Tenebre - Special Edition

a very good scripted and acted movie. dario always have given giallo with the thrilling appeal to the movies and this one is no exception. there is also very good cinematography in the movie speacialy camera angles when it covers the whole of building and interior as well in the single shot its amazing work from dario keeping in views there was no such advanced equipments that we see today in filmmaking.

Fierce, stylish sex crimes are on the menu in this grisly, superbly shot film. It's got some great twists and several places where I jumped out of my skin. The violence is extreme and unpleasant, with a good deal of graphic (& in one place hilariously bad) effects. This is powerful stuff and viewing it is like watching a slasher film made by Hitchcock. A acquired taste but interesting viewing.

When I first discovered Dario Argento's work, DVD was not around. I had to endure horrible VHS, pan and scan transfers that were always butchered by the distributors. Dario has had some of the worst experiences with censors, not only here in the US, but in his native Italy and across Europe. Most of the early VHS copies of his work were always cut versions, but despite the mutilations, there was something magnetic and fascinating about Dario's work that came through anyway. It's like when a great actress is in a lousy film, yet you stare at her anyway because she has that magnetic quality that only a few people in the world posess. Dario's work, even in truncated form, has this quality. Luckily, in the 1990's with the advent of laserdisc and DVD, we can finally see his work the way he meant it to be seen.

One of the first films I saw by him was Tenebrae. When Tenebrae (which is Latin for Darkness) was released here, it was cut by 10 minutes and retitled Unsane (this is the uncut version). It's not as good as Suspiria, Deep Red, or Inferno, but it's still wonderful and head and shoulders above his later work (which ranges from OK to abysmal). It has some amazing camera work (including a 2 1/2 minute long take from outside an apartment building, which is well known to Argento fans), a great twist in the middle and end of the film, some great gore scenes, and some strange flashbacks that really work well within the context of the film.

There's a scene where a girl gets her armed chopped off. In the original version, this scene was cut (no pun intended), and we saw the axe hit the girl's arm, then we saw the girl armless. The original version you actually see the arm cut off. This woman was a really bad actress who was involved with Silvio Bersculoni, the scandal plagued media baron (an Italian Rupert Murdoch) and former prime minister. Dario had to use her in the film, but killed her off in gruesome fashion. Just an interesting tidbit that I wanted to share. The film is very bloody, operatic, and has great cinematography. It's one of Argento's best films, one his fans repeatedly talk about.

First off: what's up with the misspelled title? It is TENEBRAE, not TENEBRE. I suppose some graphics worker was asleep at the wheel...I bought this in lieu of the full box set because it's easily the best film offered, and because I have the others in some form or other. TENEBRAE has no supernatural content, but is a regular giallo murder story. The difference is in the trademark Argento execution, making TENEBRAE far more entertaining than most giallos I've seen. Fun performances by Tony Franciosa and ubiquitous John Saxon, and, need I add: plenty of blood. It's no SUSPIRIA, but Argento fans should certainly have this DVD. It's of the customary Anchor Bay quality, and the special material, while nothing to set the world on fire, is a nice addition.

American Novelist Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) arrives in Rome, he's being stalked by a manical killer who loves Neal's work and imitates the book called Tenebre's murder scenes on helpless victims with any weapon there is. The police are concerned who is this mysterious maniac commiting these atrocious crimes, as one of the suspects must try to reveal who is the true killer.

Shocking and chilling Italian psychological slasher horror thriller from Italy's true master of terror Dario Argento is truly one of his greatest movies. The film's plot is more coherent then some of his movies with a good storyline and some gory kills, the movie co-stars John Saxon and Daria Nicolodi ("Deep Red") and featuring the funky music of Goblin, this is a masterpiece of the macabre that must be seen by every horror fan around.

This DVD contains a great remastered transfer with solid picture and sound with cool extras like an audio commentary, Three featurettes, Alternate End Credit Music sequence, Trailer and Bio of Dario Argento.

Also recommended: "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Suspiria", "Perfect Blue", "In The Mouth of Madness", "The Untold Story", "Demons", "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage", "Inferno", "Friday The 13th series", "Saw Series", "Re-Animator", "Halloween (1978)", "Don't Torture a Duckling", "The New York Ripper", "Opera", "Phenomena", "A Lizard in A Woman's Skin", "Cat O'Nine Tails", "Trauma", "Maniac (1980)", "Two Evil Eyes", "Scream 1 & 2", "The Burning", "The Prowler" and "Misery".