Tip-top giallo: Dario Argento's DEEP RED gets deluxe Blu-ray treatment in an uncut version

When DEEP RED, the fifth full-length film from Italian horror-meister Dario Argento, was first release in the USA back in 1976, 23 minutes were hacked out of it to better make it fit the usual horror-film length. Now that the new Arrow Video Blu-ray is here, in a rich and sparkling transfer that makes the film look considerably better than TrustMovies has ever seen it, we can now assess a film that, even in its bowdlerized version, clearly seemed to be Argento's finest work.

Never one to make too much of plot credibility and depth of character, Signore Argento (shown at left during the time of the film's production) still managed to bring to the fore a certain amount of psychological depth, as well as some social concerns of the time period.

This is particularly true of Deep Red, as shown via this uncut, 127-minute version in which the male fear of gender equality and the under-cutting of machismo entitlement are on full display.

Argento's facility with camera angles and widescreen composition -- his cinematographer was Luigi Kuveiller -- is constant and compelling. How gorgeous and often breath-taking is just about everything we see here -- including the adeptly staged murders!

His star in this film (David Hemmings, below) is once again -- as with his antagonists in Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Cat O' Nine Tails and Four Flies on Grey Velvet -- an "outsider" working in Italy, this time as a jazz pianist and teacher named Marc Daley.

Marc hears and then sees a murder being committed in the building above him and begins to do his own sleuthing to discover some answers, thus putting in danger himself, along with a lot of other folk.

These would include his eventual girlfriend (nicely played by Daria Nicolodi, above and below) and oddball best friend (Gabriele Lavia) plus just about anybody/everybody involved in this twisty tale that begins with a family murder and ends with that family completely wiped out.

The film begins with a nod to the paranormal involving a sleek and still quite beautiful Macha Méril (below, center, of Une Femme Mariée), which gives the plot its initial push -- after which paranormal turns merely murderous.

For a change with Argento, the plot twists build nicely and relatively believably, along with the suspense, and there are fewer jaw-dropping, nonsense moments. The finale, too, comes with a shock and a jolt, and for once does not rely on coincidence or any last-minute rescue by the cavalry. The final shot, too, is a keeper: bloody awful -- and precisely enough.

From Arrow Video and released here in the USA via MVD Entertainment Group, Deep Red (Profondo rosso in the original Italian) hit the street last week, September 4, on Blu-ray -- for purchase and/or rental. As usual with Arrow Video, there is a host of terrific Special Features, including Profond Giallo, a very interesting and intelligent half-hour visual essay on the film by Michael Mackenzie; an interview with Argento about this and others of his films; an interview with star Daria Nicolodi; and another with Claudio Simonetti of the group Goblin who did the music for the movie.

Snappy, gorgeous Blu-ray debut for Argento's sophomore effort, THE CAT O' NINE TAILS

As crisp and gloriously transferred as many of these new Arrow Video  Blu-rays so often are, the company's new one of THE CAT 'O NINE TAILS -- the second full-length film to be directed by Italian giallo maven Dario Argento -- is of a piece with so many of this fellow's films: sub-par plot and storytelling but with enough of the then-necessary amounts of violence and murder to sate the audience's appetite. What really nails this release, however, is its nostalgic time frame.

Released in 1971, the movie, seen today, proves a delirious walk down the memory lane of that era, with its fashions, home furnishings, hair styles and all the rest on major display. And with the stunningly produced new Blu-ray, with images as crisp as you could want and colors so rich and deep you can practically swim in them, this more than makes up for the usual, not-so-hot Argento story-line.

As with his earlier Bird With the Crystal Plumage, the filmmaker uses a couple of well-known stars of the day in the lead roles -- this time it's James Franciscus (above, right) and Karl Malden (above, left) -- abetted by an international cast (mostly Italian, of course) in secondary roles.

The movie begins well enough, with a burglary in which nothing seems to have been taken, followed by a murder (to keep that burglary quiet), and then another and another and so on. The setting -- one of them anyway -- is a genetics laboratory, and so naturally those tricky little X's and Y's come naughtily into play.

The movie may have been the first to tackle the theory that a certain X-Y combination results more often than not in violent tendencies, and so, of course, something must be done about the folk who carry this combo. (Spielberg's Minority Report is a more futuristic example of this sub-genre of "how-do-we-handle-possible-troublemakers?")

Being an Argento movie, however, little time or thought is given to morality or philosophy. Instead, the set-up is simply an excuse for multiple murders (above and further above). With a single exception, these are not nearly as bloody as other of this schlock-meister's oeuvre as, more often than not, they involve garroting via a very thin rope rather than using knives or hachets. (Argento's best film, Deep Red, has more gore, depth and a much more interesting plot.)

Unmasking the killer, too, is usually a lot more fun than it proves here (Oh, it's that one? Big deal.) And getting there is also a bit of a slough. Mr. Franciscus, above, plays a handsome journalist, while Mr. Malden, below, essays the role of a blind man and puzzle expert into whose care has come an orphaned child, who will become the final pawn in the murderer's game.

Early on, some time and trouble is given to Malden's ability to hear better than sighted folk, but then that ball is mostly dropped, too, as the corpses pile up. Along the way, we do get a few moments of genuine suspense now and gain. One of these -- more heavily manufactured than necessary --  involves some poisoned milk (below) and who is going to sample it.

