Deep Red (1975) is a personal favorite of director Dario Argento, and is a very violent, gore-filled mystery/suspense piece. Jazz pianist Marcus Daly, played by David Hemmings, witnesses a grisly murder in an upstairs window across the street, and spends the rest of the film, teamed with reporter Gianna Brezzi, played by Daria Nicolodi, in trying to solve the murder (or murders, but the end. When Daly rushes to the apartment of the murdered woman, Macha Meril, we see her left breast as he lifts her off of the window glass shards she is impaled on.

I found the film slow moving, and was disappointed when they switched from the opening jazz piano to the typical Argento rock track. Maltin says 2 1/2 stars, but was rating a censored version short 20 minutes of film. This is Argento's remake of Blow-up. Apollo gives it 90%, and Apollo readers say 96%. The claim it reinvented horror, and has layer after layer of deep meaning. Maybe, but it seemed a rather slow suspense/horror to me. C.

Three films with Tuesday DVD street dates:

Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her is one of those Showtime things with five stories highlighting women's issues. Its special feature is that the DP was Lubezki, the guy who did Sleepy Hollow, A Walk in the Clouds, Like Water for Chocolate, and Great Expectations. He's one of the best ever.

• Holly Hunter. If you rent this DVD, the Hunter nudity can only be seen in the full screen version (1, 2)

Down to Earth is the Chris Rock re-make of Heaven Can Wait. No nudity, and it's a watered down PG-13 version of Chris Rock, but did about a sixty million box.

Monkeybone is in the Roger Rabbit genre, cost about a zillion dollars, and did about thirty cents at the box office. Male nudity only.

Comments by Mulberry Cream:

I think that one of the Celebrity Sleuth "first time" pics that you posted yesterday wasn't exactly accurate. I hate to dispute the wisdom of the masters, but I really don't think the photos he posted could be described the "first nude" shots for Sara St. James/Jacqueline Lovell.

I recently visited her more-or-less-defunct dirty-picture-selling web site....I've read rumors that she's found religion and given up her wicked ways, but that could be a myth -- at a minimum she hasn't made any movies or appearances naked lately.

Anyway, one of the photo sets was a set of black and white images that were identified on the site as her first nudes ever, with a little story written as if it was in her own words (who am I to say she actually wrote it?). Here are five of them. I like link #5 the best, she looks so innocent... my how things change!

Enjoy!

Number of films actresses have appeared nude in. The list is comprised from 325 mainstream actresses in films of the 1980's, 1990's and 00's. Its only limitation is that it is compiled using CNDB, and that site is not quite complete. That said, here is the list.

-Pat Reeder
The Comedy Wire