The Laughing Woman – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1969
Director: Piero Schivazappa
Writers: Paolo Levi, Piero Schivazappa, Giuseppe Zaccariello
Cast: Philippe Leroy, Dagmar Lassander, Lorenza Guerrieri, Varo Soleri, Maria Cumani Quasimodo, Mirella Pamphili

Release Date: February 8th, 2022
Approximate running time: 90 Minutes 7 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"In this deliciously twisted pop art extravaganza, Dagmar Lassander plays Maria, a woman employed in the press office of a large philanthropic organization run by the stern Dr Sayer. One Friday she visits his house to collect some journals. She accepts a drink from him and the next thing she knows she is chained to a metal frame in a room bathed in a sickly red light. Sayer tells her she is now his prisoner and he can do anything he likes with her - even kill her.

What follows is an astonishing game of cat and mouse, as Maria uses all her skills to stay alive, while secretly exploring Sayer's weaknesses. As the story progresses we start to see the characters in a very different light. Is Sayer the demonic psychopath he claims to be? And is Maria really the innocent victim?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Brand new 4k transfer from film negative”.

The Frightened Woman comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.7 GB

Feature: 17 GB

The source used for this transfer looks excellent; colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are solid throughout.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with two audio options: a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio mixes are in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and Stelvio Cipriani’s score sounds robust. Included with this release are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track. It should be noted that the English language track has one line of dialog in Italian and this dialog comes with English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include the Mondo Macabro’s Promo Reel, English language theatrical trailer (1 minute 39 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Italian theatrical trailer (3 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), an animated photo-novel by Jacques Spohr with music from the film playing in the background, a video essay on the film's production design from film critic Rachael Nisbet (24 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Piero Schivazappa (32 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles) and an audio commentary with film critic Kat Ellinger.

Summary:

The Laughing Woman is part of a movement of films from the late 1960's exploring domination, bondage, and sadomasochism. The narrative revolves around a character named Dr. Sayer and his sadistic fantasies that he forces upon unsuspecting women. When his latest victim cancels on him at the last moment, he uses a chance encounter with a woman named Maria to get him to invite her to his home.

From its opening moments, it's clear that what lies within is going to be a visually stunning film. Besides exquisitely framed compositions, many of which are overflowing with symbolism, Another strength of The Laughing Woman is its pop art production design. And not to be overlooked is Stelvio Cipriani’s extraordinary score, which perfectly sets the mood.

Though there are a few minor characters, performance-wise, there really are only two main characters: Dr. Sayer and Maria. And these two characters are flawlessly portrayed by Philippe Leroy (The Possessed) and Dagmar Lassander (The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion). Philippe Leroy does a great job of conveying his characters' compulsion to dominate. And Dagmar Lassander delivers a multifaceted performance that’s arguably her best. Also, Dagmar Lassander never looked more alluring than she does in The Laughing Woman.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where The Laughing Woman does not excel. The premise is superbly realized, and this is a tension-filled narrative that does a great job of building momentum. Standout moments include a scene where Maria prances around a room while wearing a mini skirt and see-through cloth that covers her upper torso, and a scene in the pool with editing and music that has a spaghetti western vibe as the characters inch closer to each other.

The Laughing Woman is a film that’s filled with twists and turns. With its poetic justice finale, it provided an exceptional coda to the events that had unfolded. Also, though sexual fantasies are at the forefront of The Laughing Woman, to write it off as a sexploitation film would be doing it a great disservice.

The Laughing Woman gets an excellent release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer