Official Italian Giallo & Euro Horror Movies on Blu-ray Thread

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by petrified-eye

The only giallo I remember liking very much was Mario Bava's The Girl who Knew too Much, even I have to say it's been over 10 years since I saw it. I've recently seen Lizard in a Woman's Skin and Blood and Black Lace and they didn't do much for me, except that Bava's films are of course always visually engaging. Are there other giallos in the vein of The Girl or is that film actually closer to Hitchcock than other giallos?

From the OP:s list I've also seen Suspiria and Bay of Blood but I can't associate them to be quite the same genre.

Bay of Blood fits, but it's kind of loose. I laugh about Suspiria's inclusion in this discussion. Giallos are essentially pulp murder mysteries...whodunits... Without that element, I have a hard time thinking it belongs here. There ARE those cases where you DO know the killer, but those are rare. Examples are 'Hatchet for the Honeymoon' where the mystery is finding out a murder from the past through typical slasher methods, or 'Short Night of Glass Dolls' where a guy who is essentially dead is trying to find out the mystery in his head while he's already comatose.

[Brian81]

Kino and Arrow look different but both actually look good in terms of picture quality. Which is correct? Up for debate. Most say the Kino.

[easydreamer]

I hate the front & reversible covers for Arrow's A Bay of Blood. hope they re-release it one day with the better PQ & artwork.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Coming from the UK label, 88 Films:

[Show spoiler]

Argh! How did I overlook this one? I am not sure whether I have ever seen it, but the soundtrack by Riz Ortolani has been one of my favorite giallo soundtracks since I first heard it (unfortunately it looks like it has now disappeared from our local Spotify).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Rockercub

I don't doubt it - what did you think of the audio though? Are the criticisms exaggerated?

Nothing about the audio presentation of the Kino Blu-ray of A Bay of Blood distracted me from enjoying the movie. There's some hiss here and there, but nothing that I don't expect from a modern-day technical presentation of a film with that source material.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Originally Posted by Mr. Thomsen

Argh! How did I overlook this one? I am not sure whether I have ever seen it, but the soundtrack by Riz Ortolani has been one of my favorite giallo soundtracks since I first heard it (unfortunately it looks like it has now disappeared from our local Spotify).

Crap, I totally misremembered. It's the soundtrack for Sette note in nero I love.

Carry on, nothing to see here.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by easydreamer

I hate the front & reversible covers for Arrow's A Bay of Blood. hope they re-release it one day with the better PQ & artwork.

you should have seen the Image dvd years back

the blu ray is a revelation!

[Rockercub]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Nothing about the audio presentation of the Kino Blu-ray of A Bay of Blood distracted me from enjoying the movie. There's some hiss here and there, but nothing that I don't expect from a modern-day technical presentation of a film with that source material.

Thanks! I probably won't watch it again for a while, but if the price for the Kino version drops low enough, I'll grab it.

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

you should have seen the Image dvd years back

the blu ray is a revelation!

are you talking about the 'twitch of the death nerve' poster? that art was probably the best...

[petrified-eye]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

The Girl Who Knew Too Much is definitely more in the Hitchcock mold. It lacks many of the hallmarks of the main giallo movement. If you don't like Lizard or Blood & Black Lace you might be out of luck, those are two major classics. However, more "restrained" ones I'd still say are worth trying for you would be The Psychic and Bird with the Crystal Plumage, they're more plot-driven and less nonsensical and have far less T&A and gore than the majority of them. They're also more muted visually.

Thanks, I'll check those out. It's not the gore or T&A that was bothering me (I actually enjoyed New York Ripper more than A Lizard), but I guess there's something about the whole mix of funky music, unlikeable characters and red herrings that just doesn't cut it for me. I've also noticed before that I need a victim to root for in a thriller and in these movies they all seem suspicious. And I love Bava's use of strong and strange colours but somehow they fit better in a more fantasy-like settings than a movie that tries to be more believable.

Or maybe it's just that I've heard so much praise for these movies for years that it was impossible for them to meet my expectations.

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

you should have seen the Image dvd years back

the blu ray is a revelation!

Yes, I have 2 DVDs (including the Image one), as well as 2 Blu-rays.
Still hoping for more

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by Brian81

are you talking about the 'twitch of the death nerve' poster? that art was probably the best...

Yeah, this art was great, and I also like this title more than A Bay of Blood.

