DOUBLE FACE (1969) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: RICCARDO FREDA / SCREENPLAY: RICCARDO FREDA, PAUL HENGGE / STARRING: KLAUS KINSKI, CHRISTIANE KRÜGER, GÜNTHER STOLL / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Sold to the German market as a krimi and in Italy as a giallo, Riccardo Freda’s Double Face has elements of both but plays mainly as a for-its-time somewhat lurid thriller. After meeting on holiday, John (Klaus Kinski) meets and marries the wealthy Helen (Margaret Lee) and the two set up home together, Helen installing John at the company she owns. John is initially blissfully happy but Helen grows bored and openly flaunts her affair with a female friend. When Helen dies in a car crash John is despondent, but soon he begins to suspect Helen didn’t die in the accident at all. Or it could be that forces are conspiring against him to drive John mad.
Double Face is a serviceable thriller, with inspired moments of direction by Freda, art design and performance to commend. Kinski in particular is great and at his most restrained here, conveying John’s desperation and turmoil with the flicker of an expression. There are some seriously dodgy special effects early in the film that serve only to damage it but it recovers to deliver a satisfying ending.
The version presented here is the full-length Italian version and it’s restored in 2K. Those flashes of brilliance from Freda, along with some gorgeous costuming and sets, have likely never appeared as sharp as they do here, with deep and rich colours. The extras kick off with a commentary from author and critic Tim Lucas. He starts off by addressing that when putting the commentary together he didn’t know what version of the film he would be commenting on as such decided on an audio essay approach rather than scene specific commentary. This actually makes for a refreshing change as Lucas has as usual done a huge amount of research and it makes this a track well worth your time.
There’s a lengthy appreciation by Lovely John of composer Nora Orlandi’s career and work on this film. In addition to this, a newly filmed and substantial interview with Orlandi herself makes this release an easy recommendation for her fans. Author and critic Amy Simmons provides us with a most enjoyable visual essay on Freda’s Gothic horrors and gialli that highlights his important place in Italian genre cinema and will have you seeking those films out (for the first time or to revisit) to explore more. Rounding out the set is an image gallery, trailers and a booklet with writing on the film by Neil Mitchell.
We wouldn’t recommend this as a starting point for exploring krimi or gialli, but for students of genre film, or Freda’s career or completists there’s much to enjoy in this release.
