Who Saw Her Die? coming from Arrow

[DR Herbert West]

“former bond star george lazenby (on her majesty’s secret service, the man from hong kong) headlines this classic giallo directed by aldo lado (short night of glass dolls, night train murders) ¬–as compelling for its haunting atmosphere, twists and turns as for its parallels with another great venetian horror/thriller – nicolas roeg’s don’t look now.

Sculptor franco serpieri (lazenby) welcomes roberta (nicoletta elmi, deep red) – his young daughter from a failed marriage – to venice, unaware that a disturbed child-killer is stalking the city’s canals. When roberta’s body is found floating face-down in the river, the lives of franco and his estranged wife elizabeth (anita strindberg, the case of the scorpion’s tail) are ripped asunder. Desperate for vengeance, franco turns detective in a bid to track down his daughter’s killer, and in the process unearths shocking evidence of depravity and corruption which implicates some of the most respected figures in venetian society.

Released at the height of the giallo boom, this gripping mystery thriller boasts some of the most iconic names associated with the genre on both sides of the camera. Co-starring dominique boschero (the iguana with the tongue of fire) and adolfo celi (thunderball), and featuring one of the all-time greatest scores from maestro ennio morricone (what have you done to solange?), who saw her die? Thrills anew in its high definition debut.

Special edition contents

• brand new 2k restoration of the full-length italian version of the film from the original 35mm camera negative

• high definition blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation

• uncompressed mono 1.0 lpcm audio

• original english and italian soundtracks, titles and credits

• newly translated english subtitles for the italian soundtrack

• optional english subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the english soundtrack

• new audio commentary by author and critic travis crawford

• i saw her die, a new video interview with director aldo lado

• nicoletta, child of darkness, a new video interview with actress nicoletta elmi

• once upon a time in venice, a new video interview with co-writer francesco barilli

• giallo in venice, a new video interview with author and critic michael mackenzie

• original italian and english theatrical trailers

• poster and fotobusta gallery

• reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by haunt love”

[DR Herbert West]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJQy2G3M9MU

[Todd Tomorrow]

I remember this to be one of the better gialli, it has a Don’t Look Now-feel due to the location and subject matter. Lazenby is barely recognisable in this but it’s far closer to how he looked in life, he was a bit of a hippie. It co-stars my favourite giallo actresses, Anita Strindberg.

[RCRochester]

I thought Lazenby was the one to leak that this was coming but he doesn’t appear to be in any of the features. That’s kind of disappointing, it would be interesting to hear his thoughts on the film and his career at that point in time.

[horroru]

Been waiting for this for a while, was psyched to see Arrow bringing it to the US.
I think Shameless has the rights in the UK - wish Arrow would get some other Shameless titles in the US like The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, The Case of the Bloody Iris, Four Flies on Grey Velvet and House with the Laughing Windows.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by horroru

Been waiting for this for a while, was psyched to see Arrow bringing it to the US.
I think Shameless has the rights in the UK - wish Arrow would get some other Shameless titles in the US like The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, The Case of the Bloody Iris, Four Flies on Grey Velvet and House with the Laughing Windows.

Any rumors of any of these coming from Arrow? Four Flies on Grey Velvet is one I've been waiting for awhile.

[Brian81]

US needs a Four Flies release. Shameless is still the only fully English friendly release on Blu. The Koch doesn't have English subs for Italian track or for bits of the film not recorded in English.


I want Arrow to do FF more than anyone else, just because the rest of his early gialli were released by Arrow and in hard box cases.


With Twilight Time's SNoGD and Arrow's WSHD, just need Bloody Iris and Bloodstained Shadow to get rid of the Anchor Bay box set. I guess I could always go for UK release of the latter...

[DarknessBDJM]

I've been waiting a while for this. One of the better mysteries and has some of the best acting for the genre. One of the few times in filmmaking that I've felt a sex/lovemaking scene added to the film and its' character development and did not feel like it was done for titillation or shock value.

Only a few more giallo films I can think of that I've been really itching for (like House with the Laughing Windows), though I'm sure there are others I have yet to see that I'd enjoy.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Brian81

US needs a Four Flies release. Shameless is still the only fully English friendly release on Blu. The Koch doesn't have English subs for Italian track or for bits of the film not recorded in English.

Hopefully it happens soon. I can see Arrow giving this a release at some point.

[TrentW1982]

YES!! Who Saw Her Die has been my most awaited giallo on blu ray, so I'm not only stoked to finally see it getting a release but THRILLED that it's Arrow putting it out!! Pre-ordering this one right away!

