BY DARREN ALLISON
It’s
perfectly fair to describe Mario Bava as something of a maverick; he is after
all, an Italian director from the golden period of Italian horror films. Much
is attributed to Bava, some even label him as the man responsible for launching
the giallo film genre and in particular the entire sub-genre of the slasher
movie.
Ecologia
Del Delitto (Bay of Blood) is also regarded as one of the very first slasher
movies. It was Bava’s 24th theatrical film as director and as such he
was confident in both his style and technique. Ecologia Del Delitto is arguably
one of Bava’s most violent films and featured some graphically bloody murders. The
film also boasted a strong international cast led by the beautiful French
actress Claudine Auger, best known for her role as Dominique in the James Bond
film Thunderball (1965). The film also featured Italian actress Laura Betti,
with whom Bava had enjoyed working with on Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1969).
By
the time Ecologia Del Delitto appeared, Italian composer Stelvio Cipriani was
well adapted to the thriller score. Ecologia Del Delitto was the first of three
projects that teamed both Cipriani and Bava, the second being Gli orrori del
castello di Norimberga (Baron Blood) 1972) and lastly Cani Arrabbiati (Rabid
Dogs) (1974). Whilst all three scores have been previously released on the
excellent limited edition Digitmovies double CD from 2005 ‘Mario Bava Original
Soundtracks Anthology Volume III’ (CDDM046), the Chris' Soundtrack Corner
expanded score is fully worth the upgrade. In addition to the 37 minutes of
music previously released, the CSC release contains 11 new tracks. Christian
Riedrich explains, ‘Eleven bonus tracks of about fourteen minutes total length
are added to this album, seven of which are previously unreleased, these
include alternate takes, "wild" recordings, or edited mixes of
original takes extended by looping the music and thus doubling the length of
the track in order to offer a better listening experience. The cues are not
sequenced in film order but have been placed in an order that we believe
provides an optimum listening experience of the music apart from the
film.’
Cipriani’s
score works extremely well. There is a great deal of emphasis on percussion,
tribal drums in particular are used to provide an uneasy, atonal quality which
conjures up a genuine sense of foreboding. Yet, in listening to Cipriani you
can pretty well guarantee you’re never too far from a beautiful melody. Cipriani
seems to possess a unique ability in mixing the two styles seamlessly. Listen
for his excellent ‘lounge’ version of the main title, and you’ll be transported
to a silky soft, heavenly place via an ever so slightly threatening layer of opening
strings... it’s a perfect example of equilibrium and it works deliciously well.
This
newly released and extended edition of Ecologia Del Delitto has been
beautifully produced by Christian Riedrich and newly mastered by Stefan Betke. The
CD is accompanied by a 16-page illustrated booklet designed by Aletta Heinsohn
featuring detailed and exclusive notes by film music journalist Randall D.
Larson. If I had one minor gripe, I would have possibly put some of that stronger
artwork to better use for the cover illustration. The powerful poster image by
Spanish artist Jano would have pressed all the right buttons - but perhaps this
was hampered by copyright limitations. Nevertheless, it certainly shouldn’t put
you off, as Cipriani’s music remains the domineering factor.
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