There’s no need to argue if Death Has Blue Eyes is Giallo or not. Giallo as we’ve learned refers to the yellow covers they gave mystery novels in Italy. And Death Has Blue Eyes has plenty of mystery with a plot that keeps revealing things you could have guessed until you were psychic. The movie starts out like it’s about a couple of dirty rotten scoundrels scamming their way around Greece, but turns into international espionage thriller. Even with such a twisted twist, Death Has Blue Eyes maintains it’s Eurotique joys.
When Robert Kowalski (Oorlogswinter‘s Peter Winter) wants to visit his buddy Ches Gilford (Dress Your Flesh With Desire‘s Hristos Nomikos), he doesn’t buy an airplane ticket. He hangs out in the airport and rips off a guy going to the bathroom. Remember these were the days when you didn’t need 12 forms of ID to fly the friendly skies. When he arrives in Greece, Ches picks him up. The two aren’t done with their idenity theft as they grab the victim’s limo and checks into his hotel. Things get complicated when they try to scam lunch by billing it to their room. Turns out they pick the number of two ladies eating at a nearby table. Geraldine Steinwetz (The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie’s Jessica Dublin) is an older woman who is up to something. Christine Steinwetz (Maria Aliferi) is a girl with something special. She can read minds which is how she keeps track of Robert and Ches. What’s Ches doing in Greece? He’s the kept lover of an older woman. But she’s on vacation so Ches has hired a maid who prefers to only wear an apron and doesn’t mind giving personal service to guests in the rotating circle bed. When the old lady comes home, she’s not happy with his new maid. The duo hit the bricks until they get pulled into Geraldine and Christine’s world that’s being rocked by assassins on motorcycles.
Death Has Blue Eyes is pure Cinemax After Dark magic. It’s the perfect mix of action and sensuality. There’s so much going on in 80 minutes. Even when there’s weird asides like one of the characters hitching a ride with a woman in a race car that ends with a hot time at her place, it just feels like part of the weirdness. The car and motorcycles chases don’t look like low budget experiences. Writer-director Nico Mastorakis knew what he was doing when invited us to Greece to watch Death Has Blue Eyes.
If you want to have a Giallo and Gelato night with Death Has Blue Eyes, we recommend you try Greek Yogurt Gelato with a touch of lemon.
The video is either 1.85:1 anamorphic or 1.33:1 Fullscreen. Both transfer bring out the details of life in Greece. The audio is DTS-HD MA mono. You get a great mix of gun shots and the jazzy soundtrack. The movie is subtitled in English.
An Interview with Maria Aliferi (17:49) catches up with the psychic. She talks about how she trusted working with Nico Mastorakis even though the producer was notorious for making carnal features to distribute around Europe. She was hosting Greece’s version of Hollywood Squares. I want to see Athens’ version of Paul Lynde.
Nico Mastorakis (In His Own Words) (24:43) starts out with a big surprise so don’t let him know what’s there until he sees it. Nico has a bit of fun as she goes into how he put together his first feature film after after a career in Greek television.
Dancing with Death (42:03) is the soundtrack as composed by Nikos Lavranos. The music really adds a lot to the film.
Trailers include the Theatrical Trailer (2:25) that sells the action with the car chases and the Extended Trailer (3:32) sells the gun play, psychic weirdness and the romance.
Images (4:10) includes production photos, press photos from England when Tigon released the film, newspaper advertising, VHS box and posters.
Arrow Videos presents Death Has Blue Eyes. Directed by: Nico Mastorakis. Screenplay by: Nico Mastorakis. Starring: Jessica Dublin, Maria Aliferi, Peter Winter, Hristos Nomikos, Thom Arahovas, Maria Elise Eugene, Gerard Gonalons. Running time: 80 minutes. Rated: Unrated. Release date: April 6, 2021.
