Tre passi nel delirio (Spirits of the Dead 1968)

Louis Malle's second section is a much more compelling story. The student of French lit. may recognize the many gambling scenes from the 18th C. (Diderot's Bijoux Indiscrets) and the 19th C. (from Baudelaire's Tableaux Parisiens). Moreover, the tight scripting is reminiscent of Belle de Jour (in form if not in content) and poof! the second eerie story (which Poe may well owe to Dostoevsky's short story/novella The Double) is over and despite a slightly weak ending, you are shaken!

Which is as anyone approaching the final story should be. This is dystopic, nihilist theatre at its best. While certainly some of Fellini's traditional themes/images are evident (paparazzi, tragically and _almost_ unbelievably unfulfilled people, and gaudy overpainted women) this segment is an orgiastic zero which filled me with disgust and awe. In some ways, this is the section that is both the most cinematically impressive and the most repugnantly ego-centric. Poe did not live in the time of Ferrari's, airports, televisions and escalators, and yet this 'videodromesque' segment is squarely set in the 1970s. On the other hand, the Ferrari substitutes nicely for a horse, and melting TV screens will work as substitutes for Poe's affected prose. Since Poe was, after all, a drunk who was received much better in Europe than in the U.S. (believe it or not), I think Fellini remains largely on target.

Together, the three combine to make a very good psychological horror film with virtually no blood. (Only Malle sheds blood on screen in his story, if you except the possible corpse at the beginning of Vadim's segment) Check this one out. I doubt it will make you fear your neighbor, but it might make you fear Fellini!

Summary: three stories that work well together
flippo
Date: 4 August 1999

Cast overview, first billed only:

Brigitte Bardot .... Giuseppina
Alain Delon .... William Wilson
Jane Fonda .... Contessa Frederica
Terence Stamp .... Toby Dammit
James Robertson Justice .... Countess' Advisor
Salvo Randone .... Priest
Françoise Prévost .... Friend of Countess
Marlène Alexandre
Peter Fonda .... Baron Wilhelm
Marie-Ange Aniès
David Bresson
Katia Christine .... Young Girl
Peter Dane
Georges Douking .... du Lassier
Philippe Lemaire .... Philippe

Read about this film

Writing credits: Daniel Boulanger (24 January 1922, Compiègne, Oise, France)
Country: France / Italy
Language: French / English
Color: Color (Eastmancolor)
Runtime: 121 minutes