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{{About|the film genre}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{lang|it|Giallo|nocat=y}}}}
[[File:Ragazza1963Bava01.png|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Letícia Román]] in ''[[The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963 film)|The Girl Who Knew Too Much]]'' (1963), considered by most critics to be the first {{lang|it|giallo}} film]]

In [[Italian cinema]], '''{{lang|it|giallo}}''' ({{IPA|it|ˈdʒallo|lang}}; {{plural form}}: {{lang|it|gialli}}; from {{wikt-lang|it|giallo}}, {{literally|yellow}}) is a genre that often contains [[Slasher film|slasher]], [[thriller (genre)|thriller]], [[psychological horror]], [[psychological thriller]], [[Sexploitation film|sexploitation]], and, less frequently, [[supernatural|supernatural horror]] elements.<ref>{{cite web|work=WhatCulture |url=http://whatculture.com/film/watch-me-while-i-kill-top-20-italian-giallo-films.php |title=Watch Me While I Kill: Top 20 Italian Giallo Films |author=Simpson, Clare |date=February 4, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117220049/http://whatculture.com/film/watch-me-while-i-kill-top-20-italian-giallo-films.php |archive-date=2015-11-17}}</ref>

This particular style of Italian-produced [[murder mystery]] [[Horror film|horror]]-[[thriller film]] usually blends the atmosphere and suspense of [[thriller fiction]] with elements of [[horror fiction]] (such as slasher violence) and [[eroticism]] (similar to the French {{lang|fr|[[fantastique]]}} genre), and often involves a mysterious killer whose identity is not revealed until the final act of the film. The genre developed in the mid-to-late 1960s, peaked in popularity during the 1970s, and subsequently declined in commercial mainstream filmmaking over the next few decades, though examples continue to be produced. It was a predecessor to, and had significant influence on, the later [[slasher film]] genre.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pp=46–49}}

==Literary origins==
In the Italian language, ''giallo'' is a genre of novel including any literary genre involving crime and mystery, with all its sub-genres such as crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, or thriller-horror.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/07/giallo-italian-film-guide.html|title=Murder, Italian Style: A Primer on the Giallo Film Genre|first=Chris|last=Nashawaty|date=Jul 18, 2019|website=Vulture|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Giallo Novel by Edgar Wallace, il Fante di Fiori.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|Mondadori's]] 1933 translation of [[Edgar Wallace]]'s 1920 novel ''Jack O' Judgement'' (rendered in Italian as {{Lang|it|Il Fante di Fiori}}, ''The Jack of Clubs''), with the characteristic yellow background and the figure of a masked killer]]

The term ''[[:wiktionary:giallo|giallo]]'' ("yellow") derives from a series of crime-mystery [[pulp magazine|pulp novels]] entitled ''[[Il Giallo Mondadori]]'' (''Mondadori Yellow''), published by [[Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|Mondadori]] from 1929 and taking its name from the trademark yellow cover background. The series consisted almost exclusively of Italian translations of mystery novels by British and American writers. These included [[Agatha Christie]], [[Ellery Queen]], [[Edgar Wallace]], [[Ed McBain]], [[Rex Stout]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], and [[Raymond Chandler]].<ref name="Needham">{{cite web |url=http://www.kinoeye.org/02/11/needham11.php |title=Playing with Genre: An Introduction to the Italian Giallo |last=Needham |first=Gary |website=Kinoeye |access-date= September 3, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Sound on Sight"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cvltnation.com/colors-giallo-blood-sex-occult-heaping-loads-70s-weirdness/|title=All the Colors of Giallo: Blood, Sex, the Occult, and Heaping Loads of 70's Weirdness|first=Kelly|last=Hudson|date=7 February 2019|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

Published as cheap paperbacks, the success of the ''giallo'' novels soon began attracting the attention of other Italian publishing houses. They published their own versions and mimicked the yellow covers. The popularity of these series eventually established the word ''giallo'' as a synonym in Italian for a mystery novel. In colloquial and media usage in Italy, it also applied to a mysterious or unsolved affair.<ref name="Needham"/>

The Italian film genre began as literal adaptations of the original ''giallo'' mystery novels (see the 1933 film simply known as ''[[Giallo (1933 film)|Giallo]]''<ref>Moliterno, Gino. The A to Z of Italian Cinema. Scarecrow Press, 2009.</ref>). Directors soon began taking advantage of modern cinematic techniques to create a unique genre that retained the [[mystery fiction|mystery]] and [[crime fiction]] elements of ''giallo'' novels but veered more closely into the [[psychological thriller]] or [[psychological horror]] genres. Many of the typical characteristics of these films were incorporated into the later American [[slasher film|slasher]] genre.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pp=46–49}}

==Terminology==
In the film context, for Italian audiences ''giallo'' refers to any kind of murder mystery or horror thriller, regardless of its national origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/giallo-1798228207|title=Gateways To Geekery: Giallo|website=Film|date=20 October 2011 |access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

