Così dolce... così perversa (1969)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Massimo D'Avak (story)
Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

31 October 1969 (Italy)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Giallo | Female Nudity | Part Of Trilogy | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Carroll Baker	...	Nicole Perrier
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Jean Reynaud
Erika Blanc	...	Danielle Reynaud
Horst Frank	...	Klaus
Helga Liné	...	Helene Valmont
Ermelinda De Felice	...	Hotel proprietor
Giovanni Di Benedetto	...	Monsieur Valmont (as Gianni De Benedetto)
Irio Fantini	...	Party guest
Dario Michaelis	...	Police commissioner
Renato Pinciroli	...	Porter
Gianni Pulone	...	Press photographer
Lucio Rama	...	Party guest
Paola Scalzi	...	Helene's friend
Luigi Sportelli	...	Party guest
Beryl Cunningham	...	Black stripper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marcello Bonini Olas	...	Party guest (uncredited)
Alessandro Tedeschi	...	Uomo della commissione (uncredited)

Directed by
Umberto Lenzi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Massimo D'Avak		story adaptation
Ernesto Gastaldi		screenplay
Luciano Martino		story

Produced by
Jacques-Paul Bertrand	....	producer
Mino Loy	....	producer
Luciano Martino	....	producer
Sergio Martino	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani

Cinematography by
Guglielmo Mancori		(as Memmo Mancori)

Film Editing by
Eugenio Alabiso

Art Direction by
Franco Bottari

Costume Design by
Giovanni Naitano

Production Management
Vittorio Galiano	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fulvio Barresi	....	assistant director

Other crew
Ilde Muscio	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Zenith Cinematografica
• Flora Film
• Tritone Cinematografica
• Cedic
• Rapid Film
• Bercol Films (in co-production with)

Distributors

• Variety Film Production (1969) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Brentwood Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Societé Cinématographique Lyre (2006) (France) (all media) (sales)

Also Known As:

Si douces, si perverses (France)
So Sweet... So Perverse

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (1971) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Zenith Cinematografica

Trivia:

Second part of a trilogy also including Orgasmo (1969) and Paranoia (1970).

Movie Connections:

Features Der Golem (1915)

Soundtrack:

Why

One of Lenzi's best Giallo's!

Umberto Lenzi Giallo's range in quality from sublime to trash, but his earlier genre entries tended to be the best; and So Sweet...So Perverse is certainly at the higher end of Lenzi's Giallo achievements. One of the trademarks of Giallo is a high dosage of sex scenes; but despite the fact that this film has the word 'perverse' in it's title; So Sweet...So Perverse is actually not all that perverse at all, especially not by Giallo standards. Rather, the film focuses more on the plot details than perversity, and it just about serves it well. Italian directors were famous for ripping of successful films from other countries, and the plot here is clearly lifted from the French classic 'Les Diaboliques'. We focus on a couple with marital problems; Jean and Danielle. When Jean hears a woman screaming in the upstairs apartment one day, he immediately decides to investigate. There he finds Nicole; a woman frightened of her boyfriend Klaus. The pair soon begin to fall in love, but it later transpires that this was just a trap set to snare Jean...

So Sweet...So Perverse is a classy little thriller and much unlike later Lenzi Giallo's such as Eyeball, almost everything about the film is well done. The film benefits from a good cast, which feature early Lenzi muse Carroll Baker in the central female. Baker's role here initially appears to be a lot like her role in the earlier 'Orgasmo', but she soon gets to switch to a more interesting character. Baker is joined by the sexy Erika Blanc, and like most Giallo's with two sexy leading women; the pair do get to get it on, although you shouldn't go in expecting a full blown lesbian sex scene. Jean-Louis Trintignant rounds off the cast, but isn't given as much to do as the ladies. The plot does get a bit slow at times, but the film never slows down to the point of becoming boring. The second half is much more exciting than the first as that is when the plot gets into full flow. When the twists start to come into play, So Sweet...So Perverse really is an intriguing thriller and unlike many Giallo's, this one also features an ending that wraps most of the plot up nicely. This film is highly recommended to Giallo fans!