Tenebrae 4K Blu-ray Review
Written by Robert Gold
Blu-ray released by Synapse Films
Directed by Dario Argento
Written by Dario Argento and George Kemp
1982, 101 minutes, Not Rated
Released on September 26th, 2023
Starring:
Anthony Franciosa as Peter Neal
Daria Nicolodi as Anne
John Saxon as Bullmer
Giuliano Gemma as Capt. Germani
Christian Borromeo as Gianni
Mirella D’Angelo as Tilde
John Steiner as Christiano Berti
Veronica Lario as Jane McKerrow
Review:
American author Peter Neal travels to Rome to promote his new book Tenebrae (Latin for “Darkness”), but is soon met by police telling him there has been a murder inspired by his novel, with pages of his book stuffed in the victim’s mouth. The unidentified killer taunts Peter with phone calls and threatening letters, but police are slow to make progress as the body count grows. Peter tells his assistant Anne it would be a major coup if he could solve the mystery himself. There is no shortage of suspects, including those who work for Peter, his fiancée and disgruntled reporters who find his work misogynistic among others. Is it someone he knows or just a raving psychopath and how long before Peter gets too close to the truth and becomes a potential victim himself?
Writer/director Dario Argento burst onto the scene in the early 1970s with a trio of giallo films, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Cat O’ Nine Tails and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (both 1971), that have come to be known as the “animal trilogy”. His strengths as a filmmaker grew with the glorious Profondo Rosso (1975) (aka Deep Red), further pushing the limits of the genre. From there, he stepped away from the giallo to pursue a supernatural trilogy starting with Susperia (1977), followed by Inferno (1980). The latter failed to connect with audiences and he waited for a few decades to conclude the series with The Mother of Tears (2007). In 1982, he returned to his roots with the over-the-top murder mystery Tenebrae.
Tenebrae finds Argento in top form, revisiting all of his favorite giallo elements with an ultra-violent edge. Familiar tropes include a private citizen taking it upon himself to solve a series of murders when the police prove ineffective. There is an unidentified killer wearing black gloves wielding a straight razor. The madman calls the hero and sends taunting letters and proves capable of striking any place at any time. Argento pulls out all the stops with some truly jaw-dropping camera work, including the iconic crawl across the apartment building in a single take. Another key element of Argento’s films is the music featuring a return of Goblin, who had previously broken up and are credited here by their individual names. The final key component to these movies is the director’s flair for creating mesmerizing murder-set-pieces and this film doesn’t disappoint when at times literally painting the walls red!
Argento films of the 1970s and ‘80s have a distinct visual style and in the case of Tenebrae, frequent collaborators appear on both sides of the camera, including his producer/brother Claudio Argento (Two Evil Eyes), cinematographer Luciano Tovoli (Susperia), production designer Giuseppe Bassan (Deep Red) and editor Franco Fraticelli (Phenomena). The face of these pictures is Argento’s wife at the time, Daria Nicolodi (Opera), who starred in seven of his films, here playing the loyal assistant Anne.
Anthony Franciosa (Death Wish II) stars as Peter Neal, the possible target of the mysterious killer. He brings a sense of urgency to the role as though the character lives in the moment and is always looking for something new. If something isn’t handled quickly enough, he takes it on himself, like the police investigation. The mighty John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street) co-stars as Peter’s highly skilled agent, Bullmer, a stylish man who can wear the hell out of a hat. Giuliano Gemma (A Pistol for Ringo) brings great authority to the role of police Capt. Germani and John Steiner (Yor: The Hunter from the Future) is a lot of fun as the smarmy journalist Christiano Berti. There are also fine supporting performances from Christian Borromeo (House on the Edge of the Park) as Gianni, Mirella D’Angelo (Caligula) as Tilde, Veronica Lario (Sotto… Sotto) and a disturbing dream sequence starring Eva Robins (Hercules, 1983) credited as the Girl on the beach.
