Woodyanders Lucio Fulci achieved his greatest enduring cult popularity with his gruesome and moody horror splatter pictures, but was actually a much more versatile and accomplished director than he usually gets credit for being. This historical drama stands out as a sterling example of Fulci's remarkable cinematic talents: Lavishly mounted on a substantial budget, it manages to be genuinely poignant and gripping without ever becoming too sappy or melodramatic. Fulci handles the stark and unsentimental telling of this shocking real life tragedy with admirable skill and assurance; he delivers a thoroughly convincing and unromantic evocation of the harsh 16th century period setting along with a properly grim'n'gritty atmosphere and trademark startling moments of brutal violence and sadistic torture. Adrienne Larussa gives a strong and touching performance as Beatrice Cenci, a gentle, yet proud and resilient teenager who plotted with her faithful servant lover Olimpio (the always excellent Tomas Milian) to kill her cruel and abusive nobleman father Don Francesco Cenci (superbly played to the hateful hilt by Georges Wilson). Mavie is likewise sound as Beatrice's long-suffering stepmother Lucrezia and Ignazio Spalla contributes an amusing turn as gross fat slob bandit Catalano. Erco Menczer's sumptuous cinematography gives the movie an impressively lush and expansive look. The grand and melodic score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino and Silvano Spadaccino rates as another major asset. But it's Fulci's inspired direction and the bold vehement anti-Catholic stance that really brings a certain raw and direct power to the film. Well worth seeing.

dbdumonteil I do not go much for Fulci's horror movies which remain very inferior,IMHO, to those of his Italian colleagues (Dario Argento and Mario Bava).But this one ,by keeping the horror sequences to the minimum (the tortures scenes do not last long fortunately),is eminently commendable.The cast includes two French actors :one of them ,Georges Wilson ,a very earnest stage thespian ,and the father of Lambert Wilson,is very unexpected here ,and his part of the violent perverse noble who rejoices cause two of his sons are dead so he won't have to feed them anymore and who imprisons his daughter in a dungeon is quite impressive .The other French actor is Raymond Pellegrin in a supporting role.Adrienne Larusso is incredibly beautiful as Beatrice Cenci and Thomas Milian gives a restrained effective performance.The plot is not easy to catch up with ,because the director blends present and past without the traditional codes .No transition most of the time.Besides ,there are many characters ,and many of them are underwritten (Beatrice's brother for instance)It's a film of blood and fury,the monsters are everywhere :Francesco Cenci is terrifying but so is the Holy Office whose goal is to appropriate the Cenci's fortune.Like this?try these....Flesh and blood (Paul Verhoeven,1985)The devils (Ken Russel,1970)La monaca di Monza (ERIPRANDO Visconti,1968)

The_Void Lucio Fulci. Just hearing the name will make most cult cinema fans think of blood and gore - and for good reason since the great director was responsible for some of the best gory highlights ever made, and for that reason; he's just about the last director you would expect to make a period drama. Fulci did have a varied career, making films in many of Italy's most famous genres, from westerns and Polizi flicks to Giallo and the blood and gore films with which he made his name...however, it would seem that period dramas were not his thing as Beatrice Cenci will not feature in my list of favourite Fulci flicks! The plot is actually a decent base for a film and is set in 16th Century Italy. The title character, Beatrice Cenci, is the daughter of a rich landowner named Francesco Cenci. Francesco is a cruel man who keeps his daughter locked up in a room and tortures her. Naturally, she's not best pleased at this arrangement and since she's not the only one who dislikes her father, she doesn't have a hard time getting some other people to help her murder him.I have to admit, part of the reason why I didn't like this film is because I'm not a fan of period dramas. Naturally, my only reason for watching this is because I'm a big Fulci fan and I'll watch anything that the director's name is attached to, even if it is something from a genre I have no love for. Even though I found the film rather dull, I do have to admire the great director's work on it. He may be best known for his gore flicks, but Fulci's talent came out best in his earlier films and here he creates a great atmosphere and manages to pull good performances out of his cast. Aside from Fulci at the helm, this film also features another great cult luminary in an early role, in the form of the always watchable Tomas Milian. He is joined by Adrienne Larussa who takes the title role and does a good job with it. Despite the fact that this is a departure from what Fulci is best known for, it's not completely devoid of the elements that won him his fan base as the film does feature some rather nasty torture scenes. Overall, I can respect the craftsmanship on this film but I won't pretend to like it! Recommended to hardcore Fulci fans only.

marquis de cinema A terrificly executed period piece from the Godfather of Gore, Beatrice Cenci(1969) is a masterpiece of tragic beauty. This movie is a contradiction to the accusation of Fulci as a misogynist from his later films. Adrienne LaRussa does a nice job in conveying the almost gentle nature of the female protagonist. George Wilson as the father does a good job in portraying someone truly evil. Cries of death to the director were shouted in a theatre due to the film's anti-catholic nature.The Catholic church is presented in the film with absolute disdain. In fact, they are seen as greedy and hypocritical. Beatrice Cenci(1969), along with The Witchfinder General(1968) are probably the best films dealing with the late middle ages. The direction is nearly perfect, and the story is well done. The film revolves around a labyrinth of flashbacks in the style of Reservoir Dogs(1992). The main source of influence seems to been The play version of The Cenci by Artoud, Antonin as well as the five act play by Percelly Shelly.There are two films that Beatrice Cenci(1969) compares with. One film is Don't Torture A Duckling(1972) which also deals with Catholic repression. Another film is The Devil's Honey(1986) which deals deals with a woman's urge to be an independant woman. Beatrice Cenci(1969) is not only overlooked by Fulci supporters but by Fulci distractors as well. This movie shows that Fulci was capable of more ambigious and personal films then the many ones that he direct in his career(Its too bad as he had the talent that would have made him one of the best directors of his generation in Italy).