What Have You Done to Solange?

[antnield]

From director Massimo Dallamano, cinematographer on both A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, comes giallo classic What Have You Done to Solange?, the debut feature of actress Camille Keaton (I Spit on Your Grave).
A sexually sadistic killer is preying on the girls of St. Mary’s school. Student Elizabeth witnessed one of the murders, but her hazy recollections of a knife-wielding figure in black do nothing to further the police’s investigations. Why is the killer choosing these young women? And what does it have to do with a girl named Solange?
Also starring Cristina Galbo (Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue) and Fabio Testi (I Spit On Your Grave), What Have You Done with Solange? features all the hallmarks of classic gialli – the amateur detective, the black-gloved killerl – as well as a lush score from Ennio Morricone.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

- Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original Italian and English soundtracks in mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Newly translated subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- Brand new audio commentary with critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
- Newly filmed cast interviews
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by MALLEUS [www.malleusdelic.com] (to be revealed)
- Booklet featuring brand new writing on the film, illustrated with original stills

[starmanof51]

Was just poking around for a reasonably-priced copy of the OOP Shriek Show DVD last night, glad I walked away.

[carmilla mircalla]

Oh my god.... Dream come true for me, no question. My favorite giallo and so well photographed... This is great news

[tenia]

I remember one of the extras on the French Neo Publishing DVD where one member of the movie (the screenwriter ? I dont remember) says something like "yeah at the time, we didnt realise the script is borderline pedophile".

[nolanoe]

Uuh, that is a good one, yeah. Remade, I think, for the german Edgar Wallace series later on (which did not spoil its ending for me, as the two are just completely different films).
Will be interesting.

[Alphonse Tram]

Also starring Cristina Galbo (Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue) and Fabio Testi (I Spit On Your Grave),

Fabio Testi was in I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE? I certainly don't remember this!

[carmilla mircalla]

I remember one of the extras on the French Neo Publishing DVD where one member of the movie (the screenwriter ? I dont remember) says something like "yeah at the time, we didnt realise the script is borderline pedophile".

Hahahahahha that's a pretty big thing to overlook.

[tenia]

I remember one of the extras on the French Neo Publishing DVD where one member of the movie (the screenwriter ? I dont remember) says something like "yeah at the time, we didnt realise the script is borderline pedophile".

Hahahahahha that's a pretty big thing to overlook.

I know, that's what made the interview all the more funny because they genuinely seemed not to care at all at the time.

[TMDaines]

Jesus, Arrow, well played.

[Lost Highway]

Uuh, that is a good one, yeah. Remade, I think, for the german Edgar Wallace series later on (which did not spoil its ending for me, as the two are just completely different films).
Will be interesting.

It wasn't remade, it was the penultimate film to get a release under the Rialto Edgar Wallace series in a heavily cut version in Germany. There it got distributed under the title of the Edgar Wallace novel Das Geheimnis der Gruenen Stecknadel/The Secret of the Green Pin, with which it had nothing in common.

What Have You Done to Solange ? was a German co-production and co-starred Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Baal, two regulars of the Edgar Wallace films. The German Edgar Wallace movies predate the giallo and were a strong influence on the Italian genre.

[nolanoe]

That is so strange, as I am very sure I saw a different version at one point...
Either way, fantastic film. Curious that it was released in the series.

[zedz]

A nasty but stylish film - which is indeed cluelessly pro-pedophile in a ridiculously incidental way:

SpoilerShow

in that the hero is a teacher engaged in a sexual relationship with a student, but nobody seems to think there's anything creepy about that, and this relationship has no bearing on the crime / mystery plot beyond being an extramarital affair that needs to be covered up.

The real gold on this disc is the interview with star Karin Baal, who to this day is dismayed with her involvement in the film and lets rip again and again. So many DVDs are awash with mealy-mouthed "one big happy family" testimonials that it's refreshing to see an actor talk about a production that they really hated, and she is hilariously comprehensive in her trashing of the film, ranging from the sleaziness of the crew and co-stars, the trashiness of the script, the laziness / incompetence of her fellow actors, the terrible decor of a particular set, right down to various continuity errors in the finished product. Great stuff!

[David M.]

^ I love that stuff too, for all the reasons you mentioned. Such a nice alternative to the whitewashed Hollywood way!

[domino harvey]

SpoilerShow

Isn't it revealed that he didn't actually sleep with the student? At least in the English dub

I thought this film was completely dreadful and saw no positive attributes in it, so I'm sympathetic to anyone badmouthing it in the extras, but I didn't bother to dig too deep after watching and immediately selling it

[Altair]

Michael Mackenzie's extensive visual essay on the film I must thoroughly commend, one of the best on disc extras I've come across in a long time, with a sure grasp of the film's context and with some persuasive analysis. His film on Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is also equally good; what I particularly appreciated was that clips weren't restricted to the film itself (as video extras usually are), but a whole host of other films which made it far more incisive and illuminating.