Torso

Starring:Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, Luc Merenda, John Richardson, Roberto Bisacco, Ernesto Colli, Angela Covello, Carla Brait, Conchita Airoldi, Patrizia Adiutori, Luciano Bartoli, Gianni Greco, Luciano De Ambrosis, Enrico DiMarco, Giorgio Dolfin, Carlo Alighiero, Vincenzo Crocitti, Luca Bonicalzi, Fausto Di Bella, Giuseppe Terranova
Director: Sergio Martino
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
There's a killer on the loose who's murdering and mutilating beautiful young college girls, and there's no shortage of suspects. Four comely coeds decide to escape the madness by vacationing in an isolated country villa, but the maniac has his eye on them--one of them suspects his identity--and drops in for a homicidal holiday. With a title like Torso you know what you're getting, but despite the high body count and the suggestion of dismemberment, most of the gore in this Italian giallo is offscreen... with a few exceptions (an icky eye gouging stands out). Director Sergio Martino is no Dario Argento and the film is blunt, direct, and vicious, as can be seen when the killer disposes of a witness by ramming his skull into a brick wall with his car, not once but twice (with the appropriate close-up). The killer, who hides behind a ratty ski mask and strangles his targets with a florid scarf, is haunted by some obscure childhood memory involving a porcelain doll and a traumatizing accident. He straddles two clichés, the Norman Bates-variety psychos and the hooded, zombielike automatons of Halloween and Friday the 13th. It doesn't make much sense, but like most slasher films, it's really about suspense, spectacle, and a body count, and Martino doesn't disappoint. To restore the film, Anchor Bay has included a few brief scenes in Italian with English subtitles. --Sean Axmaker

Sizzlin Torso - Belly Dance Instruction DVD Video
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Sizzlin Torso - Belly Dance Instruction DVD Video

Manufacturer: IAMED
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Bellydance Basics and Beyond: Technique for a Solid Foundation

ASIN: B000O5LZK0

Product Description

Ava Fleming shows you how to make your ribs do exactly what you want them to. Moving the ribcage in isolation from - or in coordination with - the hips is the essence of Raqs Sharki. Ribs can move soft and slow, or fast and sharp... but there's more to it than that! The technique a dancer uses to move her body affects how her audience will feel her dancing. Ava Fleming's signature style is based on relaxation within muscular and skeletal isolations, and weight distribution. All that requires understanding exactly how each movement is created. So Ava teaches muscle identification, with exercises to help you connect to the specific muscles you will use. It also requires correct posture, so Ava gives special emphasis to proper body placement to achieve the desired affects safely and gracefully. To help you use different "motivators" to create the same movement with different effects, Ava explains and demonstrates: * internal (muscular) and external (skeletal) movement * continuous versus abrupt movement * "gross" and "small" motivators * engaged versus relaxed placement Ava breaks down how to execute many popular belly dance upper body movements using various motivator techniques - it's the same move but with very different effects! Ava includes fun combinations and plenty of drilling so you'll really feel why an "internal" rib slide looks very different from an "external" rib slide. More than just technique, by giving you greater awareness of how you dance, Ava's movement theory will increase your dance vocabulary, add juiciness to your fluid curves, and crisp precision to your accents. You'll discover and create more intricate layers in your dance, so you- and your audience - will enjoy your dancing even more! Plus, an amazing performance by Ava!

Average customer rating:

Awesome Movie
A Truly Luscious Giallo Gem!
Lacklustre giallo
Terrific 70's Psycha-Psycho
This TORSO Has No Heartbeat.

Torso
Starring: Suzy Kendall , Tina Aumont , Luc Merenda , John Richardson , and Roberto Bisacco
Director: Sergio Martino
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 630579720X
Release Date: 2000-03-21

Amazon.com

There's a killer on the loose who's murdering and mutilating beautiful young college girls, and there's no shortage of suspects. Four comely coeds decide to escape the madness by vacationing in an isolated country villa, but the maniac has his eye on them--one of them suspects his identity--and drops in for a homicidal holiday. With a title like Torso you know what you're getting, but despite the high body count and the suggestion of dismemberment, most of the gore in this Italian giallo is offscreen... with a few exceptions (an icky eye gouging stands out). Director Sergio Martino is no Dario Argento and the film is blunt, direct, and vicious, as can be seen when the killer disposes of a witness by ramming his skull into a brick wall with his car, not once but twice (with the appropriate close-up). The killer, who hides behind a ratty ski mask and strangles his targets with a florid scarf, is haunted by some obscure childhood memory involving a porcelain doll and a traumatizing accident. He straddles two clichés, the Norman Bates-variety psychos and the hooded, zombielike automatons of Halloween and Friday the 13th. It doesn't make much sense, but like most slasher films, it's really about suspense, spectacle, and a body count, and Martino doesn't disappoint. To restore the film, Anchor Bay has included a few brief scenes in Italian with English subtitles. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Movie.......2007-06-23

The tension makes this movie great. Watch it and see what I mean....hacksaw anyone!?!?!

