Arrow Films

Dario Argento’s giallo classic is released in 4K in two stunning versions by Arrow in a packed set that also impresses with new extras.

If Suspiria is Argento’s finest horror movie then surely Deep Red (AKA Profondo Rosso or The Hatchet Murders) is his best giallo. A stunning thriller that follows a musician’s obsession with solving a murder after he stumbles upon a crime and knows that something about it just isn’t right.

From the audacious twists, to the litres of blood, to the stunning soundtrack by Goblin, this is 1970s Italian moviemaking at its best, and hurrah for Arrow in releasing this gorgeous set, hot on the heels of their The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and The Cat O’Nine Tails limited edition boxes. As with those, there’s an illustrated booklet (featuring writing on the film by Alan Jones, Mikel J. Koven and Rachael Nisbet), a fold-out double-sided poster and six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction art cards.

Like many fans who discovered Argento’s work via VHS in the 80s and 90s, my initial exposure to Deep Red was a fuzzy copy of a copy of a copy, and yet now it’s here to be enjoyed in the most glorious version imaginable. These are new 4K restorations from the original negatives of both the original 127-minute Italian version (the essential cut) and the truncated 105-minute export version. Each cut gets its own disc and they are both presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

Arrow released a director’s cut of the movie on BluRay in 2016, its disc extras are included here on Disc 2. The extras on Disc 1 are all new – let’s run through them. There’s a new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson and a whole bunch of new interviews – Argento and Daria Nicolodi (57 mins), Macha Meril – she played the medium (21 mins); production manager Angelo Iacono (46 mins), composer Claudio Simonetti (15 mins), Gabriele Lavia – he played Carlo (15 mins); Jacopo Mariani – the screaming child (8 mins) and Lino Capolicchio, the original choice for Daly (5 mins). The content is in English-subtitled Italian and I guarantee you’ll find something new here among the stories from the cast and crew. The disc is completed With trailers and image galleries.

The picture quality is superb, the HDR amplifying the richness of Argento’s palette. The blood has never looked redder, and the crimson hues of the opening auditorium (curtains and chairs) are so detailed and vibrant – profondo rosso (deep red) indeed. The shades of black are also more defined, from Helga’s dress to the murderer’s eyeliner to the dark corners of Turin’s CLN Square where Marcus witnesses the murder. And is it just me, or is that pivotal resolution scene so much easier to decipher in this crystal clear transfer where there’s nowhere to hide? And that’s before I mention the murderer’s table of objects that the camera lingers over – you can see every thread on the woollen plaits.

Verdict: Buy it for the gorgeous UHD transfers, three hours of new extras, the booklet of new writing and repro art cards. Deep Red has never looked so profoundly rosso. 10/10

Nick Joy