Given how I've only just now seen this film so many people seem to be familiar with, I"M the one late in responding! It was Fulci and Roberto Gianviti who came up with the original story, though the actual script was also worked on by André Tranché. Somebody who had nothing to do with the screenplay was José Luis Martínez Mollá despite being listed in the credits. Because there was a lot of Spanish money in the film, the production had to both employ and credit some Spanish people even if they didn’t actually do anything. The Italian/French/Spanish/UK production was shot under the title of La Gaffia [ The Trap]. Some interiors were filmed at Der Studios in Rome but all exterior work and even some interiors were shot at various London locations [and if you know London then you’ll notice that some of the geography in the film is decidedly iffy] and Wovan Abbey near Milton Keynes. Fulci wanted his lead actress to be blonde, but Florinda Bolkan refused to dye her hair and Fulci, who could be something of a bully but who respected those who stood up to him, let her have her way. In Italy, Fulci was threatened with a two year prison sentence because it was thought that real dogs were cut up on screen for real, and special effects man Carlo Rambaldi presented one of his prosthetic model dogs in four separate courts. Different countries often saw slightly different versions, with for example the Italian release losing some sexual material and the UK print having the dog scene, one other gory shot and a tiny dialogue scene removed while the US cut entitled Schizoid lost rather more dialogue but had slightly more sexual stuff. Even DVD releases differed and only a few months ago was a totally complete version put together and released. Carol Hammond is having bizarre recurring dreams which she is going to a psychiatrist to find the meaning of. In her subsequent later dreams she finds herself killing her promiscuous nubile neighbor.when the aforementioned neighbor is then found murdered in real life with Carol's penknife found at the scene she becomes a prime suspect. Shriek Show dropped the ball with this one somewhat. With the shorter American "Schizord" version getting a better transfer, while the original Italian version is relegated to the second disc. It doesn't look as good and is in full-screen. It's great to own this at all, but I was somewhat disheartened. That being said, this is one of Fulci's best, if somewhat dated, Giallos It keeps you guessing, and is never boring. The following day, it's revealed that Julia Durer has indeed been murdered. Inspector Corvin from Scotland Yard arrives to take charge of the investigation. The room and condition of the dead body are identical to their depiction in the dream sequence. To make matters even more incriminating, there is a discarded fur coat near the body. Learning of the murder, Carol insists that she see the scene of the crime and when she enters Julia's apartment and sees the body, she faints. I only remember when the film was released as "Lizard"...I wonder when and in what markets it became "Schizoid" (It's like how I can only remember that Julie Andrews disaster "Star!" when it came out; i don't recall when they released it as "Those Were the Happy Times"- terrible title!)

And dear God in heaven, did you ever see the poster for Lizard’s AIP release in the states?? I’m guessing, it’s not to accurate… Zangerl R. The turtle shell. In: Gans C, Bellairs DA, Parsons TA, editors. Biology of the Reptilia, Morphology A. Vol. 1. London: Academic Press; 1969. pp. 311-340The film is perhaps most famous for a scene in which Mrs. Hammond opens the door to a room filled with dogs that are apparently being experimented on. The dogs are cut open with their hearts and guts still pulsating. The scene was so graphic and realistic that several crew members were forced to testify in court to disprove the accusation that real dogs were used in the film. [5] Carlo Rambaldi, a special effects artist, saved Fulci from a two-year prison sentence by presenting the fake dog props in court to a seemingly unconvinced judiciary. [5] This was the first time in film history that an effects artist had to prove his work was not real in a court of law.

At only 90 plus minutes the film somehow seems a bit overlong. Some scenes feel rather long winded and overly stretched. Supporting actors are rather lame and the English dub is not very good. Snakes are carnivorous reptiles with highly mobile jaws, which enable them to swallow prey much larger than they are. They are legless (some species retain a pelvic girdle) and have an elongated body, this means that paired organs appear one in front of other and they only have one functional lung. Some species have venom, used primarily to kill prey. Their skin is covered in scales and snakes are not slimy [ 2]. Lizards are quadrupedal squamates, except some legless, snake-like-bodied species. Often, they are territorial and have many antipredator strategies, such as camouflage, venom, reflex bleeding, and the ability to destroy and then regenerate their tails after destruction. They are covered in overlapping keratin scales, enabling them to live in the driest deserts on the earth [ 3, 4].

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A Lizard in a Woman's Skin is a psychological thriller directed by Lucio Fulci and released in 1971. The movie follows the story of Carol Hammond, a wealthy young woman living in London, whose dreams become filled with images of her neighbor, Julia Durer, being brutally murdered. As it turns out, Julia is in fact murdered and Carol becomes the prime suspect in the investigation. I think I one of the reasons I'm not so familiar with Italian giallo is that I'm not very much a horror fan. I don't know if "Lizard in a Woman's Skin" is average for the genre, but I really liked that it was chiefly a psychological murder mystery with suspense elements. Had it been out and out horror, i'm not sure it would have made such a strong impression. I think perhaps I'll tread lightly in seeking other giallo films.

