Search - The Maniacs on DVD

An Odd Entry In Lucio Fulci`s Early Film Catalog...

4-Legged Defender | ATL. GA. | 01/29/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An even odder fact is that this film is a comedy, making it an aberration on all counts, if you`re familiar with the films Fulci was remembered/praised/chastized for (Perversion Story, The Beyond, Don`t Torture A Duckling, Zombie, The Eroticist, and the classic Woman In A Lizard`s Skin - these are his best works). This 1964 B+W comedy is a series of vignettes that captures Italian society at that time period pretty well, and has a soundtrack by the ubiquitious Ennio Morricone. The cover shows Barbara Steele as the star, but that`s just to capitalize on her familiarity to the American market to help boost sales, she`s only in 2 segments for a total of about ten to twelve minutes, tho she does make a contribution to the film. Some of the segments are funny, silly, sly or sarcastic, some fall short altogether. If you`re a fan of 50`s/60`s Italian cinema, it`s worth checking into, but I can`t see Fulci fans enjoying this one at all. You decide based on these disclosures..."

Crazy again

C. McGhee | Hutchinson,Ks. | 01/31/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This little gem is a spoof of sex & Italian life. If it wasn't done tongue in cheek people might rightly get offended but here fun is not being poked at but rather played on the whole of humanity. Stereo types abound & get stretched to the limit. The director Lucio Fulci obviously knew his subject matter & plays it well.

Barbra Steele (the Queen of Horror) stars in this & is very much at ease in this farce. She is as ever strikingly beautiful. This is a good bet for light hearted laughs.

The show is done in varying segments & none need to be skipped as each stands well on its own. My disc was unedited. 4 Stars."