Blue Underground unleashes Deep Red on BD - May 17, 2011

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Mr. Thomsen

+1

The long version is interesting to watch when you know the film, but much of the added material really slows the story down, and some of it is downright annoying. I also much prefer the shorter international cut.

I kind of agree with this. The short version is better-paced in a lot of regards, some of the long version stuff is just clunky, badly acted character exposition. On the other hand, some of it is sort of charming. I like the scene with Daria Nicolodi arm wrestling the hero, for example. Their interactions are mostly pretty good and I did miss some of them in the short version. But, most of the cut stuff that didn't involve her belonged gone! If I remember right, the shorter version also has some of the violence censored. It's kind of a trade-off, both versions have their issues. I love the movie either way but it's certainly not perfect.

[Pecker]

For me, the shorter version is superior.

The ham-fisted attempts at humour are not just poor; they're toe-curlingly embarrassing.

Even if they'd worked they'd be jarringly out of place.

Steve W

[tisdivine]

Has anyone heard any rumors of this getting rereleased like a lot of Argento titles are right now? Been thinking of picking it up but that $35.00 price from amazon is a bit steep if we're getting a better version in a few months lol

[Wernski]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

Has anyone heard any rumors of this getting rereleased like a lot of Argento titles are right now? Been thinking of picking it up but that $35.00 price from amazon is a bit steep if we're getting a better version in a few months lol

Not in the US, but Arrow already did a 4k remaster in the UK.
Another option: the Argento blu-ray 3-pack from BU, which includes this, Inferno and Cat O Nine Tails for virtually the same price.

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by Wernski

Not in the US, but Arrow already did a 4k remaster in the UK.
Another option: the Argento blu-ray 3-pack from BU, which includes this, Inferno and Cat O Nine Tails for virtually the same price.

Ive never seen Cat O Nine Tales but I did like the other two so that would prob be the best option even if I dont like CO9T lol

[cakefactory]

Cat O Nine Tails is getting re-released with a better transfer soon, though, and possibly in the US as well as the UK. But yeah, if you didn't really like it, that 3 pack would have been a better investment.

[mca213]

Is BU's Deep Red Out of Print ?

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Cat O Nine Tails is getting re-released with a better transfer soon, though, and possibly in the US as well as the UK. But yeah, if you didn't really like it, that 3 pack would have been a better investment.

If thats the case I better watch CO9T before I buy anything to see if I like it. So far all the older Argento Ive seen Ive loved so I doubt it will be any different.

[frakking toaster]

Originally Posted by mca213

Is BU's Deep Red Out of Print ?

I doubt it. Every so often Blue Underground's titles gonip in price on Amazon because they've been changing distributors. Same thing happened with Living Dead at Manchester Morgue and people were buying it for like 40 bucks panicking. And now you can get it at a normal price again.

[sb5]

Sorry if this has been answered earlier in the thread, but does the longer cut on this release have an English/Italian hybrid option, or is it only Italian? I wasn't quite sure from reading the review.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by sb5

Sorry if this has been answered earlier in the thread, but does the longer cut on this release have an English/Italian hybrid option, or is it only Italian? I wasn't quite sure from reading the review.

Its got the hybrid option or you can watch it with just the Italian.

[The Great Owl]

While conducting a lecture at a theater in Rome, Italy, a famous psychic becomes visibly unsettled when she senses that someone in the audience has committed a murder and that the person will likely kill again. Later that night, this psychic is brutally hacked to death with a meat cleaver. While standing in the street below the victim's window, Marcus, a professional pianist played by David Hemmings, witnesses the murder. Marcus, who is intrigued by a questionable detail from the crime scene, decides to investigate on his own accord, with the help of a beautiful reporter, played by Daria Nicolodi. Unfortunately, the unknown killer is somehow aware of their every move, and is leaving a trail of bloody corpses at each turn.

The 1975 Italian film, Deep Red, was directed by the legendary Dario Argento, who also helmed horror classics like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Suspiria, Tenebrae, and Phenomena, and it is a standout in the giallo cinema. The term, “giallo”, the Italian word for “yellow”, was adopted as the genre name for these films, because they were inspired by the murder mysteries with yellow covers that were popular in Europe at the time. In these films, victims, usually gorgeous women, are pursued by killers who usually wear black gloves. Movies in this genre often took cues from the visually mesmerizing works of Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, and Deep Red carries the inspiration a step farther with its casting of Hemmings in the lead role, since he played the photographer protagonist in Antonioni's magnificent 1966 thriller, Blow-Up. That Antonioni film dealt with the story of an ordinary citizen investigating murders and crimes outside of the safety net of police protection, and this premise, which was influenced by Alfred Hitchcock classics, became a common element in giallo.