Hazel J, Stone M, Grace S, Tsukruk VT. Nanoscale design of snake skin for reptation locomotions via friction anisotropy. Journal of Biomechanics. 1999; 32(5):477-484 It’s no secret that in the 2020s, increased visibility of the LGBTQ+ community coupled with widespread right-wing radicalization and partisan wedge issues have yielded rampant re-stigmatization of queer and trans people in both the U.S. and U.K. Maybe it’s because of this that the first two acts of Fulci’s film still feel so fresh. Oddly enough however, the film’s late invalidation of her victimhood doesn’t negate these truths so much as it shines light on other, simultaneous ones. The men ’s patronizing view of Carol as a delicate damsel is its own issue, but it also speaks to a greater social tendency to automatically and insidiously grant white women the illusion of innocence—something the script (from Fulci, Josè Luis Martinez Molla, Andrè Tranchè and Roberto Gianviti) deviously subverts. The film opens with a dream from Carol Hammond(Florinda Bolkan)concerning her delirious trip through an orgy of naked people standing trying to flee but finding herself in the arms of a woman(the always luscious Anita Strindberg). As she tells this to her psychoanalyst, Carol seems to be ridding herself of buried desires in an attempt to "free" herself from the bondage of depravity. But, one such dream shows Carol murdering the woman and it turns out that this occurrence actually happens to the very next door neighbor for whom she speaks of. Soon Carol is the main suspect when the police and detectives find her fingerprints all over the weapon used(..not to mention, her fur was by the dead woman's bed). Little elements emerge, however, that might save Carol such as these notes she took moments after her awakening from the dreams. Another development shows that her husband Frank(Jean Sorel)had access to her notes, understood a point of entrance into the dead woman's pad, could place certain things in the dead woman's room that belong to Carol, and had a motive for seeing his wife put away for murder..he was having a two year passionate love affair with another woman. Another major development has two possible witnesses at the scene of the crime, one of whom actually chases Carol twice in attempt to kill her with a knife(in one inspired sequence, Carol raises the ire of a nest of bats in an organ loft as she hid from the one chasing her). Is or is not Carol the killer..that is the main question at the heart of this marvelously deranged, colorful, and thoughtfully designed giallo.

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That will take me to the pacing of the movie, which I have to say was just fine. The movie runs 95 minutes and I don't have a problem there. The movie never gets boring, despite there's really only one death and that is Julia. Sorry if that is a spoiler, but that's not to say that things do not happen. We get hallucinations from Carol as well as there is someone chasing after her to kill her. That really helps to the drive the tension when it is needed and the story keeps it from getting boring. Much like many giallo films, the ending is abrupt as we're given the explanation, but it fits for how the story plays out. And until you mentioned it, I thoroughly forgot that I had seen Leo Genn before in "The Velvet Touch" (I'd count "Mourning Becomes Electra" but that one I regrettably fell asleep during-numbing my partner's arm in the process. He still tells me what a wonderful film I missed). The sets in the film are also gorgeously early 70s. I recall a big sitting room with brown walls! Also, the sexy neighbors' huge bachelorett-pad with all the fur. Too trippy! The early seventies fashions are fascinating to watch. (It's the mid 70s fashions that I have such a hard time with.) I love that crazy mix of hippie and mod from the early 70s, especially in "Lizard in a Womans Skin" when the characters are so sophisticated. In crocodiles and turtles, the dermal armor is formed from the deeper dermis rather than the epidermis and does not form the same sort of overlapping structure as snake scales. These dermal scales are more properly called scutes. Similar dermal scutes are found in the feet of birds and tails of some mammals and are believed to be the primitive form of dermal armor in reptiles [ 8].

I've tried to like cult director Lucio Fulci's films, I really have. I've seen his 80s gore 'classics' (House By The Cemetery, The Beyond, Zombi 2, City of the Living Dead, The New York Ripper), his later splatter films (Cat In The Brain, Touch of Death) and his one brief foray into crime thriller territory (Contraband); none of them have really impressed me. Now I'm giving his giallos a go; they're supposed to be good, aren't they? Either way, A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin finds Fulci at his most balanced, both plot-and stylewise. The maestro lets loose in the deranged fever dreams of his protagonist but grounds his story in reality by providing psychological explanations that clear up the hallucinations. He tunes up his deliberately messy camerawork to psychedelic heights and uses hyperspeed zoom-ins and bouncy cuts of an even faster nature between hunter and hunted to shoot the tension out of space. Those who have had to suffer through some of Fulci's later garbage such as "City of the Living Dead", "Manhattan Baby" or "The Beyond" might be surprised to find that he could actually direct. The dream sequences are filled with startling imagery made all the more striking for their auteurism. Who could forget the dissected canines? Even the giallo parts, the "real" aspect of the movie, feature inventive camera angles that take you by surprise. Yet another early 70's giallo with one of those cryptic zoophilic titles. A Lizard in a Woman's Skin is a very fine example of this most Italian of exploitation sub-genres and is possibly the best film that Lucio Fulci ever made. The movie's plot is intricate and multi-layered, leaving the audience guessing until the very end. The murder investigation is not the only thread in the story, we also see Carol struggling with her identity and sexuality. The movie explores themes such as repressed desires, identity, and personal freedom. The imagery in the movie is vivid, surreal and psychedelic, adding to the sense of confusion and disorientation.

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Starring Florinda Bolkan, Jean Sorel, Stanley Baker, Alberto De Mendoza, Leo Genn, Anita Strindberg, Georges Rigaud That Alexandria Palace location is quite stunning! The footage shot on the roof is some of my favorite from the film. In the office the next day, Edmond gets a phone call and as Frank is leaving, asks if he has been unfaithful to his daughter. He laughs off the accusation and leaves. It is storming that night and we see that he is in fact cheating on her with someone. That night, Carol has another vivid dream where she murders Julia. We also get an odd image of Jenny (Penny Brown) and Hubert (Mike Kennedy) who are watching from a balcony. Their eyes are white and it should be pointed out they're hippies. Alibardi L. Aaptation to the land: The skin of reptiles in comparison to that of amphibians and endotherm amniotes. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 2003; 298(1):12-41 I'm so impressed that you actually had this film on DVD! I don't know how this movie escaped me for so many years. I'm even surprised that none of my friends (who know my warped tastes) has mentioned it over the years.