This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Morte ha fatto l'uovo, La aka Death laid an egg (1968) Giulio Questi Marco (Jean-Louis Tritigant)is a business man bored with life who is caught up in a love triangle between his wife Anna(Gina Lollobrigida), whom he married for the money and her cousin Gabrielle, a much more vibrant and younger lover. Marco's business is chickens, he runs a recently automated chicken farm and is having to be wary of the disgruntled former workers who are set on revenge. Marco is also hiding a secret fantasy, one he acts out in a local hotel on an almost daily basis, he likes to tie up the hookers that gather in the lobby and pretend to cut them up, it's a lurid fantasy but the hookers feel safe with him. He has been recently given the task by the poultry association of making poultry appeal to a wider audience and is given the assistance of an advertising specialist Mondaini (Jean Sobieski) whom he is immediately suspicious of and who it would seem has eyes for Gabrielle.Death laid an egg is a very difficult film to discuss as it doesn't follow any rules of the classic Giallo, in fact some might not consider it one at all, but it was made early in the genres history, it is also very short on plot as there are virtually no killings, blood or nudity and even the score by Bruno Maderna is a hideous thing to behold. The viewer is led to believe for a short time that the killing in the opening scene is a murder but as it turns out its just another of Marco's fantasies being acted out, as his sexual preferences are almost common knowledge, he is looked upon in society as a deviant and morally corrupt and yet as the plot develops it is clear that he is the only one with any sense of propriety, it is to some extent a modern re-enactment of the Grendel/Beowulf legend. The film as I have said is almost devoid of any plot and really centres around Marco's suspicions of his wife, his lover Gabrielle, his new assistant and the leaders of the poultry community, despite this the film is made in a psychedelic bizarre world that is handled with some very dark wit, but this may not be enough to keep the casual Giallo fan interested. Its still confusing as a film though and Maderna's score is extremely annoying, its repetitive acoustic guitar musings are very grating and only relieved by an equally manic piano version of the same composition, but strangely it fit's the film to perfection because the film is so bizarre. Dario Di Palma's photography is excellent, filmed from some odd angles this ploy adds immensely to the bizarre setting of a battery farm, there's also some stunning opening credits as the camera apparently explores the inside of an egg using psychedelic colours as filters. Another highlight is a scene involving some genetically modified chickens, needs to be seen to be believed but establishes the film firmly in the realm of the uber bizarre. The performances of the leads are all decent and as you might expect there is a surprise ending, a little abrupt perhaps, but fitting. To be approached with caution…..or a bag full of LSD.

Oooh doggy, this is one oddball giallo, well I think it's a giallo. Story features Ewa Aulin in an EXTREMELY artsy flick. Also stars Jean-Louis Treteigneaut and Nina Lollibridga, two famous and well known actors who all know how to act, so the acting is DIRECTED to be detached and unconventional. The soundtrack consists of a guy hitting keys on a keyboard in random order, camera angles come out of nowhere, and odd stuff just continues to assault your eyes. The story is about a black gloved killer and the "Association" who wants to make chickens without heads so they can be shipped off to markets in a day. My copy has some Nordic (Greek?) subs, real hard to find film, worth it just to see for the crazy editing and camera angles. You'll either love or hate, absolutely NO middle-ground. I loved it.

"Death Laid an Egg" by Giulio Questi is a wonderful giallo full of surrealism.Mark only married his wife Anna because of her chicken fortune.They run a chicken farm between the two of them.Mark has been having several affairs including one with Gabriella.Things start to complicate when Gabriella moves in with Mark and Anna.Gabriella and Mark continue their affair and plot Anna's death."Death Laid an Egg" is a psychedelic giallo that has to be seen to be believed.The acting by Gina Lollobrigida and Jean-Louis Trintignant is excellent and the score by Bruno Maderna fits the mood perfectly.So if you like weird Italian cinema give this one a look.My other recommendations:"Autopsy" by Armando Crispino and "A Quiet Place in the Country" by Elio Petri.

A fun, if more convoluted than usual, giallo. My copy seemed to end rather abruptly and with much in the air. Not sure if that was how it was supposed to end or what but nonetheless, I enjoyed it and especially enjoyed Ewa Aulin, who was quite the hottie.