I don't have the Arrow Blu with me at the moment (I'm commuting now), but I believe the reversible art had a different title (maybe Blood Bath), which I didn't like at all.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by petrified-eye

Thanks, I'll check those out. It's not the gore or T&A that was bothering me (I actually enjoyed New York Ripper more than A Lizard), but I guess there's something about the whole mix of funky music, unlikeable characters and red herrings that just doesn't cut it for me. I've also noticed before that I need a victim to root for in a thriller and in these movies they all seem suspicious. And I love Bava's use of strong and strange colours but somehow they fit better in a more fantasy-like settings than a movie that tries to be more believable.

Or maybe it's just that I've heard so much praise for these movies for years that it was impossible for them to meet my expectations.

Ah, I hadn't thought of that as being a possible issue. Yeah, there are a bunch of giallo where everyone's a creep, but the two I mentioned both have likable protagonists. If THAT was a major problem with Lizard/BABL for you, then you might be open to some others which I figured you wouldn't, ex Deep Red or Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh or Who Saw Her Die.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Brian81

are you talking about the 'twitch of the death nerve' poster? that art was probably the best...

yeah, that's the one and I was referring to the PQ (and sound) quality... it was really bad on the dvd..

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by easydreamer

Yeah, this art was great, and I also like this title more than A Bay of Blood.

I don't have the Arrow Blu with me at the moment (I'm commuting now), but I believe the reversible art had a different title (maybe Blood Bath), which I didn't like at all.

The slipbox version at least had the BAHIA DE SANGRE cover as an option to view through the box...

Originally Posted by AKORIS

yeah, that's the one and I was referring to the PQ (and sound) quality... it was really bad on the dvd..

Ok. I was thinking you were referring to the art options. I didn't own the Image of that one, just I Vampiri and Five Dolls for an August Moon. The rest I owned the Anchor Bay discs (themselves touched up versions of the Image releases) and a P&S VHS or two.

[MikeyMicrowave]

Picked up Slaughter Hotel yesterday and watched it last night. Blind buy. Saw it included in this thread and I figured i'd give it a go. Easily the worst "giallo" (if you could even call it that) movie i've ever seen.

It was probably the first time sitting through a movie where I didn't even give a shit who the killer was by the end of the film. I feel like the director had no idea what kind of movie he was making and i'm not even sure it falls into the "so bad, it's good" category. Can't see myself keeping this one.

Anyone seen Murder Obsession? Been wanting to check that out next!

[stigdu]

Hey knowledgeable fellas,

I used to own, but sold, the Blue Underground version of Fulci's New York Ripper on blu-ray.

I felt like owning it again, but I'm having trouble sourcing it from any of the usualt suspects (Amazon US, WowHD both sold out), and I'm in the UK, so don't want to buy the UK disc as it's cut.

Does anyone know if a) the BU version is the best version of the film on blu-ray to get still, and b) where I can find it without having to sell my left kidney to afford it? Thanks, all.

P.S. Not bothered about extras, just want a nice copy of the film, uncut.

[Val Lewton]

Originally Posted by stigdu

Hey knowledgeable fellas,

I used to own, but sold, the Blue Underground version of Fulci's New York Ripper on blu-ray.

I felt like owning it again, but I'm having trouble sourcing it from any of the usualt suspects (Amazon US, WowHD both sold out), and I'm in the UK, so don't want to buy the UK disc as it's cut.

Does anyone know if a) the BU version is the best version of the film on blu-ray to get still, and b) where I can find it without having to sell my left kidney to afford it? Thanks, all.

P.S. Not bothered about extras, just want a nice copy of the film, uncut.

Hey stigdu, Amazon must have gotten some in since the last time you checked. It's available for $12.08 USD. Pretty good price:
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-R...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

BU also released a Fulci 3 pack that includes NY Ripper:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-L...lu-ray/121124/

Can't speak to whether BU's release is the best one on the market unfortunately, but I'm happy with mine.

[Rockercub]

Originally Posted by stigdu

Hey knowledgeable fellas,

I used to own, but sold, the Blue Underground version of Fulci's New York Ripper on blu-ray.

I felt like owning it again, but I'm having trouble sourcing it from any of the usualt suspects (Amazon US, WowHD both sold out), and I'm in the UK, so don't want to buy the UK disc as it's cut.

Does anyone know if a) the BU version is the best version of the film on blu-ray to get still, and b) where I can find it without having to sell my left kidney to afford it? Thanks, all.

P.S. Not bothered about extras, just want a nice copy of the film, uncut.

Stay away from the UK release from Shameless -- it's censored.

[frakking toaster]

The OP has been updated with what several people have suggested. Sorry I have neglected doing this for a while but I will be adding more to the OP shortly. Also as I add more the alphabetical order might go away as I get lazy lol