Meanwhile, English-speaking audiences have used the term ''giallo'' to refer specifically to a genre of Italian-produced thriller-horror films known to Italian audiences as ''giallo all'italiana''.<ref name="Sound on Sight">{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsight.org/greatest-horror-movies-ever-made-part-6-best-italian-giallo-films/ |title=Greatest (Italian) Giallo Films |last=da Conceição |first=Ricky |website=Sound on Sight |date=October 16, 2012 |access-date=2014-08-29 |archive-date=2014-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824061646/http://www.soundonsight.org/greatest-horror-movies-ever-made-part-6-best-italian-giallo-films/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the English-speaking world, Italian ''giallo'' films are also sometimes referred to as '''spaghetti thrillers''' or '''spaghetti [[Slasher film|slashers]]''', in a similar manner to how Italian Western films and ''[[poliziotteschi]]'' films from the same period have been referred to as [[spaghetti Western]]s and spaghetti crime films, respectively.<ref name="avclub">{{cite web |last1=Vago |first1=Mike |title=Alongside spaghetti Westerns, Italy was also making "spaghetti thrillers" in the '60s |url=https://www.avclub.com/alongside-spaghetti-westerns-italy-was-also-making-sp-1819790387 |website=AV Club |date=29 October 2017 |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[File:Eye in the Labyrinth (1972).png|thumb|right|''[[Eye in the Labyrinth]]'' (1972) features a female outsider whose own private investigation leads her into a strange environment.]]
Most critics agree that the ''giallo'' represents a distinct category with characteristic thematic and stylistic features, though various critics have proposed slightly different characteristics (which consequently creates some confusion over which films can be considered ''gialli'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/10-giallo-films-for-beginners/|title=10 Giallo Films for Beginners|date=Oct 13, 2018|website=Film School Rejects|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref><ref name="koven"/><ref name="Needham"/><ref name="How To Spot">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10377468/Violence-mystery-and-magic-how-to-spot-a-giallo-movie.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10377468/Violence-mystery-and-magic-how-to-spot-a-giallo-movie.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Violence, mystery and magic: how to spot a giallo movie|publisher=The Telegraph|author=Anne Billson|date=October 14, 2013|access-date= August 29, 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Although they often involve crime and detective work, ''gialli'' should not be confused with the other popular Italian crime genre of the 1970s, the ''[[poliziotteschi]]'', which includes more [[action film|action]]-oriented films about violent [[law enforcement officer]]s (largely influenced by gritty American films such as ''[[Bullitt]]'', ''[[Dirty Harry]]'', ''[[Death Wish (1974 film)|Death Wish]]'', ''[[The Godfather]]'', ''[[Serpico]]'', and ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]''). Directors and actors often moved between both genres and there is some overlap between them. While most ''poliziotteschi'' dealt with organized crime and police responses to it, some early examples of the genre focused instead on murder investigations, and especially on cases where a woman had been murdered in sexual circumstances. These films were more psychological than action-driven, and borrowed various themes and motifs from ''gialli''. Examples include ''[[Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion]]'' (1970) and ''[[No, the Case Is Happily Resolved]]'' (1973). Some films could even be considered under the banner of either genre, such as [[Fernando Di Leo]]'s ''[[Naked Violence (film)|Naked Violence]]'' (1969) and [[Massimo Dallamano]]'s 1974 film ''{{Lang|it|La polizia chiede aiuto}}'' (''[[What Have They Done to Your Daughters?]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmcomment.com/entry/bombast-poliziotteschi-and-screening-history |title=Bombast: Poliziotteschi and Screening History |last1=Pinkerton |first1=Nick |date=4 July 2014 |website=[[Film Comment]] |access-date=30 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402180612/http://www.filmcomment.com/entry/bombast-poliziotteschi-and-screening-history |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Structure===
[[File:Death Walks on High Heels (1971) 1.jpg|thumb|A scene from ''[[Death Walks on High Heels]]'' (1971) showing excessive violence associated with many ''gialli'']]
[[File:The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire.png|thumb|right|Shadowy atmosphere in a chase sequence from ''[[The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire]]'' (1971), shot from the killer's POV, featuring their black-gloved hand brandishing a razor on the right]]
''Giallo'' films are generally characterized as gruesome murder-mystery thrillers that combine the suspense elements of [[detective fiction]] with scenes of shocking [[horror fiction|horror]], featuring excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork, and often jarring musical arrangements. The [[Archetype|archetypal]] ''giallo'' plot involves a mysterious, black-gloved psychopathic killer who stalks and butchers a series of beautiful women.<ref name="How To Spot"/> While most ''gialli'' involve a human killer, some also feature a [[supernatural]] element.<ref name="Abrams">{{cite web |last=Abrams |first=Jon |title=GIALLO WEEK! YOUR INTRODUCTION TO GIALLO FEVER! |url=http://dailygrindhouse.com/2015/03/16/giallo-week-introduction-giallo-fever/ |date=16 March 2015 |website=The Daily Grindhouse |access-date=30 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324055034/http://dailygrindhouse.com/2015/03/16/giallo-week-introduction-giallo-fever/ |archive-date=24 March 2015 }}</ref>

The typical ''giallo'' [[protagonist]] is an outsider of some type, often a traveller, tourist, outcast, or even an alienated or disgraced [[private investigator]], and frequently a young woman, often a young woman who is lonely or alone in a strange or foreign situation or environment (''gialli'' rarely or less frequently feature [[law enforcement officer]]s as chief protagonists, which would be more characteristic of the ''[[poliziotteschi]]'' genre).<ref name="Needham"/><ref name="Abrams"/> The protagonists are generally or often unconnected to the murders before they begin and are drawn to help find the killer through their role as a [[witness]] to one of the murders.<ref name="Abrams"/> Author Michael Mackenzie has written that ''gialli'' can be divided into the male-focused ''m. gialli'', which usually sees a male outsider witness a murder and become the target of the killer when he attempts to solve the crime; and ''f. gialli'', which features a female protagonist who is embroiled in a more sexual and psychological story, typically focusing on her sexuality, psyche, and fragile mental state.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nerdist.com/giallo-horror-subgenre-need-to-explore/|title=Giallo is the horror subgenre you need to explore|author=Kyle Anderson|publisher=Nerdist|date= 2 January 2019|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>

The mystery is the identity of the killer, who is often revealed in the [[Climax (narrative)|climax]] to be another key character, who conceals his or her identity with a disguise (usually some combination of hat, mask, sunglasses, gloves, and trench coat).<ref name="koven 4"/> Thus, the literary [[whodunit]] element of the ''giallo'' novels is retained, while being filtered through horror genre elements and Italy's long-standing tradition of [[opera]] and staged [[Grand Guignol|grand guignol]] drama. The structure of ''giallo'' films is also sometimes reminiscent of the so-called "[[weird menace]]" pulp magazine horror mystery genre alongside [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and [[Agatha Christie]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unwinnable.com/2018/12/07/torso-wizard-of-gore/|title=Of Giallo and Gore: A Review &#124; Unwinnable|website=unwinnable.com|date=7 December 2018|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

It is important to note that while most ''gialli'' feature elements of this basic [[narrative structure]], not all do. Some films (for example [[Mario Bava]]'s 1970 ''[[Hatchet for the Honeymoon]]'', which features the killer as the protagonist) may radically alter the traditional structure or abandon it altogether and still be considered ''gialli'' due to stylistic or thematic tropes, rather than narrative ones.<ref name="Abrams"/> A consistent element of the genre is an unusual lack of focus on coherent or logical narrative storytelling. While most have a nominal mystery structure, they may feature bizarre or seemingly nonsensical plot elements and a general disregard for [[Realism (arts)|realism]] in [[acting]], [[dialogue]], and character motivation.<ref name="Sound on Sight"/><ref name="koven"/><ref name="Kannas"/> As Jon Abrams wrote, "Individually, each [''giallo''] is like an improv exercise in murder, with each filmmaker having access to a handful of shared props and themes. Black gloves, sexual ambiguity, and psychoanalytic trauma may be at the heart of each film, but the genre itself is without consistent narrative form."<ref name="Abrams"/>

[[File:The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971).jpg|thumb|right|[[Anita Strindberg]] in ''[[The Case of the Scorpion's Tail]]'' (1971), showing ''giallo'' trademarks: a black-gloved killer's POV, vivid colour and a vulnerable young woman]]