This is one of the best gialli for sure, and yes has a lot of similarities in look & feel to Don't Look Now, but unlike most Italian genre films which cashed in on an American hit, Who Saw Her Die actually came first.

EDIT: Before I have stones throw at me, yes I know Don't Look Now is British and I'm not saying it's American. Just a comment that in contrast to the common perception (right or wrong) that Italian films are usually inspired by similar American hits, in this case the Italian film came before the bigger British hit.

[TrentW1982]

Originally Posted by Brian81

I want Arrow to do FF more than anyone else, just because the rest of his early gialli were released by Arrow and in hard box cases.

Completely agree. I have the matching limited edition Arrow boxes for The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, Cat O Nine Tails and Deep Red so I feel like I really need an Arrow box of Four Flies On Grey Velvet to complete the matching set of Argento's first 4 films.

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by TrentW1982

YES!! Who Saw Her Die has been my most awaited giallo on blu ray, so I'm not only stoked to finally see it getting a release but THRILLED that it's Arrow putting it out!! Pre-ordering this one right away!

This is one of the best gialli for sure, and yes has a lot of similarities in look & feel to Don't Look Now, but unlike most Italian genre films which cashed in on an American hit, Who Saw Her Die actually came first.

British.

[Member-222782]

This film has one of the most infectious soundtracks ever committed to celluloid.

[The Great Owl]

I do not take shortcuts when it comes to collecting region A titles in the genres of classic era film noir and Italian giallo.

Here's looking forward to this one arriving at my doorstep.

[TrentW1982]

Originally Posted by grahams76

British.

Yeah I know Don't Look Now was British, I was just saying Italian films of that era often cashed in on American hits (eg. Poliziotteschi with Dirty Harry and The French Connection). My point was just that in this case, the lesser known Italian film pre-dates the better known film that draws comparison.

[logboy]

Originally Posted by TrentW1982

Yeah I know Don't Look Now was British, I was just saying Italian films of that era often cashed in on American hits (eg. Poliziotteschi with Dirty Harry and The French Connection). My point was just that in this case, the lesser known Italian film pre-dates the better known film that draws comparison.

i think 'often' isn't right, either. tends to be considered a matter of a key film / hit from america inspiring italians to go in a certain general direction, or a key italian film (new ideas, or a major earner) leading them to have lesser similar productions set in motion, all until the audience tires of it enough or something different comes along from somewhere.

don't really like to emphasise the idea really, because every creative industry reacts to ideas of what's going on around it. and that's plural - many ideas from many directions for lots of reasons. there's been a lot of potential revisionism in the western audiences of old italian genre films in recent years that have distorted the purpose / value of them as though made for them (and because of them) over and above the italian audience, and i think it's inaccurate, immoral and misguided. more importantly, and usually bypassed or ignored because it's harder to pin-down and gets a little academic, is how much of the contemporary italian political / social climate is reflected in genre films made there.

[formula_nebula]

Never seen this. But, good word of mouth, and the cast cemented my preorder.

[TrentW1982]

Originally Posted by logboy

i think 'often' isn't right, either. tends to be considered a matter of a key film / hit from america inspiring italians to go in a certain general direction, or a key italian film (new ideas, or a major earner) leading them to have lesser similar productions set in motion, all until the audience tires of it enough or something different comes along from somewhere.

don't really like to emphasise the idea really, because every creative industry reacts to ideas of what's going on around it. and that's plural - many ideas from many directions for lots of reasons. there's been a lot of potential revisionism in the western audiences of old italian genre films in recent years that have distorted the purpose / value of them as though made for them (and because of them) over and above the italian audience, and i think it's inaccurate, immoral and misguided. more importantly, and usually bypassed or ignored because it's harder to pin-down and gets a little academic, is how much of the contemporary italian political / social climate is reflected in genre films made there.

Totally agree with all of that Particularly the comment around the social & political climate in Italy being reflected in their films, and their political messaging is often a key point of difference compared to US films of the same genre.

I was really just making a passing comment that unlike most people's perception that Italian films came after American hits that inspired them, in this case the Italian film came before the bigger British hit that it's compared to, that's all. I just typed it quickly while distracted so I didn't spell it out clearly enough and left too much room for misinterpretation. I won't make that mistake again on this forum!

[Aclea]

Venice was used as a location for giallos Amuck and The Designated Victim and had been used for not quite giallos, not quite horrors like A Quiet Place in the Country, so there was something of a trend for Italian filmmakers using it already in the early 70s, particularly out of season. There's a feeling of decaying decadence in Fall and Winter that lends itself perfectly to the genre.

[TrentW1982]

The Designated Victim is excellent, I hope that gets a Blu ray release soon (and hopefully not by Shameless like the DVD).