NoShame Films is one of the greatest genre DVD companies out on the market right now. They haven’t been around long, but every disc that I’ve seen from them has had nearly flawless, incredibly clear picture (which is tremendous considering they specialize in releasing obcure films from the 1970s), and has had unique extras and a booklet that is of a higher caliber than the expected traditional DVD fare. Enter the newest addition to the NoShame library: The Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set, a two-film and one music CD package that is arguably NoShame’s best release yet.
For those scratching their heads in confusion, Luciano Ercoli is an Italian director who worked on obscure films in the ‘70s. NoShame’s Box Set collects two of Ercoli’s giallo films: Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight. Both films are tremendously trippy, colorful 1970s murder mysteries (and I don’t mean of the variety that are solved thanks to meddling kids and a talking dog) that for the most part share the same cast and contain everything you could ask for in a giallo: drugs, dames, crime, relentless violence and gore, gratuitous sex and nudity, and of course, murderous flesh-piercing perverts. Though both films get extremely cheesy at times (particularly during the fight scenes, which are choreographed horribly enough to put World Wrestling Entertainment to shame), the cheese does bring about a bit of charm. I mean, what would obscure ‘70s Italian movies be without cheese?
The cinematography in both films adds a big-budget feel to them and provides beautiful eye candy to just about every shot of High Heels and Midnight.
The direction in both films is exactly what you’d expect from ‘70s Italian films: the shots consist mostly of close-up zooms. Many shots, however, utilize the sets creatively and bring about very intriguing visual effects. In other words, it’s hard to look away from either of these films.
The High Heels disc contains the film’s original Italian and English theatrical trailers, and a poster and still gallery, while the Midnight disc contains a TV version of the film and a poster and still gallery. To round out the package, there’s the expected “collectible booklet”, but there’s also one of NoShame’s best exclusive extras yet: Love & Death, a superb “best of” CD full of tracks from Stelvio Cipriani, the composer of Death Walks on High Heels.
Bottom line: if you love obscure cinema, Italian cinema, movies from the ‘70s, or giallos, you need to pick up The Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set, and you need to start paying attention to NoShame Films. I have a feeling this company will be satisfying your preferred cinema taste for a long time to come.
-Spooky Steve
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
