(334) GOLDEN NIGHT (1976) French Giallo with Klaus Kinski
4833DVD
original
French title NUIT D'OR [Golden Night]
director:
Serge Moati
starring: Klaus Kinski · Bernard Blier · Marie Dubois ·
Jean-Luc Bideau · Charles Vanel · Anny Duperey
This
film contains one of Klaus Kinski's best performances [albeit essentially
unknown, even to genre fans]. Here, he plays a complete, fleshed-out character,
rather than simply walking through yet another more familiar "extended
cameo" appearances which represented so much of his '70s work. Plus
his performance is complimented by an exceptional supporting cast of great
French personalities.
Arguably,
the impact of this film is probably due more to the charisma of Klaus
Kinski than the talents of director Serge Moati (although an accomplished
filmmaker, he is better known for his TV documentaries). Mr Moati seems
to have said: "Klaus, this is the character, run with it and make it your
own." In the role of the villain, Michel Fournier, Kinski towers over
this movie, dominating every scene he's in [and that is most of them].
In fairness,
this surreal French Giallo isn't concerned with telling a cohesive story
and - as a result - it is open to multiple interpretations. Many critics
(including most everybody writing for the IMDB) say it's "about a
maniac driven to suicide by his family but survives to kill them one by
one through voodoo." Yes. There appears to be a voodoo angle here:
the villain does send voodoo dolls with death threats to various family
members. But there's also a more predominant theme about some kind of
mysterious devil cult with the participants living in Fournier's home.
And, frankly, murders seem to be relatively few. Rather, the story follows
Michael Fournier - the victim of a failed assassination attempt - as he
obsesses over a little girl [who may or may not be his daughter], kidnaps
her and threatens to take her life.
A
French Film, with optional ON/OFF English subtitles; widescreen,
uncut (80 min.), in DVD format,
encoded for ALL REGION, playable on any American DVD machine.
Extras include selected theatrical trailers
Graphic
Violence/Nudity/Sexual Brutality
For Mature Audiences
