PERVERSE TITILLATION: A HISTORY OF EUROPEAN EXPLOITATION FILMS 1960–1980 By DANIEL G. SHIPKA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 © 2007 Daniel G. Shipka 2 To all of those who have received grief for their entertainment choices and who see the study of weird and wacky films as important to the understanding of our popular culture 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I’d like to thank my committee, Dr. Jennifer Robinson, Dr. Lisa Duke-Cornell and Dr. Mark Reid for having both the courage and stomach to tackle the subject matter in many of these films. Their insistence that I dig deep within myself made this work a better one. To my chair, Dr. Bernell Tripp for her support and laughter, I am indebted. I’d also like to thank the University of Florida and the College of Journalism and Mass Communication for giving me the opportunity to complete my goals and develop new ones. I am very fortunate to have had two wonderful parents that have supported me throughout this process as well as my life. This work would not have been possible had both my mother and father not allowed me to watch all those cheesy horror movies when I was younger! I’d also like to thank my friend Debbie Jones who has stood by my side for 25 years watching and loving these movies too. The doctoral process can be a difficult one; I would like my partner in crime, Dr. Nadia Ramoutar for being my anchor with her spirit, humor and strength. I not only received a degree from UF but a lifelong friend. Finally, I’d like to thank Dr. Steve Smethers for his support, intelligence and love throughout this process and throughout my life. I would not be the person I am today without his strength and his generosity. 4 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy PERVERSE TITILLATION: A HISTORY OF EUROPEAN EXPLOITATION FILMS 1960–1980 By Daniel G. Shipka August 2007 Chair: Bernell Tripp Major: Mass Communication European Exploitation or ‘Eurocult’ films have left an indelible impact on popular culture around the world. Focusing on subject matter that many of the major film studios shied away from, Eurocult films helped a generation of worldwide audiences deal with the rapidly changing social and political landscape that occurred in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The effects of that these films have has also reached out to later generation with modern filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro achieving success by paying homage to the genre. With the advent of DVD, Eurocult is enjoying a renaissance, with films long unseen now available in unedited, original versions, released and sold in special editions that are both popular and profitable. Directors and other filmmakers, long unappreciated, have only now begun to receive respect for their daring creations. Looking at the films of Italy, Spain and France from 1960 to 1980 that dealt with sexuality, violence and 5 monsters both real and imagined, we see the changing social and political morays that chronicled a particular time in world history as well as seeing one of the first examples of a cross-cultural, integrated communication process that has become commonplace in today’s international media saturated world. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………….….4 ABSTRACT……………...………..…….……………………………………………..5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………9 2 ITALY……………………………………………………………...……………………………….34 Genre Beginnings……………………………………………………………………40 Foreign Distribution…………………………………...……………………………43 The 60s Gothic Style………………………………………………………………..46 It’s a Mondo World…………………………………………………………………66 The Giallo…………………………………………………………………………..75 The 70s: Sex and Sadism…………………………...………………………………92 “We Will Eat You” The Zombie and Cannibal Film……………………………….95 The Devil Made Her Do It: Satanic Possession and Nunsploitation……….....…..113 Sexploitation Italia Style……………………………………..……………………115 3 SPAIN……………………………………………………………………………………………..122 Gritos en la Noche: Genre Beginnings………………………………...…………121 Jess Franco: El Maestro…………………………………………………………..131 Werewolves, Vampires and Frankenstein, Spanish Style: Paul Naschy……...….171 Spanish Nightmares Exploitation 70s Style……………………………..………..184 4 FRANCE………………………………………………………………………………………….197 Grand Guignol et Les Yeux’s: Genre Beginnings…………………………………201 Les Pensées de Sang, The Cinema of Jean Rollin………………………...………210 Le Sexe Terrible: Exploitation French Style in the 70s………………...…………230 5 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………….247 APPENDIX A FILMOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………….255 7 B LIST OF REFERENCES………………………………………….…………………………267 C BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH……………………………………………….