A New Luigi Bazzoni Essay, by Yours Truly

Virna Lisi in Arrow Video's THE POSSESSED.

The folks at Arrow Films & Video recently invited me to write for their website an introductory essay to the films of Luigi Bazzoni, whose THE POSSESSED (La donna del lago, 1965) and THE FIFTH CORD (Giornata near per l'ariete, 1971) are being released on Blu-ray today under their banner, both here in the States and the UK. I was happy to oblige, and the resulting essay "Rediscovering Luigi Bazzoni" is now live here.

By the way, DVD Beaver's Gary Tooze wrote a splendid review of THE POSSESSED today which you can read in full here. In brief, he says of the film: "THE POSSESSED masterfully combines film noir, mystery and giallo tropes, whilst also drawing on the formal innovations of 1960s art cinema (particularly the films of Michelangelo Antonioni). A uniquely dreamlike take on true crime, THE POSSESSED is presented here in a stunning new restoration."

I was especially pleased to read these generous words about my audio commentary: "I keep thinking how good certain commentaries [are] when I am indulging in them - and then I hear one from Tim Lucas - and realize he is the most-prepared and best with subtle analysis, multiple connected-film references and a calm, settling voice in reflecting minute details of the production. His comments about THE POSSESSED are no exception. A pure pleasure to listen to and a great addition to this package.”

(c) 2019 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.