===Content===
While a shadowy killer and mystery narrative are common to most ''gialli'', the most consistent and notable shared trope in the ''giallo'' tradition is the focus on grisly death sequences.<ref name="Sound on Sight"/><ref name="Abrams"/> The murders are invariably violent and gory, featuring a variety of explicit and imaginative attacks. These scenes frequently evoke some degree of [[voyeurism]], sometimes going so far as to present the murder from the [[First-person narrative|first-person perspective]] of the killer, with the black-gloved hand holding a knife viewed from the killer's [[Point of view shot|point of view]].<ref>{{cite journal |last= Guins |first= Ray |date= 1996|title= Tortured Looks: Dario Argento and Visual Displeasure.|journal= Necronomicon: The Journal of Horror and Erotic Cinema |publisher= Creation Books |volume= 1|pages=141–153 }}</ref><ref name="koven 2">{{cite book |last=Koven |first =Mikel |date=October 2, 2006  |title= La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=0810858703 |page=147}}</ref> The murders often occur when the victim is most vulnerable (showering, taking a bath, or scantily clad); as such, ''giallo'' films often include liberal amounts of nudity and sex, almost all of it featuring beautiful young women. Actresses associated with the genre include [[Edwige Fenech]], [[Barbara Bach]], [[Daria Nicolodi]], [[Mimsy Farmer]], [[Barbara Bouchet]], [[Suzy Kendall]], [[Ida Galli]], and [[Anita Strindberg]].<ref name="AV Club"/> Due to the titillating emphasis on explicit sex and violence, ''gialli'' are sometimes categorized as [[exploitation cinema]].<ref name="hunt"/><ref name="koven 3"/> The association of female sexuality and brutal violence has led some commentators to accuse the genre of [[misogyny]].<ref name="Sound on Sight"/><ref name="koven">{{cite book |last=Koven |first=Mikel |date=October 2, 2006 |title= La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=0810858703 |page=66}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Olney |first=Ian |date=February 7, 2013 |title=Euro Horror: Classic European Horror Cinema in Contemporary American Culture (New Directions in National Cinemas) |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |isbn=978-0253006523 |pages=36, 104, 117}}</ref>

[[File:Orgasmo (1969).jpg|thumb|left|''[[Orgasmo]]'' (1969) features a female protagonist ([[Carroll Baker]]) who becomes embroiled in a psychological, sexual conflict.]]
[[File:What Have You Done to Solange? (1972).jpg|thumb|right|''[[What Have You Done to Solange?]]'' (1972) incorporates themes of female sexuality and past psychological trauma, depicted prominently through flashbacks.]]

===Themes===
''Gialli'' are noted for psychological themes of madness, alienation, sexuality, and [[paranoia]].<ref name="How To Spot"/> The protagonist is usually a witness to a gruesome crime but frequently finds their [[testimony]] subject to [[skepticism]] from authority figures, leading to a questioning of their own [[perception]] and authority. This ambiguity of memory and perception can escalate to [[delusion]], [[hallucination]], or delirious paranoia. Since ''gialli'' protagonists are typically female, this can lead to what writer Gary Needham calls, "...the ''giallo''{{'}}s inherent pathologising of femininity and fascination with "sick" women".<ref name="Needham"/> The killer is likely to be mentally-ill as well; ''giallo'' killers are almost always motivated by insanity caused by some past psychological trauma, often of a sexual nature (and sometimes depicted in flashbacks).<ref name="How To Spot"/><ref name="Abrams"/> The emphasis on madness and subjective perception has roots in the ''giallo'' novels (for example, [[Sergio Martino]]'s ''[[Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key]]'' was based on [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s short story "[[The Black Cat (short story)|The Black Cat]]", which deals with a psychologically unstable narrator) but also finds expression in the tools of cinema. Writer Mikel J. Koven posits that ''gialli'' reflect an ambivalence over the social upheaval modernity brought to Italian culture in the 1960s.

<blockquote>The changes within Italian culture... can be seen throughout the ''giallo'' film as something to be discussed and debated – issues pertaining to identity, sexuality, increasing levels of violence, women's control over their own lives and bodies, history, the state – all abstract ideas, which are all portrayed situationally as human stories in the ''giallo'' film.<ref name="koven 5">{{cite book |last=Koven |first =Mikel |date=October 2, 2006  |title= La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=0810858703 |page=16}}</ref></blockquote>

==Production==
[[File:Colette Descombes 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Colette Descombes]] in a scene from ''[[Orgasmo]]'' (1969), an example of stylish visual and close-up emphasis on eyes]]
''Gialli'' have been noted for their strong cinematic technique, with critics praising their [[editing]], [[production design]], [[film score|music]], and visual style even in the marked absence of other facets usually associated with critical admiration (as ''gialli'' frequently lack [[characterization]], believable dialogue, realistic performances and logical coherence in the narrative).<ref name="Sound on Sight"/><ref name="koven"/><ref name="Kannas">{{cite web |url=http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/book-reviews/la-dolce-morte/ |first=Alexia |last=Kannas |title=Simple Acts of Annihilation: La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film by Mikel J. Koven |date=August 2006 |access-date=September 3, 2014}}</ref> Alexia Kannas wrote of 1968's ''[[La morte ha fatto l'uovo]]'' (''Death Laid an Egg'') that "While the film has garnered a reputation for its supreme narrative difficulty (just as many art films have), its aesthetic brilliance is irrefutable", while Leon Hunt wrote that frequent ''gialli'' director [[Dario Argento]]'s work "vacillate[s] between strategies of art cinema and exploitation".<ref name="Kannas"/><ref name="hunt">{{cite journal |last=Hunt |first=Leon |date=Autumn 1992 |title=A (Sadistic) Night at the Opera: Notes on the Italian Horror Film |journal=Velvet Light Trap |volume=30 |page=74}}</ref>

===Visual style===
''Gialli'' are frequently associated with strong technical [[cinematography]] and stylish visuals. Critic Maitland McDonagh describes the visuals of ''[[Deep Red|Profondo rosso]]'' (''Deep Red'') as "vivid colors and bizarre camera angles, dizzying pans and flamboyant tracking shots, disorienting framing and composition, fetishistic close-ups of quivering eyes and weird objects (knives, dolls, marbles, braided scraps of wool)...".<ref name="broken mirrors"/> Critic Roberto Curti describes the visual style of ''gialli'' in relation to the [[Psychedelic era|counterculture]] era as, "a pop delirium filled with psychedelic paraphernalia".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.neroeditions.com/italian-southern-gothic-3-acid-neorealism/|title=Italian Southern Gothic #3: Acid Neorealism |website=Nero |author=Curti, Roberto |date=13 February 2019 |access-date=Oct 22, 2022}}</ref> In addition to the iconic images of shadowy black-gloved killers and gruesome violence, ''gialli'' also frequently employ strongly stylized and even occasionally [[surrealism|surreal]] uses of color. Directors [[Dario Argento]] and Mario Bava are particularly known for their impressionistic imagery and use of lurid colors, though other ''giallo'' directors (notably [[Lucio Fulci]]) employed more sedate, realistic styles as well.<ref name="AV Club">{{cite web| url=http://www.avclub.com/article/giallo-63699 | last= Murray| first = Noel | title= Gateways to Geekery: Giallo | date= October 20, 2011 |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date= September 3, 2014}}</ref> Due to their typical 1970s milieu, some commentators have also noted their potential for visual [[Camp (style)|camp]], especially in terms of [[fashion]] and [[Interior design|decor]].<ref name="Needham"/><ref name="How To Spot"/>
[[File:The Red Queen Kills Seven Times 1972.png|thumb|right|''[[The Red Queen Kills Seven Times]]'' (1972) is noted for its interiors and colorful early 1970s fashion.]]
[[File:The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971).jpg|thumb|Gladys Cunningham's ([[Marina Malfatti]]) apartment decor in ''[[The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave]]'' (1971)]]

