Don’t Torture A Duckling
1972, Italy, Directed by Lucio Fulci
Colour, Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD, Region 1, Blue Underground, Video: Anamorphic 2.35:1, Audio: Mono
Deep in rural Italy the corpse of a murdered child has been discovered, prompting the authorities to rapidly pounce on and arrest their prime suspect, the town idiot, who had an argument with the dead boy and his friends earlier. Despite the fact that he buried the body himself and prior to its discovery had anonymously requested ransom via telephone from the boy’s parents, he insists the boy had already been murdered when he found him. During this time the villagers are becoming increasingly agitated, condemning the man before any kind of trial but, while he is still in captivity, another boy is found dead effectively proving his innocence. Meanwhile a rich and bored coquette (the profoundly horny Barbara Bouchet) is seen teasing one of the boys, elsewhere a self-proclaimed witch is sticking pins in dolls that represent each of the children, a punishment for their contempt towards a burial ground sacred to her. The suspects are increasing in number, the villagers become angrier, and the police struggle to find the town’s child killer as bodies continue to appear.
Before Fulci hit comparative big time with the likes of The Beyond and Zombi 2 he meandered between genres, directing several gialli along the way. These have since gone on to achieve cult status and are among his best films, Duckling being no exception. The construction of the film as a whole appears to have been completed in less erratic circumstances than some of his later work, as much of it gives the impression of being technically meticulous with a weaving narrative and images that are regularly carefully and artistically composed. The villagers are morally questionable from the outset, eager to assault anyone that is even accused of the crime and at one point, one of the most sadistic, brutal and simultaneously touching moments of Fulci‘s career, actually beating a suspected woman to death with chains. It’s a shame about the model work at the film’s climax too as, without spoiling anything, the last death we see is ahead of its time for pure OTT nastiness but tarnished by the FX (though they were more than adequate for the early 70s). The film is aided by gorgeous locations that evoke European flavour abundantly and a sympathetic score by Riz Ortolani, a talented composer later providing distinctive and memorable tunes for Zeder, Cannibal Holocaust, et al.
Released several years ago by Anchor Bay in the US, Blue Underground recently acquired a selection of their back catalogue and have presented us with essentially the same disc again. Despite being old now the digital mastering has produced a generally pleasing image, though there is probably room for small improvement. If, like me, you had seen this for years on VHS (n’th gen.) then it’s revelatory. It’s a pity that an Italian audio track couldn’t be found but the English dub is practical enough and not distracting. The only extra is several text pages briefly encapsulating Fulci’s career. Duckling is among Fulci’s finer moments and this DVD is currently the best way to see it.