Deep Red

DVD Anchor Bay Entertainment
1975, 126 minutes

review by Lee Peterson

"This young Italian guy is starting to worry me!"

--Alfred Hitchcock about Deep Red

Marcus Daly (Blow-Up 's David Hemmings) is an English Jazz pianist living in Rome. Walking home one night after a rehearsal, he hears a woman's screams, and watches her being brutally murdered by a hatchet-wielding killer. In a futile attempt to save her, he catches a fleeting glimpse of the killer (whose hands, as in all of Argento's films, are portrayed by the director's).

Obsessed by the murder (and under a blanket of suspicion himself), he sets out to unravel the mystery, with the unsolicited aid of a brash reporter (Argento's long-time companion Daria Nocolodi, in a great screwball turn. She would appear in four more films for Argento, and bear him two daughters, Fiore and Asia). 

Thematically very similar to Argento's debut,The Bird with the Crystal Plumage , Deep Red (aka Profondo Rosso ) is the director's most fully realized film, and perhaps the greatest of the "giallo" genre, period.

The performances are all solid, the direction and cinematography are sure-handed, and the killings are suspenseful and stylish (Luigi Kuveiller shot Fulci's Lizard in a Woman's Skin andThe New York Ripper , and Paul Morrissey's Blood for Dracula  and Flesh for Frankenstein ). Argento co-scripted with frequent Fellini collaborator Bernardino Zapponi (Spirits of the Dead , Fellini's Satyricon , et al). 

The pounding synth score by Italian rock band Goblin (sometimes credited as The Goblins) is ferocious and haunting, and began a long and fruitful association with Argento (they would later score Suspiria , Tenebre and Dawn of the Dead , and contribute tracks to Phenomena and Opera ). 

Collectors have always met with frustration when searching for complete, uncut versions of Argento's films on video (this one, especially).

Hell, I've got more copies of Deep Red than the average eight-year-old has Pokemon cards.

The original Italian release runs 120 minutes. The U.S. video version (retitled Deep Red: The Hatchet Murders  and pan-and-scanned) runs 98 minutes (trimming the violence and a lot of the romantic interplay between Hemmings and Nicolodi), and is an atrocity. A British "uncut" video is letterboxed, but shorn of a bit of the violence. A Japanese laserdisc looks and sounds terrific, but is also missing some footage. An uncut Italian print surfaced, but alas, there were no English subtitles.  

When I first heard about Anchor Bay's plans to release an uncut, uncensored Deep Red on dvd, I had very high hopes. I am not at all disappointed. 

This disc, simply put, fucking rocks.

The 2.35:1 transfer (16X9 enhanced) is absolutely pristine, with no noise or print damage at all. Watching this disc is like watching the film for the very first time. The colors have never looked brighter or more perfectly saturated. 

The new Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix is excellent (in English and Italian with optional subtitles, and the original 2.0 mono mixes of each are included for purists). Some of the restored scenes were apparently missing their English soundtrack, so they are presented in Italian with English subtitles. An audio commentary track with Argento was originally scheduled but scrapped, and replaced with an 11 minute "25th Anniversary" featurette featuring new interview footage of Argento, Zapponi and the members of Goblin. English and Italian trailers are also included (with optional subtitles).
 
 One small quibble--the cover art is truly awful, and offers no hint as to the stylish,thriller contained within. Regardless, I cannot recommend this disc highly enough. If you're an Argento fan, this is the one you've been waiting for. If you're new to Argento and the modern Italian horror scene, you couldn't pick a better place to start.

Once again, Anchor Bay Entertainment shows the other guys how it oughtta be done.

 
Official Website:

http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com