===Music===
Music has been cited as a key to the genre's unique character;<ref name="How To Spot"/> critic Maitland McDonagh describes  ''[[Deep Red|Profondo rosso]]'' (''Deep Red'') as an "overwhelming visceral experience ... equal parts visual ... and aural".<ref name="broken mirrors">{{cite book |last=McDonagh |first =Maitland |date=March 22, 2010  |title= Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |isbn= 978-0816656073 |page=vii }}</ref> Writer [[Anne Billson]] explains, "The Giallo Sound is typically an intoxicating mix of groovy lounge music, nerve-jangling discord, and the sort of soothing lyricism that belies the fact that it's actually accompanying, say, a slow motion decapitation", (she cites as an example [[Ennio Morricone]]'s score for 1971's ''[[Four Flies on Grey Velvet]]'').<ref name="How To Spot"/> Many notable ''giallo'' soundtracks feature instrumentalist, [[Alessandro Alessandroni]], his vocal group, ''I Cantori Moderni'' and wordless female vocals, usually performed by [[Edda Dell'Orso]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnmsarchive.wordpress.com/2014/07/03/alessandro-alessandroni/|title=An interview with Alessandro Alessandroni by John Mansell|website=Soundtrack – The CinemaScore & Soundtrack Archives |date=3 July 2014 |access-date=Nov 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://lightintheattic.net/releases/4860-prisma-sonoro|title=Alessandro Alessandroni Prisma Sono|website=Light in The Attic Records|access-date=Oct 31, 2022|archive-date=October 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031040352/https://lightintheattic.net/releases/4860-prisma-sonoro|url-status=dead}}</ref> or [[Nora Orlandi]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://musiquefantastique.com/genre-film-music-news/r-i-p-stelvio-cipriani/|title=Cipriani a Master of All Genres and Profoundly Moving Music |website=Musique Fantastique |date=October 2018 |access-date=July 24, 2023}}</ref> including [[Bruno Nicolai]]'s score for ''[[All the Colors of the Dark]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/2014/04/01/all-the-colours-of-the-dark/|title=All the Colours of the Dark |website=Electric Sheep Magazine |date=April 2014 |access-date=July 24, 2023}}</ref> [[Film score|Composers]] of note include Morricone, Nicolai, and the Italian band [[Goblin (band)|Goblin]]. Other important composers known for their work on ''giallo'' films include [[Piero Umiliani]] (composer for ''[[Five Dolls for an August Moon]])'', [[Riz Ortolani]] (''[[The Pyjama Girl Case]]''), Nora Orlandi (''[[The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh]]''), [[Stelvio Cipriani]] (''[[The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire]]''), and [[Fabio Frizzi]] (''[[Sette note in nero]]'' a.k.a.''The Psychic'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Giallo_Cinema:_Spaghetti_Slashers|title=Giallo Cinema: Spaghetti Slashers - The Grindhouse Cinema Database|website=www.grindhousedatabase.com|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

===Titles===
''Gialli'' often feature lurid or [[Baroque]] titles, frequently employing animal references or the use of numbers.<ref name="How To Spot"/> Examples of the former trend include ''[[Sette scialli di seta gialla]]'' (''Crimes of the Black Cat''), ''[[Don't Torture a Duckling|Non si sevizia un paperino]]'' (''Don't Torture a Duckling''), ''[[La morte negli occhi del gatto]]'' (''Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye''), and ''[[La tarantola dal ventre nero]]'' (''Black Belly of the Tarantula''); while instances of the latter include ''[[Sette note in nero]]'' (''Seven Notes in Black'') and ''[[The Fifth Cord]]''.<ref name="Giovannini">{{cite book |last= Giovannini|first =Fabio |date=1986 |title= Dario Argento: il brivido, il sangue, il thrilling.|publisher=Edizione Dedalo |isbn= 8822045165 |pages=27–28}}</ref>

==History and development==
The first ''giallo'' novel to be adapted for film was [[James M. Cain]]'s ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice (novel)|The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'', adapted in 1943 by  [[Luchino Visconti]] as ''[[Ossessione]]''.<ref name="Needham"/> Though the film was technically the first of [[Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|Mondadori's]] ''giallo'' series to be adapted, its [[Italian neorealism|neo-realist]] style was markedly different from the stylized, violent character which subsequent adaptations would acquire. Condemned by the fascist government, ''Ossessione'' was eventually hailed as a landmark of neo-realist cinema, but it did not provoke any further ''giallo'' adaptations for almost 20 years.<ref name="koven 3">{{cite book |last=Koven |first =Mikel |date=October 2, 2006  |title= La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=0810858703 |page=3}}</ref>

In addition to the literary ''giallo'' tradition, early ''gialli'' were also influenced by the German "[[krimi]]" films of the early 1960s.<ref name="koven 4">{{cite book |last=Koven |first =Mikel |date=October 2, 2006  |title= La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=0810858703 |page=4}}</ref> Produced by Danish/German studio [[Rialto Film]], these black-and-white crime movies based on [[Edgar Wallace]] stories typically featured whodunit mystery plots with a masked killer, anticipating several key components of the ''giallo'' movement by several years. Despite their link to ''giallo'' author Wallace, they featured little of the excessive stylization and gore which would define Italian ''gialli''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/10/11/a-genre-between-genres-the-shadow-world-of-german-krimi-films|title=A Genre Between Genres: The Shadow World Of German Krimi Films|first=Phil Jr.|last=Nobile|date=Oct 11, 2015|website=Birth.Movies.Death.|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

The Swedish director [[Arne Mattsson]] has also been pointed to as a possible influence, in particular his 1958 film ''[[Mannequin in Red]]''. Though the film shares stylistic and narrative similarities with later ''giallo'' films (particularly its use of color and its multiple murder plot), there is no direct evidence that subsequent Italian directors had seen it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Andersson |first =Pidde |date=October 2, 2006  |title= Blue Swede Shock! The History of Swedish Horror Films|publisher=The TOPPRAFFEL! Library |isbn=1445243040}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://anttialanenfilmdiary.blogspot.com/2014/05/mannekang-i-rott-mannequin-in-red-sfi.html |title=Mannekäng i rött / Mannequin in Red (SFI 2000 restoration)|first=Antti | last=Alanen |date=2 May 2014|access-date= September 3, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Sei donne per l'assassino.png|thumb|left|Goffredo Unger (doubling for the murderer revealed at the end of the film) as The Masked Killer from ''[[Blood and Black Lace]]'' (1964) would serve as the visual template for the stock ''giallo'' killer. [[Tim Lucas]] has noted that the film's depiction of a "split identity" villain – an evolution from the [[split personality]] antagonist present in such films as ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' – predates its later use in the [[Scream (franchise)|''Scream'' franchise]],{{sfn|Lucas|2013|p=566}} while Michael Mackenzie has noted that the disguising of the character(s)' gender would become a recurring element in other ''gialli''.<ref name="MacKenzie">{{cite AV media | people=MacKenzie, Michael (Director) | date=2015 | title=Gender and Giallo | medium=Documentary | publisher=Arrow Films}}</ref>]]