The female lead is played by Catherine Spaak (above, and in pink further above), who fills the beauty bill just fine, while managing the acting stuff adequately. The better-than-average musical score comes from Ennio Morricone, and the little bit of humor present comes from a talented fellow named Gigi who is very good at breaking-and-entering.

Coincidence abounds, as is usual in the giallo genre, and we also get the kind of florid finale that movies so seldom give us anymore. The film is also casually homophobic, which was rather de rigeuer in the early 1970s. (The Dirty Harry sequel, Magnum Force, arrived just a couple of years later.)

The Bonus Extras and Special features included are of the usual Arrow Video plentitude and range from a fold-out poster and several lobby card reproductions to a limited edition booklet, Italian and international theatrical trailers, interviews with Argento and his co-writer, a commentary track, versions of the film in both English (with subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired) and Italian (with English subtitles), and of course the new 4K restoration of the film in a high-def Blu-ray 1080p presentation.

But, really, it's the last one that matters most. I swear you can count the threads in some of the sweaters and carpets you'll see here -- the film looks that crisp and sharp. And dig that crazy wallpaper above, which is either Jackson Pollack- or maybe Jellyfish-inspired. Oh -- those 70s!

From Arrow Video, distributed here in the USA via MVD Entertainment Group and running a too-long 112 minutes, Cat O' Nine Tails hits the street this coming Tuesday, February 13 -- for purchase, of course (you get all those "extras), and I would hope also for rental.

Blu-ray debut for Dario Argento's first fright film, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE

If TrustMovies is not mistaken Dario Argento's debut effort THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE was among, if not the first film to introduce international audiences to the Italian Giallo genre. That, together with the fact this this was Argento's initial crack at directing (after helping write a number of movies) --  the filmmaker is shown below -- should push his film into into near-classic "slasher" status.

If the new Blu-ray disc, via Arrow Video, does not look as good as a number of other of its ilk and time frame, that may be because the movie never did look all that great -- even at the time of its 1970 release. Though the cinematography is by Italian master Vittorio Storaro (who followed this film with the much-better-on-every-level The Conformist), it is not as sharp and precise as you might expect (a relatively small budget might account for this). The composition and use of color is quite interesting, however. I saw the original theatrical release of the movie, and can verify that it looked no better then -- in terms of sharpness and clarity -- than it does now. Neither did its further transitions to tape or DVD.

So Arrow's claim that the movie has never looked nor sounded better is most likely quite true. And since we are getting it here in a 4K restoration from the camera negative in its original 2:35:1 aspect ratio, this, too, is a first -- at least since its theatrical debut. As to that sound, it is excellently produced, all right, but the much-vaunted score by Ennio Morricone is not among the composer's better works. Look to Once Upon a Time in the West, Fraulein Doktor (and a raft of others) for that.

The film itself is a veritable grab-bag-cum-definition of Signore Argento's craft, style, smarts and faults. The plot has do to do with an American writer (Tony Musante, above, left), on a kind of vacation/work project in Italy, along with his model girlfriend (Suzy Kendall, above, right) just as a series of grizzly murders is taking place -- one of which (below) he appears to catch in the very act, as he wanders by the glass window of a posh art gallery late at night.

The plotting, while fun and sometime fascinating (look for the usual Argento "surprise" finale), also completely lacks any believable human dimension. Our hero and heroine refuse to behave like any actually human beings you will have ever encountered (except those who appear in bad movies). Musante's character puts not only his own life in danger time and again, he does the same with that of his girlfriend. And after very bad things happen, such as our heroine being stalked and nearly killed by the murderer, she is able to recover in no time flat and also get a great night's sleep in the process. There is also very little logic in Argento's plotting. The one person (out of two) left alive in the penultimate climax is the very last person that this particular killer would have let off the hook.

Argento's use of color (lots of red, of course) is also fun. There's one lengthy, silly scene of an assassin in a yellow slicker jacket that leads to the film's funniest surprise. Watching this landmark "slasher" film today also points up the enormous advance (well, debasement) in the audience's appetite for violence, blood and gore. This "Bird" seem almost pristine: all lead-up and then suggestion, with merely a small slash and splash here and there. The film's forensic investigation, using the latest technology of its time, provides some fun, but I do wish we'd have been able to see more of that titular bird. This exotic "looker" receives only a single moment of screen time.

There is a rumor (probably apocryphal) that, with the international success of this film, no less than Alfred Hitchcock was said to be worried about this new Italian kid's intrusion into his suspense-thriller territory. Watching Argento's entertaining trifle now merely points out the vast difference between the work of a master and a would-be. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, via MVD Entertainment Group, arrives on limited edition Blu-ray + DVD this coming Tuesday, June 20, for purchase and/or (I would hope) rental. Click here for further details.

As usual, with the releases of Arrow Video, the disc offers a wealth of Bonus Features, including new interviews with Argento and Gildo Di Marco (who plays Garullo, the garrulous pimp); a new analysis of the film by Kat Ellinger; new audio commentary by Troy Howarth; a new visual essay on the cinema of Argento, The Power of Perception, by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; English subtitles for both the English- and Italian-language versions; high-def Blu-ray and standard-def DVD presentations; reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp; and a limited edition 60-page booklet illustrated by Matthew Griffin, featuring an appreciation of the film by Michael Mackenzie and new writing by Howard Hughes (no, not that one) and Jack Seabrook.