Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Coventry
Even if you only occasionally and/or accidentally stumble upon my profile, you must have noticed already that I'm a huge fan of Italian cult cinema from the '60s, '70s and '80s, and more particularly the so-called "giallo" is my absolute favorite sub- genre. Gialli are violent and often perverted whodunit thrillers from Italy that were tremendously popular from the mid-sixties until approximately the mid-seventies. The sub-genre was more or less founded by Mario Bava with his classics "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" and "Blood and Black Lace", released in respectively 1962 and 1964, but the glorious heydays were between 1968 and 1972, with brilliant highlights from a range of multi-talented directors like Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino, Umberto Lenzi and Massimo Dallamano. But then, for some mysterious and incomprehensible reason, the giallo-reign abruptly ended in 1975 and, with the exception of one or two titles, no more decent gialli were made in the second half of the decade. There was a brief revival during the '80s, mainly thanks to Mario Bava's son Lamberto and his handful of good contributions ("A Blade in the Dark", "Midnight Killer", "Delirium: Photos of Gioia") but then the giallo passed away for good. It's most interesting to investigate why exactly the gialli of the late '70s stopped being good, and I think Enzo Milioni's "The Sister of Ursula" is the ideal study object…It seems as if newer and aspiring directors mistook the most important trademarks of the giallo and subsequently enlarged them in the most wrongful and distasteful ways! For instance, gialli have always contained sleazy sex footage and the lead actresses often provided gratuitous nudity, but watching "The Sister of Ursula" almost feels like watching hardcore pornography! There are many extended sex sequences; showing – in great detail - foreplay and both male as female genitalia, and that's really not necessary! Also, in older gialli the female victims were occasionally stabbed in the crotch with a sharp knife, which was ultimately perverse and shocking, whilst here in this film all the victims' intimate areas are sodomized with a big wooden dildo! That's right; it doesn't get any more tasteless than that! The plot and main characters of this late giallo are weak and uninteresting, with several minor stories that are interwoven with each other. There's the principal story of the lovely siblings Ursula and Dagmar arriving in sunny Amalfi to look for the mother that abandoned them when they were still children. They reside at a luxurious seaside hotel, where the lurid manager has an affair with the night club singer and his wife is a frustrated lesbian. Ursula becomes more and more asocial and forbids her sister to date the junkie who always hangs around the hotel bar. Oh yes, meanwhile there's also a mad maniac on the loose who loves to savagely destroy vaginas! Many long parts of the film – including the semi porn – are dull and badly acted. The best aspects and, in fact, the sole reasons to consider checking out "The Sister of Ursula" are the breath-taking Amalfi filming locations and the surprisingly exhilarating musical score.
Witchfinder General 666
LA SORELLA DI URSULA (aka. "The Sister of Ursula" / "Curse of Ursula") of 1978 is an incredibly sleazy Giallo that is primarily recommendable for its perverted sleaze, beautiful settings and beautiful female cast members. Directed by the rather un-known Enzo Milioni, the film is certainly not a particularly memorable, suspenseful or convoluted example for Suspense-cinema's most intriguing genre, but, overall, the genre-typical combination of sleaze and elegance (the focus is on the sleaze-part in this case) makes it interesting enough for my fellow Giallo-enthusiasts to track down.The beautiful Austrian sisters Ursula (Barbara Magnolfi) and Dagmar Beyne (Stefania D'Amario) come to Amalfi in Southern Italy in search of their mother, who left their late father a long time ago. Upon their arrival, a prostitute is murdered in a highly perverted and gruesome manner. Ursula, who has been traumatized by the death of her beloved father, seems hostile towards others and is sure that somebody is out to kill her as well...The film is incredibly sleazy, though not particularly brutal for Giallo-standards. It starts out well, but gets a bit repetitive after a while. In its sleaziness, is sometimes compared to GIALLO A VENEZIA (1979), another incredibly sleazy Giallo made after the genre's heyday (which I would call the years 1970-1975), though that film was arguably the most graphically sadistic Giallo of all. LA SORELLA DI URSULA is far more elegant, however. The coastal small-town Amalfi in Campania, Italy is incredibly beautiful, and a wonderful location for any film, especially a Giallo. The hotel in which most of the film takes place is full of incredibly cool set-pieces. The genre-typical score featuring a mysterious female singing voice is beautiful and supports the film's elegance and eerie atmosphere. The murders are nasty, but not particularly brutal, since the killings as such are not that graphic. There are tons of sleaze and gratuitous female nudity, which is very graphic even for softcore-pornography standards. This is very welcome, since the female cast consists entirely of stunning beauties. The most ravishing woman in the film is Barbara Magnolfi, who will be recognized by any fan of Italian Horror for her supporting role in Dario Argento's masterpiece SUSPIRIA (1977), most likely the most famous of all Italian Horror films. She's also a fine actress, and delivers the most convincing performance here. Stefania D'Amorio, who plays her eponymous sister, is also very beautiful, as are the other female cast members. The male cast includes Cult-cinema regular Marc Porel in a shady role.Overall, LA SORELLA DI URSULA isn't a must-see, and there are numerous Gialli that should be seen before this one. However, it provides sleazy and elegant entertainment, and while it isn't the most suspenseful specimen of the genre, my fellow Giallo-fans should have a good time watching it. Just don't expect anything on a par with Sergio Martino or Dario Argento.