One scene in Deep Red, where a mechanical doll approaches a victim, is one of the most effectively eerie moments that I have ever seen in a horror film. As with all of Argento's movies, this one rewards the viewer with a plethora of sequences where otherworldly beauty is mixed with claustrophobic tension and over-the-top gore effects. The killings in Argento films seem to ignore anything and everything that we know about the human anatomy, but the payoff is that the special effects add to the uncanny charm of the stories. Everything about the aesthetic of this movie presents us with a riveting puzzle representing both the elusiveness of memory and the mystery that Marcus takes it upon himself to solve. That puzzle is brought to our eyes by way of incredible settings, namely a stately lecture theater, an abandoned villa, a country home, and picturesque Rome locations. As with other Argento films, this one features a music score by the Italian progressive rock band, Goblin, and its wonderful menace is magnified by the inclusion of a recurring children's lullaby that is played during each killing for reasons that become apparent late in the story.

I watched the long 126-minute Italian version of Deep Red, and, although many fans dislike this version's oddball comedic turns, mostly involving the relationship between Marcus and the reporter, I found that they fit into the end result quite well.

This is a horror masterpiece through and through.

This Blue Underground Blu-ray of Deep Red delivers the blood-soaked visual goods with a nicely filmic transfer with natural grain. I would not be surprised if this title is revisited with another Region A playable edition someday soon (since the limited edition Arrow version is now difficult to find), but I'm also pleased with what this existing edition has to offer. The sound quality, at least with the Italian version, brings out the best of the dialogue and the intensely creepy lullaby.

This Blu-ray goes light on extras, and the only standout supplement is a collection of interview footage with Argento, Goblin, and others.

[Mahadeva]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

While conducting a lecture at a theater in Rome, Italy, a famous psychic becomes visibly unsettled when she senses that someone in the audience has committed a murder and that the person will likely kill again. Later that night, this psychic is brutally hacked to death with a meat cleaver. While standing in the street below the victim's window, Marcus, a professional pianist played by David Hemmings, witnesses the murder. Marcus, who is intrigued by a questionable detail from the murder scene, decides to investigate the murders on his own accord, with the help of a beautiful reporter, played by Daria Nicolodi. Unfortunately, the unknown killer is somehow aware of their every move, and is leaving a trail of bloody corpses at each turn.

The 1975 Italian film, Deep Red, was directed by the legendary Dario Argento, who also helmed horror classics like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Suspiria, Tenebrae, and Phenomena, and it is a standout in the giallo cinema. The term, “giallo”, the Italian word for “yellow”, was adopted as the genre name for these films, because they were inspired by the murder mysteries with yellow covers that were popular in Europe at the time. In these films, victims, usually gorgeous women, are pursued by killers who usually wear black gloves and black clothes. Movies in this genre often took cues from the visually mesmerizing works of Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, and Deep Red takes the inspiration a step farther with its casting of Hemmings in the lead role, since he played the photographer protagonist in Antonioni's magnificent 1966 thriller, Blow-Up. That Antonioni film dealt with the story of an ordinary citizen investigating murders and crimes outside of the safety net of police protection, and this premise, which was influenced by Alfred Hitchcock classics, became a common element in giallo.

One scene in Deep Red, where a mechanical doll approaches a victim, is one of the most effectively eerie moments that I have ever seen in a horror film. As with all of Argento's movies, this one rewards the viewer with a plethora of sequences where otherworldly beauty is mixed with claustrophobic tension and over-the-top gore effects. The killings in Argento films seem to ignore anything and everything that we know about the human anatomy, but the payoff is that they add to the uncanny charm of the stories. Everything about this film presents us with a riveting puzzle that represents the elusiveness of memory and the mystery that Marcus takes it upon himself to solve. That puzzle is brought to our eyes by way of incredible settings, namely a stately lecture theater, an abandoned villa, a country home, and picturesque Rome locations. As with other Argento films, this one features a music score by the Italian progressive rock band, Goblin, and its wonderful menace is magnified by the inclusion of a recurring children's lullaby that is played during each killing for reasons that become apparent late in the story.

I watched the long 126-minute Italian version of Deep Red, and, although many fans dislike this version's oddball comedic turns, mostly involving the relationship between Marcus and the reporter, I found that they fit into the end result quite well.

This is a horror masterpiece through and through.

This Blue Underground Blu-ray of Deep Red delivers the blood-soaked visual goods with a nicely filmic transfer with natural grain. I would not be surprised if this title is revisited with another Region A playable edition someday soon (since the limited edition Arrow version is now difficult to find), but I'm also pleased with what this existing edition has to offer. The sound quality, at least with the Italian version, brings out the best of the dialogue and the intensely creepy lullaby.

This Blu-ray goes light on extras, and the only standout supplement is a collection of interview footage with Argento, Goblin, and others.

I like reading your reviews but where did you see a nicely filmic transfer with natural grain in BU's Deep Red? This is anything but natural filmic grain.

http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a...=25853&i=6&l=0

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Mahadeva

I like reading your reviews but where did you see a nicely filmic transfer with natural grain in BU's Deep Red? This is anything but natural filmic grain.

http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a...=25853&i=6&l=0

It looks pretty filmic to me. Maybe not as much as the superb Arrow and Synapse transfers of Argento's films, but it's good in motion.

EDIT:
Yeah, you're right... The Arrow transfer looks a heck of a lot better. I wish that the standard edition were Region A.