Death has Blue Eyes – 1976
In the original Greek title, Death has Blues Eyes translates the “the Bomb Girl” which is actually a better title when you know what the plot is actually about. When you don’t know what it’s all about it might be a little too much information given away. And, to be completely honest I kinda like the Gialli-feeling to Death has Blue Eyes. So much that I, in fact, thought it was kinda a Giallo when I started to view it. And to some extent, it has some Giallo-vibes to it. Maybe not in the typical sense with a murderer wearing black gloves and an investigator suspecting everybody with some vague explanation in the end. But there’s something about these 70-s flicks.
This was actually Nico Mastoraki’s first feature film. It kinda shows that there is some talent involved but also that there’s more moviemaking experience needed from the director’s side. The story seems to be a bit more complex than he can handle. There are lots of scenes that don’t make any sense. The abrupt ending of dialog and scenes and suddenly something has happened in the plot that we are supposed to figure out for ourselves. Those things are quite forgiving but still something to take into consideration.
Anyway. The story revolves around two blokes that more or less hustle and grift their way through everyday life. It’s kinda amusing how there get by and how they adapt to the situation when they need to. A bit into the movie they run across these two ladies. Apparently, mother and daughter, where the daughter has some mind-reading psychic abilities. Soon the guys end up in their service by acting as some kind of bodyguard to an evil organization that wants them killed. But not everything, if anything is what it seems and let’s leave it at that.
The plot isn’t very exciting and the filmmaking doesn’t really rock my boat but there is something about Death has Blue Eyes that captures me. It’s an entertaining flick and I really donät know why it makes me feel good. Maybe it has something to do with the several scenes where women are performing topless in all kinds of situations. I know that this kind of sexualized scenes may not have been possible to record today for several reasons. let’s just say that the European film of the ’70s was a bit more liberal on that front. Maybe moviegoers have matured since then or it’s just not in demand with tits on celluloid anymore. But as a look back at the industry, it’s still fairly innocent. Long before the Me Too movement. I’m not taking any sides here. For or against topless ladies in movies. I merely point out that the film climate now has changed and that we can see this flick in a historical context.
