Four Flies on Grey Velvet 4K Restoration (1971)

 

The third in writer-director Dario Argento's celebrated 'Animals' trilogy is getting a new 4K restoration from Shameless, in both Blu-ray and limited edition UHD releases.

Roberto (Michael Brandon) is a drummer with a successful prog jazz band. He's happily married, lives in a glossy modern early 1970s house, and has a circle of arty friends. But someone is following him. One night, when Roberto gives chase and finds himself in an abandoned theatre, he ends up killing the mysterious man - or so he thinks. 

What's more worrying (aside from the fact that he's in an Argento film) is the weirdly-masked individual who photographs him in the act and then leaves  the photos lying around, that is when they're not whispering to him or leaving a dead cat on one of his shelves. Then the killings start, with the final one providing a clue as to who the killer is.

We're firmly in Italian giallo-land with FOUR FLIES. The concept of the final image a victim sees being imprinted on the retina is at once ingenious and ridiculous - giallo in a nutshell, if you like. No spoilers here, though - you'll have to watch the film to find out what I'm talking about.

And, as with so much of this sort of cinema, who cares? FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET is so stylish, with endearing characters (Jean-Pierre Marielle's private investigator channels Eddi Arent from the Rialto Edgar Wallace mysteries) and a style that's still impressive over fifty years later. 

Shameless' new transfer is a big improvement over their previous Blu-ray release, and  there are some excellent new extras as well. Foremost amongst these is a 41 minute interview with Michael Brandon who remembers everything about the production and his time in Rome, including tea with Fellini (although how could one ever forget that?). There's a new 31 minute interview with Argento where he talks not just about the film but his three animals trilogy and his life leading up to them being made. 

An archival 41 minute interview with co-writer and assistant director Luigi Cozzi has been ported over and you get introductions to the film from both Brandon (new) and Cozzi (archival). You also get English opening and closing credits, trailers, a TV spot and an image gallery. Finally, the limited edition UHD disc includes a booklet by Alan Jones, two art cards, and a poster all inside a slipcase.

Dario Argento's FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET is out in a 4K Restoration in both limited UHD and regular Blu-ray editions on Monday 28th April 2025

Opera (1987)

"It's Not Over Until the...What Have You Got That Big Shiny Knife For? "

Dario Argento's final great giallo (arguably but we'll leave that for another time) gets a new UK release from Cult Films in a 2K transfer on dual format DVD & Blu-ray, and Video on Demand. 

When the lead in a new version of Verdi's opera Macbeth breaks her leg after a temper tantrum, understudy Betty (Cristina Marsillach) finds herself the centre of attention, both as Lady Macbeth and as the obsession of a crazed killer who wants to tie Betty up and stick needles under her eyelids, forcing her to watch as they murder people stylishly before her very wide open eyes. 

Oh yes we're very much in Argento land with OPERA, from the impressive opening shot of the orchestra reflected in a raven's eye to the use of those very birds to unmask the killer to the utterly daft finale that doesn't stand up to any kind of logical analysis, so don't even try.

Instead, revel in Argento's gliding camera, play spot the 1980s Italian horror star (Barbara STAGEFRIGHT Cupisti, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni from DEMONS 2 and others), delight in the considerable variety of musical styles on offer on the soundtrack, surely the most eclectic to any Argento movie, and once you've done all that, mourn that this is a kind of film and style of film-making we're unlikely to see much of (if any) in the future. 

Cult Films' Blu-ray transfer of OPERA is presented in the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio and the transfer is a vast improvement over the old Anchor Bay DVD. You get the option of either English or Italian dialogue tracks (both 2.0 stereo) and there are removable English subtitles. 

Extras start off with over 44 minutes of behind the scenes footage (with English subtitles). Aria of Fear is a new 40 minute interview with Argento in which he goes into detail about the making of the film. Finally, there's just over eight minutes of  comparing the 35mm 'open gate' version with the restored colour corrected 2.35:1 print.

Dario Argento's OPERA is getting a dual format release 

and a VOD release from Cult Films on 

Monday 21st January 2019

Phenomena (1985)

"Great Transfer of an Argento Classic With New Extras"

Arrow Films strike again with a 4k transfer of Dario Argento's 1985 thriller that mixes schoolgirls, a crazed killer, a chimp called Inga and a Great Sarcophagus fly who is never named.

