Mord in der Toskana

It sounds like an interesting concept: giallo veteran Sergio Martino directing a mix of mostly French-Italian genre veterans, along with newcomers, in a mid-1990s attempt to revive the giallo, in mini-series (four 85-minute episodes) form. Unfortunately, it does not work at all. The series is competently made in a workmanlike fashion, but uninspired, flat, styleless, dreary. There is very little plot progression from episode to episode, and very little suspense. In fact, it plays more like a soap opera than a giallo. A maturely attractive Edwige Fenech puts in a strong performance in the lead, but my bet is that few of the people starting this mini-series will have the endurance to finish it. *1/2 out of 4.