At age 83, Argento shows little sign of slowing down, having recently directed Dark Glasses (2022) and is reportedly in pre-production on his next feature. He has had his share of misfires over the past fifty years, but has also created a string of masterpieces few filmmakers can match. Tenebrae is a wonderful mystery that contains its share of twists but plays by a distinct set of rules. From the performances and camerawork to the glorious score and at times shocking level of bloodshed, this is one not to miss. If you somehow haven’t seen this or it’s been a few years, pick this release up today!
Video and Audio:
The original camera negative has received a 4K restoration presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). Picture quality is simply stunning, steeped in colors that pop and are rich with small-object detail. The film has a somewhat cool palette, making the boldness of the color red all the more powerful. Both the original Italian or English front and end titles and insert shots are included via seamless branching depending on your language selection.
The film carries both restored original DTS-HD MA 2.0 lossless mono English or Italian soundtracks. Dialogue is always clean and understandable and music cues are robust without becoming intrusive.
Optional English subtitles are included for anyone in need.
Special Features:
This 2-disc set is a slightly pared-down version of Synapse’s previous 3-disc limited edition release, missing the heavily edited domestic version Unsane – no big loss. What we do get are all of the legacy extras ported over from the company’s earlier limited steelbook edition.
Kicking things off, we get a trio of audio commentaries from Argento experts who each bring something new to the table with behind-the-scenes stories, talent bios and an overall look at the giallo subgenre. Up first are authors and critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman, followed by a pair of solo tracks, one with Thomas Rostock, the other with author Maitland McDonagh. All three discussions are engaging and worth a listen.
Yellow Fever: The Rise and Fall of the Giallo (2016, 89 minutes) is a feature-length documentary directed by Calum Waddell charting the genre from its beginnings to its influence on the modern slasher film. Featuring insightful interviews with prominent filmmakers, including Dario Argento, Umberto Lenzi, Luigi Cozzi, Richard Stanley and critic Kim Newman. Dedicated fans and those somewhat curious about the subgenre will find a lot to like in this piece.
A newly edited archival interview with actor John Steine, titled Being the Villain (2022, 16 minutes), covers the actor’s career working with such luminaries as Orson Welles, Lucio Fulci, Mario Bava and of course, Argento. His stories are wide ranging and highly entertaining. This segment is in English.
Out of the Shadows (2013, 12 minutes) is an archival interview with author Maitland McDonagh (Broken Mirrors/ Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento) that similar to her audio commentary is interesting and engaging. This selection is in English.
A vintage featurette from an early Anchor Bay release is Voices of the Unsane (2008, 17 minutes), an insightful look back at the film containing interviews with Argento, actresses Daria Nicolodi and Eva Robins, cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, composer Claudio Simonetti and assistant director Lamberto Bava. This piece is in Italian with English subtitles.
Screaming Queen (2013, 16 minutes) is an older interview from Arrow Video in which Daria Nicolodi reflects on her time making this picture. In Italian with English subtitles.
Another Arrow holdover, The Unsane World of Tenebrae (2013, 15 minutes) is an archival interview with Argento. In Italian with English subtitles.
A Composition for Carnage (2013, 10 minutes) is another great Arrow interview with composer Claudio Simonetti. This interview is in English.
There is a brief archival introduction to the film by Daria Nicolodi (2013, 13 seconds) in Italian with English subtitles.
There are two international trailers for the film, one in Japanese.
The alternate English language opening credits sequence is included (2 minutes).
The Italian end credits for Unsane are also included (2 minutes).
There are six international photo galleries promoting the film:
Promotional materials in Italian (11 images), poster art and lobby cards in German (40 images), poster art, publicity stills, lobby cards and a press kit in Spanish (9 images), poster art and lobby cards in Japanese (18 images), a press kit and posters from the USA (5 images) and assorted newspaper ads and misc. stills (10 images).
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