A Truly Luscious Giallo Gem!.......2007-03-24

Sergio Martino's "TORSO"(aka:Carnal Violence) wich is actually a more fitting title is truly the most luscious italian murder mystery(giallo) ever made. With damn good acting(for the genre),Great Directing from meastro Martino, Very good storyline, some truly carnal violence and a handful of some of the sexiest females the species has to offer cherry topped with a spooky masked killer makes this one a lost gem that this horror fan is very glad to own. The ski-mask wearing killer in this giallo definitely played a visual roll in influencing the later American slasher films to follow such as 'Halloween' and 'Friday the 13th". Get this one before it becomes to hard to find!

Lacklustre giallo.......2005-07-19

I was disappointed with this film. Having recently seen Martino's other giallo's, this easily ranks as his worst effort. But if you love giallo's (like me) there's some to enjoy here. The music score is good, the photography excellent (and the picture quality of this disc allows you to enjoy it's scenery to the fullest) and it's got some decent kills.

However it's nearly completely devoid of any real suspense. It's brutal subject matter is handled rather clumsily, it drags incredibly; for a very long time absolutely nothing happens. Granted, it does have a bit of tension in it's final third, but just think what, say, Dario Argento could have pulled off with a finale like that.

This was Martino's last giallo. I personally think he was getting bored with the genre. This movie seems to have been rushed and not made with any real passion. A shame, it had great potential

Terrific 70's Psycha-Psycho.......2005-06-15

Martino's TORSO is a well-crafted, compelling and fun movie. There are several original sequences, and the film doesn't always remain too tediously dogged to some of the more overwrought conventions of the genre. There's plenty of blood, but much of the over the top gore commonly found in Italian Exploitation gives way to a solid narrative. This film was one of the first and best of the "Giallo" films of the 1970's.

This TORSO Has No Heartbeat........2004-11-09

TORSO is, in many ways, the best possible example of the giallo genre, containing EVERY classic element, but yet simultaneously fails as an overall film experience, never really fully delivering on many of the ingredients it serves up.

As in many of the great giallo (think for instance, Argento's DEEP RED...), TORSO contains what can be considered the required fare:
1. A bevy of beautiful victims. This is where this entry does not fail. A half dozen or so gorgeous women line up to be undressed and then summarily hacked up, though not before undressing and engaging in activity rife with lesbian under- (or over-) tones.

2. A [...] killer (As the trailer mentions about 1,000 times). One whose identity is masked throughout - and, as in many giallo, one whose madness is tied to a frequently-flashbacked childhood tragedy. Still, the best shocks come when a character you care for turns out to be the madman and this is one character we never get to know.

3. Red herrings at every turn. TORSO parades at least five potential killers before us and those even remotely experienced in the genre can pick the killer out on his first appearance. Still, it's fun to watch the other hopefuls get theirs as well.

4. Graphic and creative kills. TORSO really, really fails in this department. We do get an ultra-fake [...]-slashing which, by now, is tired fare, an eye-gouging and, most impressively, a double-head-smashed-between-speeding-car-and-wall scene. Still, serious gorehounds will find TORSO extremely unfulfilling in this category.

5. Nail-biting suspense. Again, TORSO flails here. The final moments of the film, when our sole surviving heroine releases herself from her hiding place while we know the killer awaits outside the door, provides the most suspenseful moment, but by this point, we already know how the film will end and, frankly, can't wait for it to be over.

TORSO, simply put, is a flop. A beautifully photographed flop, peopled with gorgeous, frequently topless actresses, showered with the occasional splatter of blood but rarely surrounded with suspense. Anchor Bay has provided a great-looking DVD but one with no extras save for a couple trailers, though, really, once this film has been seen, little more is desired.

Extreme Engineering Season 2 - Episode 1: Turning Torso

Average customer rating:

Extreme Engineering Season 2 - Episode 1: Turning Torso

Manufacturer: Discovery
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000KGGNQY
Release Date: 2006-12-01

Average customer rating:

Great film, fascinating murder case!
Robertson is Best Suited to "Bad Girl" Roles Like This One
I like the story
Haunting Tale has touch of Film Noir
Dang it.

