant garde/graphic style, references to Pop-Art/Lichtenstein, comics, "Blow-Up" and other movies/the Viet Nam War/other issues of the day. Nice visuals/editing/soundtrack (which was remarkably clear in the print I just saw, supposedly soon to be out on DVD). At times notably innovative and fresh. A bit of a surprise ending. Wandering narrative, quick cuts, lots of color and gritty flair. Swinging London backdrop. In b/w and color.

A rather unusual agenda from tinto brass who obviously found later his niche in "t&a" movies. Col cuore in Gola is a psychedelic, pop art giallo that can just come from the great era of the late 60´s/70´s. Starting from the nice credits and music you immediately like this film and this is just the beginning! Trintignant founds in a nightclub a corpse beside the lovely aulin who just says "i wasnt it" Convinced that she is innocent he wants to help her and want to find out the murderer, Aulins brother should solve this case and both are searching for him. Though not quite without problems..a dwarf in raincoat is following them in companion with some gangsters who kidnap Aulin. Jean is now searching for aulin, aulins brother and (of course) the murderer. The Story itself is not that convincing (rather unimportant) but what here is really of interest is the unconvential style of brass : splitscreen(even tripple split screens!) some scenes in black and dark yellow filter and more.., and in the "middle" of course the presence of two very convincing leads: cool Trintignant and hot Ewa Aulin. (somehow priceless here in white fishnet stockings) the result is a quite good giallo with (obviously) strong references to pop art. In the same year Aulin and Trintignant appeared in the avantgarde giallo masterpiece "Death laid an egg", Col Cuore in Gola is not great as Giulio Questis film but is definitely entertaining.