CINE CITY

E tanta paura (Plot of Fear) is the second Italian style thriller directed by Paolo Cavara, after he directed La tarantola del ventre nero (Black Belly of the Tarantula) in 1971. The thriller theme of the film, based on a story by Bernardino Zapponi, who wrote for Dario Argento Deep Red. The script which was written by Zapponi and Enrico Oldoini along with the director, moves in the direction of detective genre films, which during that period were being made in Italy, mainly based on the adventures of “ruthless” police officers. However, Cavara based his main character, Gaspare Lomenzo, an officer at the Police Headquarters in Milan, played by Michele Placido, on completely different characteristics with respect to those created by his colleagues who were making films of the so-called “detective” genre.

The realism of the character and his way of relating to others has nothing to do with the mono-dimensional aspects of other characters in the law enforcing environment who were portrayed in films during that period. Cavara took inspiration from the Americans, creating a credible character, who was very kind-hearted and very different to other legendary and heroic characters.

E tanta paura was produced by CPC Città di Milano, a company which wanted to create a film industry in the north of Italy during the latter half of the eighties —in addition to Cavara's film, this company also produced two other interesting noir films, Gli amici di Nick Hezard (Nick the Sting) by Di Leo and Uomini si nasce, poliziotti si muore (Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man) by Deodato—, and the cast includes Placido, with his understated and well-executed performance, matched by the characterizations by Eli Wallach and Tom Skerrit, while among the female actresses, Corinne Clery deserves a mention, who had reached international success with Histoire d'O (The Story of O).

DVD FEATURES Widescreen Version English and Italian audio options Optional English subtitles