……..277 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The European film industry has had an indelible effect on both world cinema and popular culture. Works by such filmmakers as Fellini, Goddard, Bergman, Rossellini, Truffault and Antonioni are considered classics by film scholars and critics and respected worldwide for their cinematic genius. They’ve also influenced culture and reflected the times in which they were made. Their socially provocative themes whether it’s the tearing down of neo-realism of L’avventura (Italy, 1960) or Jules et Jim (France, 1962), the turning point in the battle of censorship and self-expression as showcased in La Dolce Vita (Italy, 1960) or breaking down the barriers of sensuality and opening up new, more adult styles of entertainment which was accomplished in Jag ar Nifiken, (I am Curious Yellow, Sweden 1967). European film has brought a unique and refreshing perspective that Hollywood and other international film companies could not have duplicated in the mid 1960s and 1970s. These critically acclaimed “high-brow” films have been universally by critics and scholars accepted as pioneering examples of quality cinema. However, these quality films were not the only examples of European cinema that were saturating the U.S. market. During the socially turbulent times of ‘60s and ‘70s, another type of European film was being introduced to world moviegoers, the Euro-horror and exploitation, or “Eurocult”, film. Images of horrific monsters, blood-drooling decaying zombies, sadistic Nazi frauleins, and naughty lesbian nuns filled the screens to the delight and shock of many fans. These scandalous films would become as popular as the “high-brow” art films of 9 new wave European filmmakers and has proven a long lasting legacy that continues to affect today’s movie going audience. Between 1960 and 1980, Eurocult movies saturated the American drive-ins and local theatres. This, in turn, had a huge influence on a new generation of modern filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, 2003, 2004, Grindhouse, 2007), Brian De Palma (Dressed to Kill, 1980, Blow Out, 1981), David Cronenberg (Dead Ringers, 1988), William Freidkin (The Exorcist, 1973), Zalman King (The Red Shoe Diaries, 1992) and Ridley Scott (Alien, 1979), all of whom have incorporated aspects of European horror and exploitation in their films. This cinematic homage is perhaps responsible for the recent explosion of interest in this genre. With the advent of new media technologies like DVD, Eurocult films are enjoying a renaissance, with films long unseen now available in unedited, original versions, released and sold in special editions that are both popular and profitable. Films such as Just Jaeckin’s L’Histoire D’O (1974), Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1976), Lucio Fulci’s Zombi (1979) as well as such lesser known films as La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono (known in the United States as The House with Laughing Windows, 1976) and La Novia Ensangrentada (The Blood- Spattered Bride, 1972) are currently lining the shelves of American video stores alongside top Hollywood titles. The time period between 1960 and 1980 was one of great social changes when censorship and social battles were raging around the world, European film producers reacted to these changing social mores by creating a myriad amount of different types of exploitation movies that reflected the attitudes of this turbulent time. Italian murder mysteries with strong sexual and violent themes called “giallo” became popular 10 worldwide and started a sub-genre that included more than 200 films. These films, the precursor to the American “slasher” movies, focused on the exploitative aspects of social life and reflected a discontent with Italian society.1 Spanish and Italian cannibal films and their zombie counterparts were also big exports. These films’ nilhism reflected a growing lethargy to consumerism and grew out of the bloody iconography of the Roman Catholic Church.2 They were also some of the most violent films in the in the entire exploitation genre. In addition to zombies and slashers, Spain and Italy produced a staggering number of “nunsploitation” films, which featured nuns indulging in sinful–– and often murderous––acts, as well as ‘devil possession’ films, which all signified discontent with traditional religious institutions.3 Spain produced a series of movies utilizing the familiar monsters of the 30s (Frankenstein, Wolfman, etc.) that were modernized and reflected the failings of everyday men. France incorporated strong doses of sexuality and eroticism into their exploitation films.4 As a result, local film industries took countries social norms and exported them to