Jennifer Connolly is Jennifer Corvino, who has the curious ability to be able to communicate with insects. She's sent by her film star father to one of those private girls' school we only ever see in Italian films, so we shouldn't really be surprised when it turns out there's a killer who is bumping off the pupils. Jennifer uses her ludicrous skill to find the ludicrous killer leading to a finale so utterly ludicrous one can only conclude that PHENOMENA is a film that is nothing short of genius.

Poorly received on its initial release, PHENOMENA was cut to bits in the UK and retitled CREEPERS. Shown (in London cinemas only) only the bottom half of a double bill with Tom Holland's FRIGHTNIGHT, it was reviewed on the BBC's Film programme with the comment that 'Donald Pleasence should use his salary from this movie to buy up every copy and burn it'. When it hit VHS on the Palace label it did very well, of course, but it was many years before UK audiences got to see it as nature (and Argento) intended.

And pretty much all those opportunities have been courtesy of Arrow Films, who now present PHENOMENA in a brand new 4k restoration of the original 116 minute Italian cut of the film (CREEPERS came in at under 90). So does it look better than Arrow's previous Blu-ray release, also issued in a very nice limited steelbook which is the edition we have here at HMC? All I'll say is that if you're a PHENOMENA nut you will want the upgrade, but otherwise Arrow's previous Blu is perfectly adequate.

Extras are different. Here we get a feature-length making of, plus the Jennifer music video. There's still no sign in the UK of the Argento / Stivaletti / Simonetti commentary track recorded for the US Anchor Bay release. At least we do get a commentary track this time (previous releases have had none), with Troy Howarth doing the honours and telling us all about the movie.

Soundwise there's a new 5.1 DTS-HD surround mix for the Italian version, plus a new English / Italian hybrid soundtrack in lossless 5.1 and 2.0 stereo. This is a very nice package from Arrow & if you've never seen PHENOMENA on Blu-ray then this is the one to get. Those who have the previous release will hopefully now have a better idea of if they want to get this version or not.

Dario Argento's PHENOMENA is out on dual format from Arrow in a new release version from Monday 15th January 2018

The Bird With Crystal Plumage (1970)

“Beautiful PLUMAGE”

        Here it is, the one that started it all. Purists will argue that the first example of giallo cinema is Mario Bava’s THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1963), and that the subgenre was very much in existence prior to 1970, but Dario Argento’s debut feature is the movie that realy popularised it. THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE was such a massive success that the Italian film industry went completely nuts making a huge number of films with increasingly exotic, ludicrous and over the top titles (that were explained as close to the end of the film as possible) and dotty plotlines to match. Arrow Films are releasing BIRD in a special dual format set with plenty of new extras.

        American Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) is in Italy and suffering from writer’s block. One night, he witnesses what looks like a brutal attack on Monica Ranieri (Eva Renzi) in an art gallery. It turns out there have been a number of murders in the city recently and Monica may have been the killer’s latest target. Sam decides to investigate, uncovering a plot that soon has the killer targeting him and his girlfriend Julia (Suzy Kendall). 

        For a debut feature, BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE is remarkably assured and it’s not surprising it was a trend-setter. Plot takes a back seat to style, with some elegantly executed murder sequences, bizarre characters parts (all rather dated now) as red herrings, an itchy, gets under your skin music score from Ennio Morricone, and plenty of moments of genuine suspense. It’s also one of the few examples of giallo cinema to be based on an actual giallo novel (Fredric Brown’s The Screaming Mimi) and we even get to see some hanging up at a news-stand.

        There’s also lashings of J&B scotch (quickly to become a giallo standby to raise cheers on any appearance), some utterly daft dimestore psychology, and a ‘pack your bags and run’ attitude to explaining what was going on (the plane is literally taking off and the end credits starting while whoever it is is still talking as if they’re hoping you’re already on your way out of the cinema and not paying too much attention). 

        Arrow’s dual format 4k transfer does look a lot better than previous transfers. Extras are all new stuff so if you’re a fan you’ll want this. These include a commentary from Troy Howarth (knowledgeable and always good to listen to), a visual essay on Argento’s cinema, new interviews with Argento and actor Gildo Di Marco who plays the pimp, and a new, well-informed and erudite 30 minute analysis of the film from Kat Ellinger. You also get a reversible sleeve and a 60 page booklet. It’s worth noting that the only material carried over from the previous Blue Underground release is an Eva Renzi interview from 2005. The rest hasn’t (Alan Jones / Kim Newman commentary, archival interviews with Morricone, Storaro, Argento) so you might want to hang onto it. You'll definitely want this new release, though.

Dario Argento's THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE is getting a special edition dual format release from Arrow on Monday 19th June 2017

Deep Red / Profondo Rosso (1975)

One of the best horror films ever made gets its best quality Blu-ray release ever in this stunning 4k restoration limited edition three disc set.