The first "true" ''giallo'' film is usually considered to be Mario Bava's ''[[The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963 film)|The Girl Who Knew Too Much]]'' (1963).<ref name="Needham"/><ref name="AV Club"/> Its title alludes to [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s classic ''[[The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film)|The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'' (1934, remade by Hitchcock in 1956), highlighting the early link between ''gialli'' and Anglo-American crime stories. Though shot in black and white and lacking the lurid violence and sexuality which would define later ''gialli'', the film has been credited with establishing the essential structure of the genre: in it, a young American tourist in Rome witnesses a murder, finds her testimony dismissed by the authorities, and must attempt to uncover the killer's identity herself. Bava drew on the krimi tradition as well as the Hitchcockian style referenced in the title, and the film's structure served as a basic template for many of the ''gialli'' that would follow.<ref name="koven 4"/>

Bava followed ''The Girl Who Knew Too Much'' the next year with the stylish and influential ''[[Blood and Black Lace]]'' (1964). It introduced a number of elements that became emblematic of the genre: a masked stalker with a shiny weapon in his black-gloved hand who brutally murders a series of glamorous fashion models.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rockoff |first =Adam |date=2002  |title= Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986|publisher= [[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=0786469323| page=30}}</ref> Though the movie was not a financial success at the time, the tropes it introduced (particularly its black-gloved killer, provocative sexuality, and bold use of color) would become iconic of the genre.<ref name="koven 4"/><ref name="Lucas">Lucas, Tim. ''Blood and Black Lace'' DVD, [[Image Entertainment]], 2005, [[liner notes]]. ASIN: B000BB1926</ref>

[[File:One on Top of the Other (1969).jpg|thumb|right|[[Jean Sorel]] and [[Elsa Martinelli]] in ''[[One on Top of the Other]]'' (1969); an erotic thriller of the late 1960s, released before the ''giallo'' explosion]]

Several similarly themed crime/thriller movies followed in the next few years, including early efforts from directors [[Antonio Margheriti]] (''Nude... si muore'' [''[[Naked You Die]]''] in 1968),  [[Romolo Girolami]] (''[[Il dolce corpo di Deborah]]'' [''The Sweet Body of Deborah''] in 1968), [[Umberto Lenzi]] (''[[Orgasmo]]'' in 1969, ''Paranoia'' [''[[A Quiet Place to Kill]]''] and ''Così dolce... così perversa'' [''[[So Sweet... So Perverse]]''] in 1969), [[Riccardo Freda]] (''[[A doppia faccia]]'' [''Double Face''] in 1969), and [[Lucio Fulci]] (''[[Una sull'altra]]'' [''One on Top of the Other''] in 1969), all of whom would go on to become major creative forces in the burgeoning genre. But it was [[Dario Argento]]'s first feature, in 1970, that turned the ''giallo'' into a major cultural phenomenon. That film, ''[[The Bird with the Crystal Plumage]]'', was greatly influenced by ''[[Blood and Black Lace]]'', and introduced a new level of stylish violence and suspense that helped redefine the genre. The film was a box office smash and was widely imitated.<ref name="broken mirrors 14">{{cite book |last=McDonagh |first =Maitland |date=March 22, 2010  |title= Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |isbn= 978-0816656073 |page=14}}</ref> Its success provoked a frenzy of Italian films with stylish, violent, and sexually provocative murder plots (Argento alone made three more in the next five years) essentially cementing the genre in the public consciousness. In 1996, director [[Michele Soavi]] wrote, "There's no doubt that it was Mario Bava who started the 'spaghetti thrillers' [but] Argento gave them a great boost, a turning point, a new style...'new clothes'. Mario had grown old and Dario made it his own genre... this had repercussions on genre cinema, which, thanks to Dario, was given a new lease on life."<ref name="Nightmares">{{cite book |last=Soavi |first=Michele |editor-last=Palmerini |editor-first=Luca M. |editor-last2=Mistretta |editor-first2=Gaetano|title= Spaghetti Nightmares |publisher=Fantasma Books |date=1996 |page=147 |chapter=Michele Soavi Interview |isbn=0963498274}}</ref> The success of ''The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' provoked a decade which saw multiple ''gialli'' produced every year. In English-language film circles, the term ''giallo'' gradually became synonymous with a heavy, theatrical and stylized visual element.<ref name="tasteofcinema.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/15-essential-films-for-an-introduction-to-italian-giallo-movies/|title=15 Essential Films For An Introduction to Italian Giallo Movies|first=Hossein Eidi|last=Zadeh|date=14 October 2014 |access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

In 2021, a festival named the Giallo Film Festival was founded by the film director Yan Berthemy. Dedicated to genre cinema, this annual event showcases international short films. It is funded by the [[Université Sorbonne Nouvelle|Sorbonne Nouvelle University]] and the [[:fr:Centre_régional_des_œuvres_universitaires_et_scolaires|Crous]] of Paris, ensuring both accessibility and visibility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Giallo International Film Festival |url=https://www.giffest.org |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=GIFFEST |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

The 2024 edition of the festival was marked by the jury being co-chaired by [[:fr:Nicolas_Martin_(journaliste)|Nicolas Martin]] and Pablo Dury. Two films by [[Bertrand Mandico]] and [[:fr:Julia_Kowalski|Julia Kowalski]] were also screened to close the festival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Psychotic Monks, Giallo Film Festival 2024... L'agenda de la semaine en 7 rendez-vous {{!}} Les Inrocks |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/agenda/the-psychotic-monks-giallo-film-festival-2024-lagenda-de-la-semaine-en-7-rendez-vous-605603-05-01-2024/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=www.lesinrocks.com/ |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

==Popularity and legacy==
[[File:Amuck 1972.png|thumb|left|[[Barbara Bouchet]], [[Rosalba Neri]] and [[Farley Granger]] in ''[[Amuck!]]'' (1972), released during the peak popularity of ''gialli'']]
The ''giallo'' genre had its heyday from 1968 through 1978. The most prolific period, however, was the five-year timespan between 1971 and 1975, during which time over 100 different ''gialli'' were produced (see [[list of giallo films|List of ''giallo'' films]]). Directors like Bava, Argento, Fulci, Lenzi, Freda and Margheriti continued to produce ''gialli'' throughout the 70s and beyond, and were soon joined by other notable directors including [[Sergio Martino]], [[Paolo Cavara]], [[Armando Crispino]], [[Ruggero Deodato]], and Bava's son [[Lamberto Bava]]. The genre also spread to Spain by the early 70s, resulting in films like ''[[La residencia]]'' (''The House That Screamed'') (1969) and ''[[Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll|Los Ojos Azules de la Muñeca Rota]]'' (''Blue Eyes Of The Broken Doll'') (1973), which had unmistakable ''giallo'' characteristics, but featured Spanish casts and production talent. Though they preceded the first ''giallo'' by a few years, German krimi films continued to be made contemporaneously with early ''gialli'', and were also influenced by their success. As the popularity of krimis declined in Germany, [[Rialto Film]] began increasingly pairing with Italian production companies and filmmakers (such as composer Ennio Morricone and director, cinematographer [[Joe D'Amato]], who worked on later krimi films following their successes in Italy). The overlap between the two movements is extensive enough that one of Rialto's final krimi films, ''[[What Have You Done to Solange?|Cosa avete fatto a Solange?]]'' (''What Have You Done to Solange?''), features an Italian director and crew and has been called a ''giallo'' in its own right.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rockoff |first =Adam |date=2002  |title= Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986|publisher= [[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=0786469323| pages=38–43}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Hanke | first = Ken | contribution = The Lost Horror Film Series: The Edgar Wallace Kirmis. | editor-last = Schnieder | editor-first = Steven Jay | title = In Fear without Frontiers: Horror Cinema across the Globe  | pages = 111–123 | publisher = FAB Press | place = Godalming, UK | year = 2003 }}</ref>

