Best movie ever!

Admirable film.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

For those of you sitting with their trousers round their ankles and a Kleenex nearby waiting for Edwige - she don't turn up until half an hour into the film.Sergio Martino once again proves he actually might be the master of the giallo by presenting us a film that mixes in the gloved killer of babes standard plot with the late sixties plot of rich folk fighting over money with a bit of Gothic Horror mixed with a whole lot of domestic abuse for good measure. Plus: Edwige Fenech! Anita Strinberg is the bitter, abused wife of drunken novelist Luigi Pistilli and often suffers from his violence and humiliation, mostly in front of a bunch of hippy jerks from a nearby commune. Luigi has recently lost his mum and is a bit messed up about it, even though local folklore has her as a whore who loved to receive expensive jewellery from her lovers. Luigi also likes to get it on with his black maid and a young chick from the local bookstore.Further troubles to add to Anita's miserable life is the black cat that Luigi owns called Satan, who constantly follows Anita around and attacks her, plus the sickle wielding murderer who is now slashing his way through the female cast. Worst still, Luigi's niece Edwige Fenech turns up as a randy hippy! Look out Luigi! And Anita! And the local delivery guy! I forgot to mention Ivan Rassimov, who is hanging around staring at things and has white hair, which is never explained.This is a very well handled film that balances Luigi Pistilli's madness and violent abuse of Anita with a giallo plot (which is solved well before the end!) plus other elements of the old 'inheritance' plot. It's not overly violent but Edwige Fenech adds to the sleaze with her everything goes character, and I'm sure Luigi never regretted 'mashing her paps' as it were.There's much more going on here than I'm letting on. Martino seems to grasp what folks want from a giallo and duly provides, but it's his next film that almost reaches perfection, which is the film Torso.

Decent movie. But the story was all over the place.I watched "All the Colors of the Dark" yesterday, same director, which had excellent cinematography, lighting, sets, editing, acting and music. This movie, "Your Vice …" does not have all that. Both movies lack in the story department, but with decent production it elevates the viewing and entertainment.Luigi Pistilli acting as the dirtbag husband was great, and most of the acting was fine here.The version I saw was had dubbed in English and it was not very good. It may be better with subtitles.It is an entertaining movie. But the story is all over the place.Rating is a C, or 6 stars. Worth checking out.

This might probably be my favorite Sergio Martino film. I just catched this yesterday and it's absolutely terrific. A wonderful combination of Martino's previous "Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" and Poe's "The Black Cat". It's more along the lines of a Hammer Horror film, with brooding Gothic atmosphere and suspense that will keep the viewers on the edge of their seat all the way to the heart stopping climax. The film also counts with a haunting score by Bruno Nicolai, as well as the presence of Edwige Fenech who, again, seems reluctant to keep her clothes on for at least 3 minutes. Still, it is Anita Strindberg who steals the scene as a traumatized, hysterical housewife, and her lesbian love scenes with Edwige doesn't hurt either. Overall, 9.5 / 10 for me. Absolute classic.

This is the third giallo from director Martino that I've watched, after THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH (1970) and TORSO (1973); I still need to catch up with THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL (1971) and ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK (1972), which I hope to be able to do soon.Very loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's oft-filmed "The Black Cat" (though rarely, if ever, faithfully), the film includes a lot of the typical elements associated with the genre – convoluted plot, damsels-in-distress, serial killer (actually killers, since one is thrown in as a red herring), dogged police inspector, as well as healthy doses of sex and violence, naturally. However, there's also an unusual emphasis on characterization here and a general amorality which make it stand out (that said, this digression from the norm resulted in lesser box-office receipts than usual and, consequently, the film was virtually neglected for 30 years!). The plot twists come thick and fast (particularly at the climax) – the ironic ending may be overly familiar by now but, then, it's one of the few things that remain of the source material! Production values, modest though they may be, help considerably in creating a generally disquieting mood – odd angles, a gloomy central location, good score (by the ever-reliable Bruno Nicolai), disorienting editing (notably repeated quick cuts to the peering eyes of the black cat, even more effective after it has been blinded in one of them!).The cast includes several genre stalwarts: Ivan Rassimov (in an unflattering silver wig) isn't in any way stretched by his all-too-brief appearance as a mystery man; sexy Edwige Fenech – sluttish and conniving – is belatedly introduced into the proceedings but gets a meatier role than usual here. However, the acting honors go to the two nominal leads – Luigi Pistilli as the washed-up author with a mother complex who's also given to alcoholism, decadence (in the form of wild parties as well as extra-marital affairs with much younger girls, including niece Fenech!) and contempt for wife Anita Strindberg; he's matched by the latter, though (whereas she's usually merely a decorous presence in such films), with her insecurity (being easily swayed into a lesbian relationship with Edwige who, together, plot the death of Pistilli a' la LES DIABOLIQUES [1954]) and pathological fear of her husband's pet feline (leading to her viciously attacking it with a pair of scissors, an instinctive reaction which eventually seals her own fate).This film has been given a variety of lurid titles (alternates include GENTLY BEFORE SHE DIES and EXCITE ME); unsurprisingly, its makers opted to exploit the giallo angle rather than the Poe name (adaptations of his work are pretty rare in Italy though, at least, three more versions of "The Black Cat" followed Martino's – all made by equally noted directors – and, in fact, one of them came hard on the heels of this viewing!). The extras on the No Shame DVD complement the main feature nicely: there are trailers for four other titles in their "Sergio Martino Collection" (though, curiously, not one for this particular entry!), a photo gallery, and a booklet containing an essay on the film as well as bios for Martino, Fenech and Strindberg. Above all, however, is an exemplary 23-minute featurette compiling separate interviews with Martino, Fenech (who says that Quentin Tarantino reminded her recently that the film offered the actress her first 'bad girl' role – this isn't the case, actually…but, then, she'd probably rather forget her notorious encounter with a goat in TOP SENSATION aka THE SEDUCERS [1969], a sexploitationer-cum-thriller co-starring another venerated starlet of the period – Rosalba Neri!!) and co-scriptwriter Ernesto Gastaldi (surely one of the most important figures of the so-called "Euro-Cult" style, having probably dabbled in every possible genre that could fall under this broad tag).