DEEP RED on Disc

Just in time for Halloween: an appreciation of Dario Argento's horror masterpiece, uncut

By Steve Biodrowski     October 31, 2000

This important DVD release (part of Anchor Bay's 'Dario Argento Collection') came out earlier in the year, but with Halloween upon us, now seems like a good time to review it. Deep Red is one of the most important films in the career of Italian horror maestro Dario Argento (Suspiria, Inferno, Tenebrae), and this disc presents it in uncut form to U.S. audiences for the first time. The extra features, although relatively minimal compared to some 'special edition' DVDs, are quite interesting and informative, but the film itselfan extremely effective and violent mystery-horror thrilleris the real reason to purchase this disc.

THE FILM

Director Dario Argento had completed three 'giallo' thrillers in the early 1970s. (For the uninitiated among you, the term 'giallo' [a reference to yellow book covers on many paperback thrillers in Italy] indicates a certain species of film that emerged in Italy in the wake of Alfred Hitchock's Psycho, characterized by masked serial killers, usually targeting beautiful women and utilizing extremely brutal methods, usually filmed in an extremely stylish manner. One of the seminal works in this sub-genre is cult director Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace, starring Cameron Mitchell.) Argento's early work in this field, know as the 'animal trilogy' (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Cat O'Nine Tails, Four Flies on Grey Velvet), proved him to be a talented practitioner. Deep Red, however, proved him to be a master, equally on par with Bava.

The film uses many of the same mystery plot devices that characterized his previous films: most importantly, the story focuses on a non-detective (in this case, David Hemmings as Mark, a jazz pianist) who becomes involved in a murder investigation, having witnessed some detail that he can't quite recall but which he feels sure will lead him to the killer before the police can find him. His amateur investigation draws the attention of the killer, who targets Mark, while at the same time cutting off every conceivable loose thread that Mark might follow. Ultimately, a vague clue leads him to a supposedly haunted house, where a hidden painting and a walled-up body eventually lead him to the identity of the killer. Or so he thinks. That nagging, half-remembered clue finally comes back to him in the last reel, precipitating a nifty twist ending and horrifyingly gory denouement.

What sets Deep Red apart from the 'animal trilogy' is the richness of its stylization. At this point in his career, Argento was still careful enough about his scripts (this one co-written Fellini collaborator Bernardino Zapponi) to include interesting, quirky characterization and lots of clues leading to the revelation of the killer. However, in this film he layered this basic component with camerawork beyond anything he had ever achieved before. Location shooting in Italy, coupled with some fine production design on the interior sets, gives the film a lavish, beautiful look, captured in garish lighting schemes and filmed from outrageous, often moving, camera angles. The outbreaks of violence are intense and graphic, and Argento takes almost a movie musical approach to the interludes: i.e., he's not afraid to let the plot grind to a halt while he waits for the last note to fade out on a big set piece (the here language is more literal than figurative, as the film features an intense, progressive rock score by Goblin that highlights both the murderer's insanity and the violence of his crimes).

Unfortunately, the film has only been seen in truncated form in most countries. The film, apparently was heavily edited even before it was exported from Italy. Some U.S. theatrical prints were retitled Hatchet Murders and had even more scenes deleted. Previous releases on video and Japanese laserdisc restored a few missing moments, but there was still nearly a half-hour missing from the film. The result was that, as effective and horrific as the film was, it still appeared to suffer from many of the flaws often associated with visually-oriented directors; that is, it seemed to jump from one big horror scene to the next, without always keeping track of the characters or plot.

Fortunately, that problem has been rectified on DVD; unfortunately, the restoration creates problems of its own, but those are not enough to diminish the historical importance of this release.

THE DISC

Anchor Bay's DVD contains an unrated 126 minute cut of the film (previous U.S. video releases clocked in closer to 100 minutes, the Japanese laserdisc at 105). Sadly, the reinstated footage was, apparently, missing the English-language track, which means that every time a new scene shows up, you hear it in Italian, with English subtitles! The effect is, on the one hand, considerably distracting; on the other hand, it allows you (without going back to double check your old VHS copy) to immediately identify new footage whenever it appears. Of course, you also have the option of watching the film entirely in Italian with English subtitles; although this is normally my preference when watching foreign-language films, the presence of English actor David Hemmings precludes this as a preferable optionI want to hear the star's real voice, not some dubbed Italian, coming out of his mouth.

The first noticeable difference occurs in the DVD's Chapter 1: Goblin's main them starts up immediately over the opening credits, which run slightly longer and contain the English-language title rather than the Italian version ('Profondo Rosso'). Previous version had the first few title cards over silence, then cut to a flashback murder scene (accompanied by a children's lullaby), then resumed the credits with the main title music fading in. This means that in the director's cut, the 'Deep Red' theme music is interrupted by the lullaby, which later turns out to be part of the killer's modus operandi.