''Gialli'' continued to be produced throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but gradually their popularity diminished and film budgets and production values began shrinking.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pp=54–55}} Director [[Pupi Avati]] satirized the genre in 1977 with a slapstick ''giallo'' titled ''[[Tutti defunti... tranne i morti]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/Tutti.Defunti.Tranne.I.Morti.|title=Tutti. Defunti. Tranne. I. Morti. zo|access-date=Dec 27, 2020|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

Though the ''giallo'' cycle waned in the 1990s and saw few entries in the 2000s, they continue to be produced, notably by Argento (who in 2009 released a film actually titled ''[[Giallo (2009 film)|Giallo]]'', somewhat in homage to his long career in the genre) and co-directors [[Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani]], whose ''[[Amer (film)|Amer]]'' (which uses music from older ''gialli'', including tracks by Morricone and Nicolai) received a positive critical reception upon its release in 2009.<ref name="AV Club"/> To a large degree, the genre's influence lives on in the [[Slasher film|slasher]] films which became enormously popular during the 1980s and drew heavily on tropes developed by earlier ''gialli''.{{sfn|Kerswell|2012|pp=46–49}}

===Influence===
The ''giallo'' cycle has had a lasting effect on horror films and murder mysteries made outside Italy since the late 1960s as this cinematic style and unflinching content is also at the root of the gory [[slasher film|slasher]] and [[splatter film]]s that became widely popular in the early 1980s. In particular, two violent shockers from Mario Bava, ''[[Hatchet for the Honeymoon]]'' (1970) and ''[[Twitch of the Death Nerve]]'' (1971) were especially influential.<ref name="tasteofcinema.com"/>

Early examples of the ''giallo'' effect can be seen in the British film ''[[Berserk!]]'' (1967) and such American mystery-thrillers as ''[[No Way to Treat a Lady (film)|No Way to Treat a Lady]]'' (1968), the Oscar-winning ''[[Klute]]'' (1971),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/jane-fonda-klute/|title=Jane Fonda's 'Klute' Belongs in the 1970s Hollywood Canon|date=Aug 28, 2015|website=Film School Rejects|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref> ''[[Pretty Maids All in a Row]]'' (1971, based on an Italian novel), [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Frenzy]]'' (1972), Vincent Price's ''[[Madhouse (1974 film)|Madhouse]]'' (1974), ''[[Eyes of Laura Mars]]'' (1978),<ref name="GF">{{cite web|url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/15-great-thrillers-that-were-influenced-by-italian-giallo-films/|title=15 Great Thrillers That Were Influenced By Italian Giallo Films|first=Dean|last=Hesom|date=18 July 2014 |access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref> and [[Brian De Palma]]'s ''[[Dressed to Kill (1980 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'' (1980).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinema76.com/home/2019/9/23/brian-de-palma-week-dressed-to-kill|title=Brian De Palma Week: How Dressed to Kill blends Hitchcock and Giallo|website=Cinema76|access-date=Dec 27, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308134511/https://www.cinema76.com/home/2019/9/23/brian-de-palma-week-dressed-to-kill|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="GT">{{cite web|url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/15-great-thrillers-that-were-influenced-by-italian-giallo-films/2/|title=15 Great Thrillers That Were Influenced By Italian Giallo Films|first=Dean|last=Hesom|date=18 July 2014 |access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref> ''[[Berberian Sound Studio]]'' (2012) offers an affectionate tribute to the genre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news/film-week-berberian-sound-studio|title=Film of the week: Berberian Sound Studio|website=British Film Institute|date=20 May 2014 |access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/20-movies-with-the-most-brilliant-sound-design/|title=20 Movies With The Most Brilliant Sound Design|first=Hector|last=Oyarzun|date=6 December 2015 |access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref>

Director [[Eli Roth]] has called the ''giallo'' "one of my favorite, favorite subgenres of film",<ref>{{cite AV media | people = Roth, Eli | date = October 10, 2014 | title = Watch: Eli Roth Talks Giallo-Inspired 'House with the Laughing Windows' | medium = Video Short | language = en | url = http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-eli-roth-talks-giallo-inspired-house-with-the-laughing-windows-20141010 | access-date = 25 March 2015 | publisher = Thompson on Hollywood | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402104814/http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-eli-roth-talks-giallo-inspired-house-with-the-laughing-windows-20141010 | archive-date = 2 April 2015 | url-status = dead }}</ref> and specifically cited Sergio Martino's ''[[Torso (1973 film)|Torso]]'' (''I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale'') (along with the Spanish horror film ''[[Who Can Kill a Child?]]'') as influential on his 2005 film ''[[Hostel (2005 film)|Hostel]]'', writing, "...these seventies Italian giallos start off with a group of students that are in Rome, lots of scenes in piazzas with telephoto lenses, and you get the feeling they're being watched. There's this real ominous creepy feeling. The girls are always going on some trip somewhere and they're all very smart. They all make decisions the audience would make."<ref>{{cite interview | last = Roth | first= Eli| interviewer = Joe Utichi | title = Eli Roth Presents The Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen | url  =http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hostel_2/news/1685335/1/eli_roth_presents_the_best_horror_movies_youve_never_seen/| work = [[Rotten Tomatoes]]| date = November 1, 2007}}</ref>

==Filmography==
* [[List of giallo films|List of ''giallo'' films]]

==Notable personalities==
{{Text-source|section|date=November 2024}}
===Directors===
{{div col |colwidth=18em}}
* [[Silvio Amadio]]
* [[Dario Argento]]
* [[Francesco Barilli]]
* [[Lamberto Bava]]
* [[Mario Bava]]
* [[Luigi Bazzoni]]
* [[Sergio Bergonzelli]]
* [[Giuliano Carnimeo]]
* [[Paolo Cavara]]
* [[Armando Crispino]]
* [[Massimo Dallamano]]
* [[Alberto De Martino]]
* [[Ruggero Deodato]]
* [[Luciano Ercoli]]
* [[Riccardo Freda]]
* [[Lucio Fulci]]
* [[Romolo Guerrieri]]
* [[Aldo Lado]]
* [[Umberto Lenzi]]
* [[Michele Lupo]]
* [[Antonio Margheriti]]
* [[Sergio Martino]]
* [[Emilio Miraglia]]
* [[Brunello Rondi]]
* [[Salvatore Samperi]]
* [[Duccio Tessari]]
{{div col end}}

===Writers===
{{div col |colwidth=18em}}
* [[Sandro Continenza]]
* [[Sergio Corbucci]]
* [[Ennio De Concini]]
* [[Sergio Donati]]
* [[Ernesto Gastaldi]]
* [[Mino Guerrini]]
{{div col end}}