When jazz composer Marc Daly (David Hemmings) witnesses the brutal murder of a medium (Macha Meril) he gets catapulted into Dario Argento land, where it turns out he’s seen something terribly important but doesn’t know what it is, has a black-gloved killer after him who could be male or female, and is followed everywhere by a prog rock Goblin score. Eventually Marc realises what he saw and discovers the identity of the killer, but not before being enmeshed in one of the most delirious and revolutionary pieces of cinema ever constructed.

PROFONDO ROSSO (it just sounds better than DEEP RED doesn’t it)? is a masterpiece and if you’ve never seen it I envy you, because you are in for a treat. You don’t need to know anything about Italian or genre cinema before or after to be surprised and delighted by its plot twists and turns, its daring camerawork and its outrageously stylish murders. 

You don’t need to know anything about director Dario Argento, either. One of the most influential and stylish directors ever, PROFONDO ROSSO is the film that, more than any other, made him a force to be reckoned with. Just put the disc in the player and allow yourself to be overwhelmed with stylish visuals.

For everyone else who has already seen PROFONDO ROSSO a thousand times, you still need to get this release because it really is the best looking this film has ever been. Direct comparison reveals the image to be clearer, richer, and with far less grain than the previous Blue Underground Region A Locked release, which itself was better than Arrow’s previous Region B release. Previous speckles and scratches on those versions have been cleared up, but the real difference is in the colour. Instead of just looking as if they’ve turned up the brightness too much, Arrow’s new PROFONDO ROSSO positively glows - you’d swear you could warm your hands on the screen during the theatre scene at the beginning.

Extras on Disc One (which contains the full director’s cut 4k restoration) include a brief introduction by composer Claudio Simonetti, a commentary track by Thomas Rostock and a brand new visual essay by Michael Mackenzie. Mackenzie’s essays are always good value and this one doesn’t disappoint, providing plenty of useful information for the newcomer while pointing out a few things even seasoned old hacks might have missed.

Other extras are archival and include Dario Argento on DEEP RED, Daria Nicolodi reminiscing, Simonetti on the score, the trailer, and a look round Dario’s shop with Luigi Cozzi. 

           Disc Two contains the shortened 105 minute version of PROFONDO ROSSO in a new 4k restoration, along with the US trailer. Finally, Disc Three is a 28-track CD featuring the entire movie score by Goblin and Giorgio Gaslini. This is a fantastic package and highly recommended, which is why it’s all the more disappointing to point out that as of the release date of 25th January this release is already sold out. Good news for Arrow, I guess but bad news for anyone who didn’t get their pre-order in. Let’s hope Arrow does a no-frills release of the 4k restoration soon. Even if you’ve got all the other versions of PROFONDO ROSSO that are out there this is the one you need. 

Arrow Films are releasing their limited edition three disc set of Dario Argento's DEEP RED aka PROFONDO ROSSO on 25th January 2016

Tenebrae (1981)

One of the best gialli ever made, (and therefore one of the best Italian horror films ever made), Dario Argento’s TENEBRAE was met with a little bit of  disappointment on its initial release by those expecting the conclusion to his ‘Three Mothers’ trilogy of supernatural horror started by SUSPIRIA (1977) and INFERNO (1980). Instead, Argento returned to the giallo, a subgenre he had made so popular in the early 1970s with his animal trilogy (starting with THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE) and which he himself came back to in order to provide a consummate full stop to the plethora of rip-offs and imitations that followed in its wake in the form of PROFONDO ROSSO (1975). After the neon-lit colour-drenched histrionic excesses of  SUSPIRIA and INFERNO (and the latter movie’s mis-handling by Twentieth Century Fox and its subsequent financial failure) it’s perhaps not surprising that Argento returned to the genre that had made him famous as a sort of palate cleanser. 

Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) is a novelist famous for writing exactly the kind of thrillers Argento had been famous for filming. He travels to Rome for the launch of his latest book, 'Tenebrae', only to discover that a spate of recent brutal murders seems to be linked to both him and the book. Neal determines to solve the mystery himself, but in the best Italian giallo style things don’t go the way we’re expecting.

I will freely admit that I love TENEBRAE. The script is cracking, the murders are stylish, the music is great and the twist is so good I can still remember how blown away I was by it the first time I watched the film. I would be happy to while away the hours arguing that it could be Argento’s best giallo (yes, even better than PROFONDO ROSSO). More than his other gialli it feels like the true 1980s horror equivalent to the Agatha Christie crime thriller, in which an intrepid amateur tries to beat the police at their own game. The film wears its influences on its sleeve, even quoting Conan-Doyle twice, most significantly at the end. 