ferbs54
Hey, aspiring filmmakers, here's a tip: If you want to give your picture an automatic 2 stars right out of the gate, shoot it on Italy's Amalfi Coast, a district so incredibly gorgeous that it makes any film look good! Case in point: the sleazy giallo "The Sister of Ursula" (1978), an otherwise tawdry, far-fetched affair whose stunning backdrop (the area between Positano and Amalfi, and nearby Ravello) is its main selling point. In the film, the two Austrian sisters of the title--randy, normal Dagmar (Stefania D'Amario) and fey, unpleasant Ursula (Barbara Magnolfi)--come to a luxurious hotel after the recent death of their father, but at an unfortunate time. It seems that a local whackjob has taken to killing nubile ladies using an enormous, phallus-shaped...oh, I guess I'd better not say...on the gals' northern Virginias (shades of 1971's "What Have You Done To Solange?"). Many suspects abound, including the hotel's handsome manager (Vanni Materassi) and the resident smack-addicted stud (played by giallo vet Marc Porel, a real-life addict himself). The film features copious amounts of male and female full-frontal nudity; tepid, simulated sex scenes (straight couples, lesbians, female masturbation); and even a surprising glimpse of pudendum. As far as violence is concerned, the dastardly deeds are blessedly done offscreen, with only the gory aftermaths on display. The picture also gives us a lush, catchy theme song in Mimi Uva's "Eyes," stylish direction from Enzo Milioni, and very decent acting by the four leads, but the killer's motivation and demise ultimately seem forced and unsatisfying, somehow. In all, a great-looking mixed bag, nicely presented on this Severin Films DVD, with excellent subtitling and a fascinating, 30-minute interview with Milioni himself.
Superwonderscope
Last Gasp of the Giallo genre by the end of the 70's, "Ursula's sister" will be on top of the list of european trash & sleaze fans. But boy this one was tragically bad & boring.It's an utterly lacklustre attempt to mix sex & violence. From an uninteresting story (two sisters going on vacation by the sea are fighting over their father & mother relationship while a maniac kills young girls with a huge dildo (!!!!) right after they made love), Enzo Milioni's effort has a reminiscence of Jess Franco's early 70's works (The Bare Breasted Countess or Lady dracula) but with no talent shown. I rarely use my fast forward option on my remote but here I found a pure gem. Neverending dialogues by the sea, uneffective editing killing most of the suspense, cars chases at 50m/h that last at least 4 minutes (even with the beautiful sights of the Amalfi coast)are really too much for me. Bad acting, bad dubbing... only Barbara Magnolfi seems out of this world, her eyes lost as if she didn't actually realize what she was doing. Even handsome Marc Porel at his worst is in this huge pile of crap.Except the hotel location and the deep blue sea, it seems obvious that the budget was low, so were the expectations of the producers, I guess. But the TV-like cinematography doesn't help at all.The only different thing are the sex scenes : they're all on the verge of an hardcore movie. Which is strange for an italian thriller of 1978. But besides the excitement for male straight viewers, it doesn't bring anything to this flick. It's not even titillating as the actresses & actors don't seem to believe in what they do. It's pure Sexploitation and totally useless...and not even fun!On the top of all this nonsense, the score is simply atrocious. Horrible 70's italian muzak : mix of bad funk and Morriconesque women vocalizing surrounded. The murders scenes (no gore at all, by the way -not enough budget) are mixed with a tremendously funny violin that tones down all the thrill you might get. Oh, and there's the song sung by Yvonne Harlow (what a pseudo!) with the worst lipsync in all movie history. Gotta be seen to be believed.Sexist stuff & simply trash...Just plain boring & insulting for the viewer.Superwonderscope says 2
