ricco - tragic ceremony

THE FLICKS: Two or three years ago the DVD market was flooded with enough Italian imports to keep even the most rabid fan of gothic horror, giallo, poliziotteschi and soft-core porn satisfied. But things seem to have dried up recently, which means Dark Sky’s two new releases – Tragic Ceremony and Ricco the Mean Machine – are a welcome return to the Spaghetti ghost stories and tasteless revenge flicks that we so recently took for granted. A workhorse in his native country since 1942, Riccardo Freda is best known to the enlightened for directing The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock featuring Euro-starlet Barbara Steele. Produced in 1972, Tragic Ceremony comes at the tail end of Freda’s professional career, just as the failure of the “peace and love” generation had become inevitable. Both events are a major influence on the film, which tells the story of a group of hippies who weather a storm in a gloomy country estate. Unfortunately, the Lord of the manor (Luigi Pistilli) has plans to sacrifice one of their number, Jane (Camille Keaton), as part of a black magic ritual. The group escapes. But interrupting the ceremony results in a violent bloodbath that the evening news compares to the Sharon Tate murders; naming the hippies as public enemy number one. However, the law isn’t their only problem, as a supernatural force takes its vengeance one by one. Fuzzy and unfocused, Tragic Ceremony’s status as a rare cult item can likely be credited to the mid-film carnage, with special effects by Carlo Rambaldi (yes, the man who designed E.T. got his start splitting heads). Coming out of nowhere, it truly is a striking sequence – almost part of an entirely different film (and so is Stelvio Cipriani’s melodramatic score) - with one particular deathstroke repeated ad nauseam for maximum effect. However, as with most of the film, there’s no explanation provided for the massacre and Freda relies on the dream-logic so prevalent in other films of the era (like Mario Bava’s Kill, Baby, Kill and Lisa and the Devil) to carry us through. This works up to a point, but Freda doesn’t have a tenth of Bava’s visual instincts and soon the story rushes to a reincarnated conclusion that explains everything in one convenient psychological diagnosis courtesy of actor Paul Muller. But for all its faults, Freda’s film is not without sequences to recommend it. Jane’s midnight stroll through the castle is a gothic wet dream of cobwebs, candelabras and wispy curtains. This old-fashioned approach finds its counterpoint in Rambaldi’s grand guinol make-up effects, which are anything but subtle (except for an excellent shock effect of a decomposed face near the conclusion). A bizarre blend of gothic scenery and Last House aesthetics, Tragic Ceremony is probably best compared to John Hanock’s Let’s Scare Jessica To Death released just the year before. Both films serve as a cinematic gravestone for the ideals of the ‘60s, whose dreams of peace, love and understanding proved to be just as illusory as the ghosts onscreen. Ricco is another animal entirely. One of the countless Godfather-inspired crime movies that swept across Italy (Arthur Kennedy’s bad guy is even called Don Vito), director Tulio DeMicheli’s particular entry is blessed with the presence of Christopher Mitchum, son of legendary Hollywood actor Robert Mitchum, who shares his dad’s droopy-eyed “don’t f*** with me” glare but little else. At about 6 foot 5 inches, 160 pounds and sporting a wardrobe straight outta Scooby Doo, Mitchum is about as intimidating as plate of wet spaghetti. But his attempts at acting, along with the film’s over-the-top nudity and violence, make for an enjoyably campy experience. Kinda, sorta pledging vengeance after the death of his father (he never fully commits until everyone else around him is dead), Ricco applies some heat to Don Vito by breaking into his place, roughing up his boys and stealing the weekly collections money. Teaming up with the naughty niece of an old associate, the two use guerilla tactics to mess with the organization, whose failed members are tossed in an acid bath at the local soap factory. But it all comes down to a warehouse shootout, with Ricco’s old flame held for ransom and all sorts of family honor on the line. Ricco may very well be the perfect example of Italian cinematic excess. Blood, boobs and Austin Powers “judo-chops” punctuate the story to the point where the experience becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Mitchum’s embarrasing fight scenes, Barbara Bouchet’s foggy roadside striptease and a one unforgettably graphic castration sequence elevate Ricco to an entirely new level of tasteless entertainment that’s wonderful to behold. THE FEATURES: Both films sport nice transfers and the usual mono soundtracks. The credit sequence of Tragic Ceremony is a little rough, but it recovers nicely afterward. Dark Sky also sweetens the pot with a couple of featurettes on each title. For Ricco, producer David Gregory puts together a great interview with Christopher Mitchum, covering the actor’s early career alongside John Wayne (which got him blacklisted) and his rebirth as a Spanish superstar. For Tragic Ceremony, star Camille Keaton talks about her European successes and growing up in Italy. The packaging for Ricco claims it includes a still gallery, however it’s MIA on the disc. Instead, both films feature swingin’ theatrical trailers.