WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE?

Directed by Massimo Dallamano
Written by Bruno Di Geronimo & Massimo Dallamano
Cinematography by Aristide Massaccesi
Music by Ennio Morricone
Cast: Fabio Testi, Cristina Galbo, Karin Baal, Joachim Fuchsberger & Camille Keaton

1972/106 mins/Color/Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
2.35:1 anamorphic/English/Italy/NTSC Region 1

Review from the Media Blasters DVD

Professor Enrico Rossini (Testi) is having an affair with one of his student (the beautiful Galbo) from the St. Hilda's Catholic Girls School. One day while making out, they are interrupted when Elizabeth sees someone with a knife by the riverbank. The next morning, the body of a fellow student is found nearby. Soon enough, another student is found dead and poor Elizabeth is drowned in a bath at the hands of the murderer. Due to his involvement with the girls all the clues lead to the Professor. Yet he manages to find some informations about a group of teenage girls with dangerous sex games that are all linked to someone called Solange.

Based on the Edgar Wallace novel The Clue of the New Pin, Massimo Dallamano has created an intense and very well though mystery plot that slowly but nicely builds itself and unfold before your eyes. For two third of the film, the title doesn't mean anything but when the character of Solange is introduced in the story, you will find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering just who is she and what have they done to her.

Born in Milan on April 17, 1917, Massimo Dallamano was mostly known in the movie business as a cinematographer for Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964) and FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965). His first movie was the documentary TIERRA MAGICA (1959) and he later directed the thriller A BLACK VEIL FOR LISA (1968). An Italian-German co-production, hence the very krimi atmosphere and the casting of Baal and Fuchsberger, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? is one of the most memorable giallo of the early 1970s. The movie spawned the 1974 "sequel" WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO OUR DAUGHTERS?

Cinematographer Aristide Massaccesi, who would later be known as Joe D'Amato, gives the film a stylish and haunting atmosphere while Ennio Morricone provides yet another magnificent and gripping musical score. All of the cast are great, especially Camille Keaton as the disturbed and silent Solange who a few years later would be raped and beaten in Meir Zarchi's infamous I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. The movie was released theatricaly in the United States as THE SHCOOL THAT COULDN'T SCREAM and later as TERROR IN THE WOODS.

Media Blasters released the movie on DVD in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, as part of their Giallo Collection. It is anamorphic but since the transfer was interlaced, the colors are a little soft. It still looks good but nothing spectacular. We get the English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio track which sounds fine and clear but lacks in aggressivity.

We get trailer for WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE?, SWEET HOUSE OF HORROR, SPASMO, HOUSE BY THE EDGE OF THE PARK and HOUSE OF CLOCKS. There is also an 'Art Gallery' with posters and lobby cards and a nicely put together 12 pages booklet with informations on the director, cast, crew and film. The film is separated in 16 chapter stops, features nicely designed static menus and comes in a keep case. The package states a running time of 103 minutes but its actually 106.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? has been released in many editions on DVD. EC Entertainment released the movie in Sweden with a running time of 102 minutes. It was also released in PAL Region 2 in Japan by Trash Mountain Video with a running time of 102 minutes. This edition is incorrectly framed at 1.90:1 non-anamorphic with the Italian audio track only available with Japanese subtitles. In Italy, 01 Distribution released an even better version with a 102 minutes running time PAL Region 2 with both Italian and English audio tracks, subs and more extras. The later version features a higher bit rate with a much sharper and detailed transfer making it the best edition available.

(Original title: COSA AVETE FATTO A SOLANGE ?)

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Review by Kim Dubuisson. All Right Reserved. 2007. ©

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