'Tis Pity She's a Whore

Family drama concerning the love of a brother, Giovani, for his sister, Annabella. At first Giovanni tries to reject his feelings but through the efforts of Annabella he soon finds himself in her arms and her in his bed. Unfortunately Annabella is promised to wed Soranzo by her father, and as with all great sagas of love and lust, revenge soon raises its ugly head as the sordid saga heads towards its bloody finale.

This is one of the great unknown treasures of cult cinema. I'm looking forward to when an appreciating audience finds this challenging Italian costume drama and it is given the DVD SE treatment it deserves. This fabulous movie, based upon the stage play by John Ford, is directed with an eye for the beautiful, bizarre and tragic by director Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, stunningly photographed by Vitorrio Storaro, beautifully scored by the great Ennio Morricone, and contains ravishing costumes, authentic locations and stunning sets, not forgetting muscle bound men, buxom women and Charlotte Rampling looking absolutely gorgeous.

This is the kind of film Jess Franco would have made if he had any talent. Indeed, for anyone who enjoys cult movies and/or Italian/European trash cinema of the late sixties/seventies this film offers it all. The ending is a corker, one that the makers of Caligula would be envious of.

NB: Tis Pity She's a Whore was released to video by Redemption in the UK in the mid nineties. Wisely they chose to release it in widescreen and used a nice print. No longer available.