Tenebrae

Tenebre (1982) aka Tenebrae, directed by Dario Argento, uncut Arrow 4k remaster, encoded in 10 bit HEVC with AAC sound, including original Italian theatrical stereo, English stereo dub, three commentary tracks, and English subtitles.

IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084777/

Video encoded in two-pass 12.5 Mbps x265 10bit with the veryslow preset for archive quality image.

English subtitles for Italian audio OCRed, proofed and corrected. English SDH subtitles for English audio converted to VobSub and repositioned.

Note : It seems there's a lot of Argento lately, but I couldn't wait to get this recent 4k remaster out. Tenebrae marked Argento's return to giallo after a 7-year break during which he made supernatural horrors Suspiria and Inferno, and much had changed. The slasher boom of the 80s was in full swing, and Argento borrows and references liberally, both from his previous films, other directors he admires, such as Hitchcock, and slashers, this film having, I think, both more gore, nudity, and sexual innuendo than any of his others. It's also apparently inspired by a real-life experience Argento had with an obsessed fan, and the confrontation the main character, an author, has with a journalist who considers his work sexist and misogynist echoes criticisms of Argento's own work. The story is, as is common with later Argento, twisty and coincidence-laden in the extreme, so it's best to not apply too much logic, but the very strong visuals, including a contrasting of pale, desaturated, angular architecture and wardrobe with bright red splashes of blood, more than make up for it. The pseudo-Goblin soundtrack is very good too. Extra points for appearances by our old friends John Saxon and Ania Pieroni with her piercing eyes. Also, Veronica Lario, later the wife of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, pioneers an innovative technique for painting walls in a sequence towards the end.

American crime author Peter Neal visits Rome to promote his new book, but before he's even arrived, a young woman who was a compulsive shoplifter is attacked and killed in her home, pages of Neal's book stuffed in her mouth. The killer soon contacts Neal, saying he's cleansing the perverts and degenerates, and more murders soon occur. In the meantime, Neal's stressed-out agent Bullmer tries to manage the PR tour and get an important contract signed, but he might have ulterior motives, a TV reporter seems unhealthily obsessed with Neal's books, Neal's bitter ex-fiancée Jane may be stalking him, and the local cops don't seem to be good for much.

This Arrow 4k remaster honestly looks fantastic, great contrast, poppy color with nice skintones, nicely managed grain, sharp but not oversharpened, and both the original Italian stereo as well as the English dub sound quite good. As usual, I recommend the Italian audio and subtitles. The three commentary tracks are all very good, all with giallo and Argento experts we've heard before, and all offering lots of fascinating information about the film, its conception, and the production. A near perfect release, in my opinion.

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