Il coltello di ghiaccio

Knife of Ice
Film poster
Directed byUmberto Lenzi
Screenplay byUmberto Lenzi
Story by
  • Umberto Lenzi
  • Antonio Troiso
Starring
CinematographyJosé F. Aguayo, Jr.
Edited byEnzo Alabis
Music byMarcello Giombini
Production
companies
  • Tritone Cinematografica
  • Mundial Films
  • Incir-De Paolis[1]
Release date
  • 24 August 1972 (1972-08-24)[2]
Running time
91 minutes[3]
Countries
  • Italy
  • Spain
LanguageItalian

Il coltello di ghiaccio (lit. English: Knife of Ice) is a 1972 giallo film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Carroll Baker, Evelyn Stewart, and George Rigaud. Both Baker and Stewart featured in several other films helmed by Lenzi. The film follows a mute woman who finds herself in danger when a serial killer begins stalking the Spanish countryside. The title takes its name from a quote attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, in which he refers to fear as a "knife of ice which penetrates the senses down to the depth of conscience";[4] the quote, however, was a fabrication by the filmmakers.[5]

The film marked the fourth and final collaboration between actress Baker and director Lenzi, after she had starred in three of his previous films: So Sweet... So Perverse, Orgasmo, and A Quiet Place to Kill.

Elements of the film's script and direction have been cited as being reminiscent of works by fellow Italian Lucio Fulci. AllMovie's Robert Firsching has noted that Il coltello di ghiaccio "should prove fascinating to genre devotees."[6]

  1. ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | Il coltello di ghiaccio (1970) | Full Credits". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Il coltello di ghiaccio". Il Cineocchio (in Italian). Archived from the original on 17 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Knife of Ice (Il coltello di ghiaccio)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Knife of Ice". Psychovision. Giallo (in Italian). Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  5. ^ Roberto Curti. Italian Giallo in Film and Television: A Critical History. - Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland&Co, 2022. - P. 253.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference allrovi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).