Watching the film for the umpteenth time, I was struck by how much care has been taken with everything. Argento always claimed that the film is set slightly in the future - one where everyone wears pastel colours that coordinate not just with everyone else, but with the production design as well, it would seem. Even the dubbing, often the downfall of many a decent Italian horror, is a lot better than usual. Apparently it was supervised by Robert Rietti rather than Nick Alexander and the voice cast includes accomplished performers like Theresa Russell and Adrienne Posta.

Most of all the central casting is perfect. Anthony Franciosa brings a warmth and believability to his role that makes it hard to think of anyone doing quite such a good job in the part, and that just makes the (completely insane) climax all the more affecting.

Arrow brought out TENEBRAE on Blu-ray earlier this year but a lovely steelbook edition is about to hit the streets. The Blu-ray transfer is gorgeous and is the best looking version of the movie you can currently get hold of. Extras are the same as the previous Blu-ray and 2011 DVD release (and still completely different from the Anchor Bay Region 1 release that had a Dario Argento commentary, behind the scenes sequences, and alternate end titles where some strange 1980s disco song plays - worth hanging onto). These include a commentary track from Kim Newman and Alan Jones, another from Thomas Rostock, a tiny introduction from Daria Nicolodi who is also interviewed, interviews with Argento and composer Claudio Simonetti, and two live New Goblin performances. The steelbook cover is reproduced above.

Arrow Films are bringing out Dario Argento's TENEBRAE on 16th December 2013 as a limited edition Zavvi Steelbook Exclusive. So get your order in now

Inferno (1980)

It may be because of the paucity of visually imaginative genre product these days, or possibly just because I'm getting old, but as the years go by Inferno, Dario Argento's 1980 follow up to his ground-breaking nightmare on celluloid SUSPIRIA, just seems to get better and better. The film was a bit of a financial disaster on its original release - as far as I'm aware it played a week in London cinemas and then got pulled without being given a chance in the provinces. It fared even worse in the US, not getting a theatrical release at all because Fox boss at the time Sherry Lansing thought the violence too extreme. Presumably this must have been just before Paramount made history by being the first major motion picture company to release the independent blood-splattered horror extravaganza that was Sean Cunningham's FRIDAY THE 13th. 

But back to Inferno, a film with so many stunning visual images and sequences that you're almost completely distracted from the story, which according to Argento on the accompanying documentary on the Arrow Films DVD is intended to raise questions and provide no answers - in the same way an alchemist does. There's something strangely reassuring about this explanation making about as much sense as the film he's talking about. Besides, we all know by now that these films aren't meant to make sense, at least not in the conventional way. Instead we just need to sit back and let ourselves be taken through a bizarre dreamlike world filled with imagery no-one else can do quite like Argento used to be able to. 
       The underwater room sequence is still a marvel, as are the scenes in the library. The other-worldly blue and pink lighting scheme that permeates most of the scenes means we're constantly being reminded that we are not in the real world. The actors are either eccentrically interesting (Sacha Pitoeff and Feodor Chaliapin) or leading man good looking but ineffectual (Leigh McCloskey and Gabriel Lavia, with Lavia getting a knife in his throat just for being a gentleman). The actresses, on the other hand are a different matter. Eleonora Giorgi is gorgeous but amazingly is reduced to looking merely ordinary next to the scarily overbearing sexiness of Ania Pieroni. Irene Miracle looks just as good underwater as out of it and Daria Nicolodi is probably at her prettiest and most vulnerable here. Argento has freely admitted that his male characters tend to be weak, and while accusations of misogynism have been levelled at him he certainly uses INFERNO to show off his actresses to their best advantage. The music's great as well, with Argento being absolutely right to get Keith Emerson to provide music that wasn't imitative of Goblin. Mater Tenebrarum is a mini-masterpiece but Emerson's flamboyant riffs and elegant main title music are all quite splendid. 

Perhaps the greatest delight I've found with INFERNO is that even on a very recent viewing I was able to see things I hadn't noticed before. In fact the film still feels fresh even though it's over thirty years since it was made, and since then there has been little to compare with it. Like a lot of Argento's work there's not much in the way of humour on display here, which is probably just as well as when he tried to be funny it often fell flat, as evidenced in FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET. However, when I learned that the sequence at the end where Veronica Lazar's Mater Tenebrarum crashes through the mirror was apparently orchestrated by Mario Bava, I like to think that with that director's mischievous sense of humour Bava might have been tempted to place a bottle of B&J in the background.

Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)

What would the world of early seventies giallo cinema be without Dario Argento? For one thing there would probably be a lot less of it – a lot less fashions and production design that are almost as unbelievable as the plots, a lot less groovy soundtrack music, a lot less Edwige Fenech and probably a lot less J&B consumed (unless each movie that featured it just kept refilling the bottle with cold tea, but somehow I don’t think that’s the Italian way). Unlike his contemporaries, Argento never favoured placing that particular tipple in a prominent location in his movies (although it is here if you look hard enough), and he never cast Edwige Fenech either, which is a shame. All the other above elements however, are present in force in FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET, a film that is a bit slow and confusing in places but makes up for it by being deliriously mental in others – again, a bit like most movies in the giallo subgenre.

            We begin with one of the most manic undisciplined pieces of music composer Ennio Morricone must have ever committed to paper, if indeed he ever wrote it down and didn’t just tell his assembled musicians to ‘pretend they were in a room filled with wasps’. Or who knows? Perhaps that’s what actually happened. Intercut with the titles is a little beating heart that we never see again once they’re over. There’s no real reason for this other than possibly to indulge Dario’s predilection for including random cameos from internal organs in his films (after all there’s a pulsating brain in OPERA). We then get to meet groovy drummer Michael Brandon who is being followed by a chap in dark glasses and a big hat. He pursues him to an abandoned theatre where red curtains open like they will in PROFONDO ROSSO before he seemingly kills the chap as a masked onlooker takes photographs, one of which is then surreptitiously placed in Brandon’s record collection at a party. Brandon’s married to mad Mimsy Farmer (although we don’t find out about the mental bit until the end, unlike the entire film which we already know by now is bonkers) who’s rich so they have a maid. She  knows who the killer is, but this being a giallo the only person she tells is the murderer themselves before agreeing to meet them in a deserted park after dark. Argento’s murder scenes are always one of the highlights of his pictures and this time he cleverly coveys her death mostly off screen by having her cries heard by bystanders the other side of a twenty foot wall. The fingernails scraping down the brick are a nice added touch. Mimsy disappears off with the police for reasons I couldn’t fathom and Brandon, who should be being accused of murder by now, is left free to employ a private detective who has a failure rate of 100%. Argento may have once been a superlative maker of horror thrillers but his comedy skills aren’t up to much. Perhaps a bit gets lost in translation but the comedy postman and the comedy camp characters we get in this film have either dated horribly or more likely never worked in the first place. It’s a tribute to actor Jean-Pierre Marielle that his detective character is still so likeable despite the stereotypical overplaying and his death because he has finally solved a case is doubly poignant. Fans of Italian cinema will raise a smile at Bud Spencer’s cameo as ‘God’, and his Professor sidekick is quite fun as well but otherwise it was probably wise for Dario to stick to the nastiness. Because Mimsy’s gone Brandon takes this as his cue to fall into the bath with pretty Francine Racette. Needless to say Francine’s soon at the end of the killer’s big knife, but not before being thrown down the stairs in a way that probably had Lucio Fulci thinking ‘I can do better than that’.

            There also seems to be some unwritten rule with these movies that the meaning of the title has to be explained as late as possible in the proceedings. In fact I wonder if at the time there may even have been  something of a competition between film makers about this sort of thing. Here we’re 84 minutes into the running time before we get the spiel about Francine’s retina retaining the last image she ever saw, but not before the remaining cast have viewed her body in the kind of morgue that can only exist in Italy – one with black and white marble columns that looks more like the foyer of a 1970s hotel than a functioning pathology lab.

            The Four Flies idea is a good one if intrinsically daft. No-one explains why Mimsy’s wearing a fly around her neck, but then she is a mad giallo killer so she probably doesn’t need a reason. “I was raised as a boy!” she screams at the denouement in a typical Argento murderer’s lament, “My father beat me! I was locked in an asylum for three years!” We still don’t know why she’s wearing a fly and we don’t have time to find out because off she goes in her car and her head’s come off and it’s The End. Would you really marry Michael Brandon just because he bore a resemblance to your mad father who you wanted to torture by a ridiculously elaborate scheme that involved paying someone to pretend to be killed by him before you threatened him in your own home but with a mask on so there was no way he could recognise you despite being married to you before admitting you were in a asylum where the rehabilitation programme presumably didn’t involve driving lessons?

            Oh how I love these films. God bless Dario Argento and all who copied him.