Torso
Starring: Kathleen Robertson , Brenda Fricker , Callum Keith Rennie , Victor Garber , and Ken James (II)
Director: Alex Chapple
Manufacturer: Mti Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Torso Murder: The Untold Story of Evelyn Dick
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ASIN: B000062XFE
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Customer Reviews:

Great film, fascinating murder case!.......2006-04-29

Just saw the Canadian film "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" on the Lifetime Channel and loved it. While I was watching it, I had little or no sense that I was watching a made-for-TV movie, so good were the sets, costumes, and production values. I was hooked from beginning to end, sucked in by the fascinating story of a 1940s Canadian murder case with which I was completely unfamiliar.

The always elegant Victor Garber, a native Canadian whose performance as ship's designer Thomas Andrews in "Titanic" was so memorable, is wonderful in "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" as the insightful Canadian attorney J.J. Robinette, who shouldered Evelyn Dick's cause when no one else would touch it and managed to save her life against all odds. Legendary Irish stage and screen veteran Brenda Fricker ("My Left Foot," "Veronica Guerin") turns in a chilling and masterful performance here as the lethal matriarch pimping out her daughter Evelyn to upper crust Canadians in 1940s Ontario.

The true revelation for me, however, is Kathleen Robertson as Evelyn Dick. I've had no real exposure to Robertson's work before seeing this film, but a perusal of her filmography indicates that she deserves a much better chance to shine than she's had in her previous films. She certainly does shine in this one, her stunning physical beauty by no means her only asset. She manages to understand and capture Evelyn Dick's slippery character on every conceivable level and imbues her with a poignant depth that inspires compassion and revulsion in equal measure.

Kathleen Robertson, incidentally, is a native of Hamilton, Ontario, where the woman she portrays in this film, Evelyn Dick, was brought to trial for murder 60 years ago in 1946/1947. Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia, was discovered murdered in Los Angeles in January 1947 during the course of Evelyn Dick's trial(s). Since then, the mystery of who killed the Black Dahlia has seized the public's imagination worldwide, whereas the mystery of who killed Evelyn Dick's husband seems to have garnered much less publicity. Both cases, however, are equally fascinating, albeit for different reasons.

Despite its clumsy and thoroughly regrettable title, "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" has much to commend it. In addition to the film's impressive performances from Garber, Fricker, and Robertson, it displays keen devotion to exploring the domestic hell in which Evelyn Dick was raised and of which she was a product, implying that, if anyone "made" Evelyn Dick a "loose woman" or a murderer, it would have been those horrendous parents of hers.

The answer to who shot and dismembered Evelyn's hapless husband back in 1940s Canada -- Evelyn herself, one or both of her parents, one of her lovers, or some/all of them in collusion -- is still a mystery to me after seeing this film and inspires me to seek out the only book that seems to be available on the subject, "The Torso Murder: The Untold Story of Evelyn Dick" (2001). Its Canadian author, Brian Vall?e, appears to have been associated with a made-for-CTV documentary called "The Notorious Mrs. Dick," not to be confused with the feature-length film "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" reviewed here.

Can't wait to read the book. At least two of the real culprits in this case got clean away with murder, seems to me, and the worst of them never served a day in jail!

Robertson is Best Suited to "Bad Girl" Roles Like This One.......2006-01-18

You would be hard pressed to identify this as a made-for-television movie. The cinematography and production design are superior to most theatrical features (angular and overhead camera shots, tight shots on Kathleen Robertson, period costuming and good sets). It really transports the viewer back to 1940's Ontario. They paid attention to the details and put serious money into creating a stylish stage on which Robertson turns in a truly fine performance.

She plays a young woman from a horribly abusive family; and what with the flashbacks she convincingly plays herself from about age 13 to age 26 (in fact the flashback to her at age 13 is the most convincing scene in the film). Under a cynical veneer is someone so scarred that she cannot really defend herself against two murder charges, but with the cool elliptical storytelling technique it is some time before the viewer understands the whole dynamic. The film is really about peeling back her protective layers. Instead of a traditional narrative about a character undergoing changes, what changes here is not the character but the viewer's perception of the character.

Robertson was born for this role. I have generally liked her in other stuff but have felt a bit uneasy-when she smiles it seems like she is conning me. This works against her in "good girl" roles ("Maniac Mansion" and "Splendor") but could actually work for her in "bad girl" roles. And it certainly does here where her character is as ambiguous as any you are likely to find.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I like the story.......2005-03-01

Although a lot of the details of this true crime story is lacking, there is much to the character of Evelyn, obviously mistreated by her parents and brainwashed, she was a playthign for the rich to please her parents who then pinned a murder on her. It's a sad piece of history and the costume designs are wonderful on the Canadian actress who played Evelyn. I've watchedit everytime it's come one, because I think the characters are so interesting, especially if you lie true crime, also see Heavenly Creatures.