===Actors and actresses===
{{div col |colwidth=18em}}
* [[Simón Andreu]]
* [[Claudine Auger]]
* [[Ewa Aulin]]
* [[Barbara Bach]]
* [[Carroll Baker]]
* [[Eva Bartók]]
* [[Agostina Belli]]
* [[Femi Benussi]]
* [[Helmut Berger]]
* [[Erika Blanc]]
* [[Florinda Bolkan]]
* [[Barbara Bouchet]]
* [[Pier Paolo Capponi]]
* [[Adolfo Celi]]
* [[Orchidea De Santis]]
* [[Anita Ekberg]]
* [[Eduardo Fajardo]]
* [[Rossella Falk]]
* [[Mimsy Farmer]]
* [[Edwige Fenech]]
* [[James Franciscus]]
* [[Cristina Galbó]]
* [[Ida Galli]]
* [[Giancarlo Giannini]]
* [[Farley Granger]]
* [[Brett Halsey]]
* [[David Hemmings]]
* [[George Hilton (actor)|George Hilton]]
* [[Robert Hoffmann]]
* [[Annabella Incontrera]]
* [[Suzy Kendall]]
* [[Sylva Koscina]]
* [[Dagmar Lassander]]
* [[Philippe Leroy]]
* [[Helga Liné]]
* [[Beba Lončar]]
* [[Ray Lovelock (actor)|Ray Lovelock]]
* [[Marina Malfatti]]
* [[Leonard Mann (actor)|Leonard Mann]]
* [[Marisa Mell]]
* [[Luc Merenda]]
* [[Macha Méril]]
* [[Tomas Milian]]
* [[Cameron Mitchell (actor)|Cameron Mitchell]]
* [[Silvia Monti]]
* [[Tony Musante]]
* [[Paul Naschy]]
* [[Nieves Navarro]]
* [[Rosalba Neri]]
* [[Franco Nero]]
* [[Daria Nicolodi]]
* [[Luciana Paluzzi]]
* [[Irene Papas]]
* [[Luigi Pistilli]]
* [[Ivan Rassimov]]
* [[Fernando Rey]]
* [[John Richardson (actor)|John Richardson]]
* [[George Rigaud]]
* [[Letícia Román]]
* [[Howard Ross (actor)|Howard Ross]]
* [[John Saxon]]
* [[Erna Schürer]]
* [[Jean Sorel]]
* [[Anthony Steffen]]
* [[John Steiner]]
* [[Anita Strindberg]]
* [[Fabio Testi]]
* [[Gabriele Tinti (actor)|Gabriele Tinti]]
* [[Marilu Tolo]]
* [[Silvano Tranquilli]]
{{div col end}}

