Death Laid an Egg

1968 "See them tear each other apart. Then see what they do with the pieces."
5.9| 1h29m| en
Details

A love triangle develops between three people who run a high tech chicken farm. It involves Anna (who owns the farm), her husband Marco (who kills prostitutes in his spare time) and Gabriella (the very beautiful secretary). Marco continues to kill as jealousy becomes more prevalent on the farm.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

Steineded How sad is this?
Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
myblackgloves This is a very strange giallo.I'm hesitant to even call it a giallo because it doesn't really have the style that we're used to when discussing the genre.I'd recommend it for fans of violent, offbeat movies. Mutant chickens? Tape recorded murder fantasies? Great stuff. There's a lot of fetishes.. like a guy covering his head in tape. It's sort of like a movie where people are just plain crazy.. but not in an uncontrolled surrealistic way. There's a giant egg, too. Sex, psychoses, and industrial terrorism (who killed the new headless mutant chickens?). It does not get any better than this. Hope this gets a proper Region 1 release.
BA_Harrison With the sixties in full swing, and mind-altering drugs an integral part of the arts scene, it comes as no surprise to find that a large amount of the cinematic output from this era is more than a little bit 'out-there'. The makers of Death Laid an Egg must've consumed more than their fair share of LSD, 'shrooms and Marijuana. 'cos with its spaced-out visuals, experimental discordant soundtrack, wild editing and pretentious dialogue, it sure is one bizarre cinematic trip!And whilst I found the mix of European art-house cinema and proto-Giallo plot line seriously irritating and incredibly dull, it's not hard to see how this unusual effort has garnered a cult following among those who enjoy 'psychadelic' films.Set in and around a high-tech chicken factory, the film follows several characters whose lives intertwine with deadly consequences. Marco (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is husband to the beautiful factory owner, Anna (Gina Lollobrigida), but is also knocking off sexy blonde Gabriella (Ewa Aulin) who also has a connection with young publicist Mondaini (Jean Sobieski), who is called in to promote the benefits of chickens. Add a weird scientist who is developing headless and wingless fowl that yield more meat for maximum profit, and the roster of strange characters is complete.I can see this movie appealing to fans of the avant-garde (those who enjoy the work of Lynch or Jodorowsky, for example), but the whole thing is just too screwy for my (admittedly jaded) tastes. If I'm ever tempted to watch Death Laid An Egg again, I think I'll be getting myself some of those hallucinogenics I mentioned earlier, in order to make the whole experience more interesting.I give DLAE 2/10 (just missing the absolute lowest score, thanks to tasty Ewa Aulin and the freaky genetically enhanced headless chickens).
Prof-Hieronymos-Grost Morte ha fatto l'uovo, La aka Death laid an egg (1968) Giulio Questi Marco (Jean-Louis Tritigant)is a business man bored with life who is caught up in a love triangle between his wife Anna(Gina Lollobrigida), whom he married for the money and her cousin Gabrielle, a much more vibrant and younger lover. Marco's business is chickens, he runs a recently automated chicken farm and is having to be wary of the disgruntled former workers who are set on revenge. Marco is also hiding a secret fantasy, one he acts out in a local hotel on an almost daily basis, he likes to tie up the hookers that gather in the lobby and pretend to cut them up, it's a lurid fantasy but the hookers feel safe with him. He has been recently given the task by the poultry association of making poultry appeal to a wider audience and is given the assistance of an advertising specialist Mondaini (Jean Sobieski) whom he is immediately suspicious of and who it would seem has eyes for Gabrielle.Death laid an egg is a very difficult film to discuss as it doesn't follow any rules of the classic Giallo, in fact some might not consider it one at all, but it was made early in the genres history, it is also very short on plot as there are virtually no killings, blood or nudity and even the score by Bruno Maderna is a hideous thing to behold. The viewer is led to believe for a short time that the killing in the opening scene is a murder but as it turns out its just another of Marco's fantasies being acted out, as his sexual preferences are almost common knowledge, he is looked upon in society as a deviant and morally corrupt and yet as the plot develops it is clear that he is the only one with any sense of propriety, it is to some extent a modern re-enactment of the Grendel/Beowulf legend. The film as I have said is almost devoid of any plot and really centres around Marco's suspicions of his wife, his lover Gabrielle, his new assistant and the leaders of the poultry community, despite this the film is made in a psychedelic bizarre world that is handled with some very dark wit, but this may not be enough to keep the casual Giallo fan interested. Its still confusing as a film though and Maderna's score is extremely annoying, its repetitive acoustic guitar musings are very grating and only relieved by an equally manic piano version of the same composition, but strangely it fit's the film to perfection because the film is so bizarre. Dario Di Palma's photography is excellent, filmed from some odd angles this ploy adds immensely to the bizarre setting of a battery farm, there's also some stunning opening credits as the camera apparently explores the inside of an egg using psychedelic colours as filters. Another highlight is a scene involving some genetically modified chickens, needs to be seen to be believed but establishes the film firmly in the realm of the uber bizarre. The performances of the leads are all decent and as you might expect there is a surprise ending, a little abrupt perhaps, but fitting. To be approached with caution…..or a bag full of LSD.
sirarthurstreebgreebling This has to be one of the most cutting edge film's made to date , its wholly surreal and has a dreamlike quality that hypnotises me. When i first saw this film I don't think I blinked , then I watched it again straight off, it has an addictive charm that should be open for everyone too see, why its not being picked up by a distributor I will never know. The plot is an odd one , a mixture of industrial terrorism (who killed the new headless mutant chickens that yeild so much meat), Romance , Perversion and just plain odd. In the opening scene in a hotel while a prostitute is being brutally murdered we cut to a man covering his head in tape , someone pouring out toothpaste and various hideous rich people snorting with laughter. From the start it gives the message that everybody is mad, with their hidden psychosis and more obvious ones. Going any further into the plot will spoil the film so I will say nothing. Its worth trying to find this one , I got mine in Greece in the late 80's , but there must be some out there , somewhere.