Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) on Netflix
PG19711h 44mCrimeHorrorMystery
Rock drummer Roberto Tobias is stalked by a man in sunglasses. The man draws a knife in a derelict opera house, and Roberto accidentally stabs him while a masked figure takes photographs.
- Netflix3.0/5
- IMDb6.5/1011,299 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
Roberto Tobias drums in a rock band and for days a man in sunglasses has been following him. He chases the stranger into a derelict opera house, and when the man draws a knife Roberto stabs him with it; he falls from the stage. From a balcony, a masked onlooker photographs him there. The next morning Roberto reads in the newspaper that a stranger named Carlo Marosi has been murdered. Threatening letters arrive at his home, and photographs of that night with Marosi's identity card. Roberto tells his wife Nina what happened, but he will not report it, afraid the police will arrest him. Their live-in maid Amelia overhears the confession.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Terence Stamp, Michael York and even some members of the Beatles were considered for the lead role of drummer Roberto. York signed a contract but dropped out at the last minute when shooting on Zeppelin ran over-schedule, and Dario Argento cast Michael Brandon after seeing him in Lovers and Other Strangers.
- Bud Spencer appeared in Four Flies on Grey Velvet for free, as a favor to his friend Dario Argento, in exchange for his likeness not being used in the film's marketing.
- Dario Argento rejected the "image caught in the retina" plot device because it was too fantastic, but changed his mind after special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi showed him how the effect would look on film.
SPOILER
The film made an early use of a "bullet time" slow-motion effect, in the climax where Roberto is shot by his wife. Argento went on to use similar effects in Opera and The Stendhal Syndrome.- Argento first approached the British rock group Deep Purple to score the film; they recorded several demo tracks, but the collaboration collapsed because of an Italian law regulating public subsidies for arts projects involving foreign personnel.
- Argento and composer Ennio Morricone had a falling out during post-production on the film, and the two did not work together again until 1996's The Stendhal Syndrome.