===Composers===
{{div col |colwidth=18em}}
* [[Stelvio Cipriani]]
* [[Pino Donaggio]]
* [[Gianni Ferrio]]
* [[Giorgio Gaslini]]
* [[Goblin (band)|Goblin]]
* [[Ennio Morricone]]
* [[Bruno Nicolai]]
* [[Nora Orlandi]]
* [[Riz Ortolani]]
* [[Piero Piccioni]]
* [[Berto Pisano]]
* [[Carlo Savina]]
* [[Claudio Simonetti]]
* [[Armando Trovajoli]]
* [[Piero Umiliani]]
{{div col end}}
Sources:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-giallo|title=Where to begin with giallo|website=British Film Institute|date=12 December 2017 |access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref><ref name="BG">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/10/black-gloves-and-knives-12-essential-italian-giallo-109594/|title=Black Gloves And Knives: 12 Essential Italian Giallo|first1=Russ|last1=Fischer|date=Oct 26, 2015|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gosling |first=Emily |date=20 June 2016 |title=The original scream queens who gave giallo its feminist edge |url=https://lwlies.com/women-in-film/feminism-in-giallo-cinema |access-date=2025-11-01 |website=Little White Lies |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Kyle |date=2019-01-02 |title=Giallo Is the Horror Subgenre You Need to Explore |url=https://nerdist.com/article/giallo-horror-subgenre-need-to-explore/ |access-date=2025-11-01 |website=Nerdist |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Navarro |first=Meagan |date=2021-03-15 |title=Stay Home, Watch Horror: 5 Giallo Movies to Stream This Week |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3655824/stay-home-watch-horror-5-giallo-movies-stream-week/ |access-date=2025-11-01 |website=Bloody Disgusting! |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="mubi.com">{{Cite web |date=2020-07-27 |title=Notebook Soundtrack Mix #10: The Black Belly of Giallo |url=https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/notebook-soundtrack-mix-10-the-black-belly-of-giallo |access-date=2025-11-01 |website=MUBI |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Matthew |date=2022-10-31 |title=The 30 Best Slasher Movies of All Time |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/movies/best-slasher-movies |access-date=2025-11-01 |website=Mental Floss |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Films influenced by ''giallo''==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[Blowup]]'' ([[Michelangelo Antonioni]]; 1966)
* ''[[Night After Night After Night]]'' ([[Lindsay Shonteff|Lewis J. Force]]; 1969)
* ''[[She Killed in Ecstasy]]'' ([[Jesús Franco]]; 1970)
* ''[[Klute]]'' ([[Alan J. Pakula]]; 1971)<ref name="GT" />
* ''[[Frenzy]]'' ([[Alfred Hitchcock]]; 1972)<ref name="BG" />
* ''[[The Gore Gore Girls]]'' ([[Herschell Gordon Lewis]]; 1972)
* ''[[Sisters (1973 film)|Sisters]]'' ([[Brian De Palma]]; 1973)<ref name="GF" />
* ''[[Knife for the Ladies]]'' (Larry G. Spangler; 1974)
* ''[[Night of the Skull]]'' ([[Jesús Franco]]; 1974)
* ''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'' ([[Bob Clark]]; 1974)
* ''[[Schizo (1976 film)|Schizo]]'' ([[Pete Walker (director)|Pete Walker]]; 1976)
* ''[[Alice, Sweet Alice]]'' ([[Alfred Sole]]; 1976)<ref name="essenceofgiallo"/>
* ''[[The Toolbox Murders]]'' (Dennis Donnelly; 1978)
* ''[[Eyes of Laura Mars]]'' ([[Irvin Kershner]]; 1978)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gialloreviews.com/1/post/2018/09/eyes-of-laura-mars-1978.html|title=Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)|website=Giallo Reviews|access-date=Dec 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/440612/eyes-of-laura-mars-is-a-giallo-esque-treasure-ready-for-re-discovery-watch/ 'Eyes of Laura Mars' is a Giallo-Esque Treasure Ready for Rediscovery - Dread Central]</ref>
*''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' ([[John Carpenter]]; 1978)<ref name="GF" />
* ''[[Cruising (film)|Cruising]]'' ([[William Friedkin]]; 1980)<ref name="GT" /> 
* ''[[Dressed to Kill (1980 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'' (Brian De Palma; 1980)<ref name="GT" /><ref name="whataregiallomovies"/><ref name="essenceofgiallo">[https://www.dreadcentral.com/lists/439621/these-4-american-made-films-captured-the-essence-of-the-giallo/ These 4 American-Made Films Captured the Essence of the Giallo - Dread Central]</ref>
* ''[[Bloody Moon]]'' ([[Jesús Franco]]; 1981)
* ''[[The Burning (1981 film)|The Burning]]'' ([[Tony Maylam]]; 1981)
* ''[[Happy Birthday to Me (1981 film)|Happy Birthday to Me]]'' ([[J. Lee Thompson]]; 1981)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wickedhorror.com/features/retrospectives/why-happy-birthday-to-me-is-as-much-a-giallo-as-a-slasher/|title=Why Happy Birthday to Me is as Much a Giallo as it is a Slasher |website=Wicked Horror |date=15 April 2016 |access-date=Oct 27, 2022}}</ref><ref name="essenceofgiallo"/>
* ''[[Blow Out]]'' (Brian De Palma; 1981)<ref>[https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/blow-out-and-why-movies-need-shock-endings/ Blow Out, and Why Movies Need Shock Endings - Den of Geek]</ref><ref name="whataregiallomovies">[https://www.polygon.com/22732575/giallo-movies-explained What are giallo movies? Horror's moodiest genre, explained - Polygon]</ref>
* ''[[Night School (1981 film)|Night School]]'' ([[Ken Hughes]]; 1981)
* ''[[Next of Kin (1982 film)|Next of Kin]]'' (Tony Williams; 1982)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/next-kin-1982|title=NEXT OF KIN (1982) |website=Starburst Magazine |access-date=Oct 22, 2022}}</ref>
* ''[[Pieces (film)|Pieces]]'' ([[Juan Piquer Simón]]; 1982)<ref>Conrich, Ian (2010). Horror Zone: The Cultural Experience of Contemporary Horror Cinema. New York City, New York: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-848-85151-1. p. 200</ref>
* ''[[Unhinged (1982 film)|Unhinged]]'' (Don Gronquist; 1982)
* ''[[American Nightmare (film)|American Nightmare]]'' ([[Don McBrearty]]; 1983)
* ''[[Don't Open till Christmas]]'' ([[Edmund Purdom]]; 1984)
* ''[[Body Double]]'' (Brian De Palma; 1984)<ref name="GT" /><ref name="essenceofgiallo"/>
* ''[[City in Panic]]'' (Robert Bouvier; 1986)
* ''[[Knight Moves (film)|Knight Moves]]'' ([[Carl Schenkel]]; 1992)
* ''[[Basic Instinct]]'' ([[Paul Verhoeven]]; 1992)<ref name="GT" /><ref name="whataregiallomovies"/>
* ''[[The Dark Half (film)|The Dark Half]]'' ([[George A. Romero]]; 1993)
* ''[[Color of Night]]'' ([[Richard Rush (director)|Richard Rush]]; 1994)<ref>{{cite web |last=Vasquez|first=Zach|date=April 10, 2023 |title=The Beautifully Bonkers Pleasures of Color of Night |website=Crooked Marquee |url=https://crookedmarquee.com/the-beautifully-bonkers-pleasures-of-richard-rushs-color-of-night/}}</ref>
* ''[[Kill Bill: Volume 2]]'' ([[Quentin Tarantino]]; 2004)
* ''[[Hostel (2005 film)|Hostel]]'' ([[Eli Roth]]; 2005)
* ''[[I Know Who Killed Me]]'' ([[Chris Sivertson]]; 2007)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.fangoria.com/original/black-gloved-hands-across-america-january-giallo-2022/|title=Black-Gloved Hands Across America: January Giallo 2022|work=[[Fangoria]]|date=December 28, 2022|access-date=January 8, 2023|archive-date=8 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108163618/https://www.fangoria.com/original/black-gloved-hands-across-america-january-giallo-2022/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/cinematic-void-presents-i-know-who-killed-me-1-30-23/|title=Cinematic Void Presents I KNOW WHO KILLED ME at American Cinematheque|publisher=[[American Cinematheque]]|access-date=January 27, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127152637/https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/cinematic-void-presents-i-know-who-killed-me-1-30-23/|archivedate=January 27, 2023}}</ref>
* ''[[Last Night in Soho]]'' ([[Edgar Wright]]; 2021)<ref>{{cite web|last=Gingold|first=Michael|url=https://rue-morgue.com/exclusive-interview-the-creators-of-last-night-in-soho-on-giallo-influences-the-music-of-fear-and-more/ |title=Exclusive Interview: The Creators of "Last Night in Soho" on Giallo Influences, The Music of Fear and More |date=October 28, 2021|magazine=[[Rue Morgue (magazine)|Rue Morgue]]|access-date=November 2, 2021}}</ref><ref name="whataregiallomovies"/>
* ''[[Malignant (2021 film)|Malignant]]'' ([[James Wan]]; 2021)<ref name="whataregiallomovies"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Squires |first1=John |title=James Wan Explains How Classic Giallo Movies Inspired the Vibe of 'Malignant' |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3716426/james-wan-explains-how-classic-giallo-movies-inspired-the-vibe-of-malignant/ |access-date=28 April 2024 |work=[[Bloody Disgusting]] |date=25 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gunning |first1=Cathal |title=Malignant And Last Night In Soho Are Heading Up A Giallo Revival |url=https://screenrant.com/malignant-last-night-soho-giallo-revival/ |access-date=28 April 2024 |work=[[Screen Rant]] |date=12 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[MaXXXine]]'' ([[Ti West]]; 2024)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bell |first1=Sadie |title=How 'Maxxxine' Takes Inspiration From Sexploitation—and Gives It a Feminist Twist |url=https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/movies/maxxxine-giallo-inspiration-explained/ |access-date=30 September 2024 |work=[[Marie Claire]] |date=15 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[List of giallo films|List of ''giallo'' films]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book |last1=Kerswell |first1=Justin A. |title=The Slasher Movie Book |date=2012 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=978-1-55652-010-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnqXpwAACAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |title=Mario Bava - All the Colors of the Dark |last=Lucas |first=Tim |isbn=978-0-9633756-1-2 |year=2013 |publisher=Video Watchdog}}
* {{cite book |last1=Authors |first1=Various |title=Schermo giallo. Dizionario cronologico del cinema giallo-thriller italiano dal 1930 al 1959 |date=2023 |publisher=Alcheringa |isbn=9791281248267 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J6p70AEACAAJ |language=en}}

==External links==

* [http://www.allmovie.com/subgenre/giallo-d935 Giallo] at [[AllMovie]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfayZo-TDog Trailer for the 2019 documentary ''All the Colors of Giallo'' on Severin Films official YouTube channel]

{{crime fiction}}
{{Exploitation film}}
{{Horror fiction}}
{{film genres}}
{{Italian film genres}}


[[Category:Giallo films| ]]
[[Category:Giallo film directors]]
[[Category:Film genres]]
[[Category:Horror genres]]
[[Category:Italian films by genre]]
[[Category:Italian literature]]
[[Category:Italian words and phrases]]
[[Category:Italian horror thriller films]]
[[Category:Women and death]]
[[Category:Thrillers]]
[[Category:1960s in film]]
[[Category:1970s in film]]
[[Category:1980s in film]]
[[Category:1980s in Italian cinema]]
[[Category:1990s in Italian cinema]]
[[Category:2000s in Italian cinema]]
[[Category:2010s in Italian cinema]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Giallo|access_date=2026-02-23}}