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Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The acting in this movie is really good.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

A series of murders occur with the only link between them being a glove which has a finger cut off. A reporter gradually tracks down the killer who may be someone he knows. He himself is a suspect but he is dogged in his investigation. It's a fair giallo with the familiar plot device of someone who murders several times to hide the fact they really want to kill just one person in the death toll. (Agatha Christie for one). It's also a bit confusing as it first appears the killer is killing for the sake of it (breathy sinister narration) when in actual fact they have a real motive. The meaning of the glove is obscure too. As often in giallos the end explanation is far too rushed. The cast are fine. Franco Nero makes a hero who is brave but is also a bit pathetic, particularly when drunk. The film benefits greatly from having the legendary Vittorio Storaro as cinematographer and the equally legendary Ennio Morricone providing the music score. They lift the film greatly.

Charismatic international star Franco Nero makes all the difference in this well plotted Giallo co-written by director Luigi Bazzoni, based on a novel by David McDonald Devine. As fans of this genre come to expect, it's a good looking film made with some style by Bazzoni. There's no shortage of red herrings, and the story does keep you guessing - and on your toes. It's got some standout sequences, such as a paraplegic murder victim trying to get to a phone without the aid of a wheelchair, the stalking of an innocent child, and the final chase / fight scene between protagonist and killer. This last bit is very atmospheric. Overall the film does move somewhat slowly, and the script is talky, but it resolves itself in a neat enough way.Nero is well cast as an alcoholic reporter named Andrea Bild. After a young man named Lubbock (Maurizio Bonuglia) is assaulted, this serves as a sign of further violence: a murderer will soon target specific people, and all of them are people whom Andrea knows. Naturally, the police, led by an inspector played by Wolfgang Preiss, are suspicious of Andrea and *he* suspects that they're tailing him. In order to clear his name, he plays detective on his own.That aspect of the story is certainly very familiar, but in general "The Fifth Cord" is enjoyable if not the most exciting film of its kind. The cast is good: also appearing are Silvia Monti, Ira von Furstenberg, Edmund Purdom (always nice to see this guy in anything), Rossella Falk, Renato Romano, and Luciano Bartoli. Luscious blonde American actress Pamela Tiffin shows off the goods in one scene. Talented and prolific legendary composer Ennio Morricone does typically solid work in terms of the score.If the viewer is an aficionado of the Giallo, they should find this to their liking.Seven out of 10.

Excellent giallo, with just a touch more of the thriller about it than is usual. Direction is assured, camera-work innovative and exciting with all the performances solid, especially the charismatic Mr Nero. The killer does not restrict themselves to women here, for a change, and has a go at men women and children. Fast moving and most entertaining with no pause for any ponderous detective work. Super stylish with amazingly spacious apartments, swirling staircases and contemporary concrete and glass splendour of late 60's Italian architecture. Last but by no means least a lovely understated but truly effective and sparingly used Morricone soundtrack. It's not a lot more than the same enigmatic theme repeated with various orchestrations but it helps the work enormously, as does the splattering of what sound like industrial music and also the silences, especially for the murders, no crashing crescendo, simply unnerving silence. A fave.

The Giallo sub-genre has produced some really great films; films such The House With the Laughing Windows, What Have They Done To Solange, and just about everything Dario Argento made; and with that in mind, The Fifth Cord isn't that good a film. However, as lesser-known Giallo's go; The Fifth Cord will no doubt prove interesting viewing for Giallo fans. It's not great, but the film never really sets out to be; it's a Giallo typical of the film style, and features many of the Giallo trademarks, which will no doubt please fans. The Fifth Cord also benefits from having Django star Franco Nero in the lead role; which lends it a touch of class, and an extra quota of cult value. The plot is typical Giallo, and merely follows a murder investigation. It's the central character, therefore, that is most interesting about this film. Franco Nero stars as an alcoholic journalist, put on the trail of the murder both due to his profession, and the fact that the police see him as a suspect in the investigation.Ennio Morricone is most famous for his scores to Sergio Leone's masterpieces, but he's also done a lot of work for Giallo's. His score here doesn't rival the ones in the Spaghetti Westerns; but, as ever, Morricone does a good job of setting the right atmosphere for the film, as his score goes from the swinging relaxed mood associated with Italian films, to a more piercing score for the macabre scenes. Nero's performance is a little ropey, and at times he's very hammy; but his screen presence makes up for it, and I really couldn't imagine this film without him in it. The film is well directed by Luigi Bazzoni, who shoots in a number of locations; with many of the scenes (the build up to the ending especially) being memorable due to his location shots. The murders aren't the most imaginative I've ever seen, but most are suitably macabre; and more than do their job in creating a foreboding atmosphere. One of the problems with Giallo is that they're often hard to follow, and this film suffers from that; but the plot is largely well paced, and the ending provides something of a surprise. This film is too insubstantial on the whole to be a 'must see'; but I still won't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Italian horror.