Haunting Tale has touch of Film Noir.......2003-08-20

Set in 1940s Hamilton Ontario, I thought this flick did a great job of telling the tragic story of intruige surrounding the Evelyn Dick murder trial. I thought the acting, especially by Fricker, was very good and particularly enjoyed the period setting, lighting, and music.

Dang it........2003-07-31

So I go to the video store, looking for some Italian gore movies. I come across Torso. I remember hearing about it, so I buy it used (the slip thing with the covers was missing, with Torso simply written on the front in red, so it was real cheap). I go home, put it in the DVD player, and guess what comes on? This awful piece of TV movie garbage. It starts stupid, it ends stupid, it lacks a point, intresting writing, original (or at least different) direction, and sub-par acting. I was mad, and the store only gave me 1/4 of what I paid for it. To quote Hank Hill: "Dang it". Truer words were never spoken.

The Fourteenth Victim - Eliot Ness and the Torso Murders

Average customer rating:

The Fourteenth Victim - Eliot Ness and the Torso Murders
Director: Mark Wade Stone
Manufacturer: Storytellers Media Group, LTD
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0974957534
Release Date: 2006-03-01

Description

Mark Wade Stone - Producer & Editor | David A. Brodowski - Director of Photography | Marie Studniarz Rudolph - Associate Producer | Carl Michel - Music | Awarded 2004 regional Emmy for Music Composition

Average customer rating:

A masterpiece!!!
Don't be fooled - not an instructional video
Great Tutorial
Good info, bad editing
A little good, a little bad

Casting The Female Torso
Starring: Various
Manufacturer: ArtMolds Productions
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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How to Create an Artistic Face Casting

ASIN: B0002KQQ2O
Release Date: 2004-07-01

Description

Renown sculptor, author and teacher David Parvin demonstrates the techniques he uses in his 5-day workshops to mold and cast beautiful sculptural works using the female form.

David explains every step thoroughly and succinctly including the use of materials their application, his unique style and studio secrets.

He first demonstrates his technique using a silicone torso. He then shows how to create a beautiful casting using the nude figure.

Finally, he shows how to cast over clothing using a young ballerina in a leotard to create a beautiful work of showing every fold of cloth.

Customer Reviews:

A masterpiece!!!.......2006-10-08

Wonderful a million reasons, none of which were intended. Women in oil-soaked clothes encased in plaster. What's not to like. Works on many levels!

I await the unrated extended edition.

Don't be fooled - not an instructional video.......2005-11-12

The editorial review and author's description is misleading, you will have a hard time learning the techniques shown in the video. Almost no step-by-step instructions in the video, the video is a recording of a modelling session. As the artist himself states in the video, he uses this video to lay rest any concerns a model may have before a session.
If you're very observant you may pick up a thing or two that may help you with your female torso castings.

Great Tutorial.......2005-09-27

This is a great step-by-step tutorial by one of the masters of lifecasting. The sound is kind of poor, but it wasn't made in a sound studio, it was made in an artist's studio.

The instructor narrates and demostrates everything from needed materials to finishing techniques. It doesn't assume any prior knowledge, so it is good for a novice.

Great instructional video.

Good info, bad editing.......2005-04-04

The information presented on this video was really good and I will have to watch it over and over just to get it all. There were many helpful tips that could only be learned by experience which David shares with you. The quality of the video is not so good. It is shot with a low quality camera (I am guessing a consumer grade video camera). The audio is worse. The audio at times is so full of distortion at times it is hard to understand. There is also keynote text on the screen when major points are given. I would have not had them up as long. I found at times I could have read the text 4 times over and I just wanted to see what he was doing rather than reading.

If you can get by the bad sound a not so good final editing and just learn from this. It is a very good teaching tool.

A little good, a little bad.......2005-03-04

First, the bad: my copy of this DVD had some technical problems; the audio was fuzzy, although understandable with some concentration on my part; there was considerable pixellation (picture breakup) in the segment on casting the young girl in a leotard, to the point of being unwatchable; the segment on casting from a silicone torso mentioned in the description was not on the DVD; there was nothing about actually making a casting from the molds created - the DVD would be better titled as Molding the Female Torso. Now, the good: the technique demonstrated for molding from a nude model was clearly presented; I was able to make my first fully successfull mold by following the instructions. The segment on creating a patinaed surface was also worthwhile. I probably should have returned this DVD in hope of getting a better quality replacement. Overall, I would recommend this DVD for its educational content, but be aware of the aforementioned problems.

Average customer rating:

Torso [Region 2]
Starring: Sabine Kupferberg , and Leigh Warren
Director: Torbjörn Ehrnvall
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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