After the credits, the film immediately cuts to the first new scene: Chapter 2 ('Rehearsal') begins by showing Mark rehearsing with some jazz musicians. (Mark's career was referenced in the shorter cut, but you never really got to see him at work.) Thereafter, much of the new material takes the form of additional bits of dialogue peppered throughout several scenes, such as the parapsychology conference where psychic Helga Ulman detects the presence of a killer in the audience (Chapter 3, 'Evil Thoughts'), a feat which soon costs her life. In the subsequent investigation (Chapter 6, 'Crime Scene'), Mark's status as an immigrant is emphasized; also, it becomes clear the that voice of the investigating police detective has much too comical an intonation in the Italian dubbing.

After Helga's funeral (Chapter 8, 'The Funeral'), there is a new scene between Mark and female reporter Gianna (Daria Nicolodi), which helps establish the bickering romance that will develop between them later. Backed by a track from the soundtrack album called 'Gianna,' this is one of many character-oriented scenes dropped from the shorter cut. It also shows the Argento, at least at this point in his career, knew how to maintain highs and lows in his films, buffering the violent moments with some good, often funny dialogue scenes (thanks no doubt in part to Zapponi).

In this case, Mark's defensiveness in reaction to Gianna, when she accuses him of being 'nervous,' is very amusing. The addition of this scene pays off later (Chapter 10, 'The Weaker Sex'), when the camera peeks in on the couple (Mark is button his shirt, apparently after having had sex with her) and Gianna says, 'See, you're not nervous anymore.' This scene also has additional dialogue on its conclusion to show that the two do not, in fact, part on unfriendly terms. This also emphasizes Gianna's predatory approach to Mark, a little red herring to make us wonder whether she's not stalking him because she is in fact the killer.

Throughout the rest of the film, a similar effect will be seen: old dialogue sounds 'new' because it has been given a new context by the restored scenes. Other restored scenes merely add atmosphere or a bit of fun, such as when we see Mark playing a piano duet in a bar with his friend Carlo.

As Mark tries to track down the killer, the expanded cut also starts to make more sense. Fro one thing, there is additional dialogue (Chapter 18, 'Too Later') to acknowledge some details that have occurred to thoughtful viewers over the years; to wit, since Mark is always showing up one step behind the killer, and leaving his fingerprints at the scene, why don't the police suspect him? Well, now we know that Mark is worried about precisely this, which is why he is avoiding the police and trying to find the killer on his own. Also raised is the question of how the killer always seems to know where Mark is headed nextan early hint that the killer will turn out to be someone quite close to him.

Also in this chapter of the DVD, there is a brief new scene at the police station, which contains some talk about a police strikepresumably to give us a hint about why the police investigation is seen so little in the film. And there is a brief bits that emphasize Mark's growing isolation: instead of just seeing him meet with Professor Giordani, we see him call to arrange a meetinghe's in a glass phone booth surrounded by cars on either side of the expressway, visually isolating him into a tiny little section of the world. At the end of the meeting there is also a quick shot of a pair of dogs fighting in the street; it has nothing to do with the plot, but it keeps the sense of dangerous violence present in the minds of viewers, even when they've just been sitting through a dialogue scene.

So far, all the new elements on the DVD have been improvements. Sad to say, at this point, some problems start to arise that, unfortunately, prevent this disc form being the definitive presentation of Deep Red. The first problem is relatively minor. As Mark tracks down the old, allegedly haunted house that seems to be connected to the killer's past, he meets the building's owner and his daughter, a strange girl who seems to enjoy impaling lizards on hat pins. We don't see her do this, but we do see the resulta small lizard writhing in pain just at the end of Chapter 21 ('Last Words'). For some reason, the image freeze-frames before the film cuts to the next scenean anomaly not found on the Japanese laserdisc.

In the chapter that immediately follows ('House of Ghosts'), we start to get the impression that what we are seeing is not a director's cut but a rough cut. This excellent, atmospheric scene (of Mark's searching the house, accompanied by a repetitive bass figure on the soundtrack) now feels formless, almost aimless, thanks to additional footage that interrupts the interior search with a brief sequence of Mark outside the house (for no apparent reason), before returning him inside, where he makes his 'Dark Discovery' in Chapter 23.

This scene (of Mark chipping away plaster to reveal a child's painting that depicts a murder) has also been expanded in a way that destroys the buildup of tension. The expanded sequence includes a brief interlude of Mark searching the basement for some tool to help scrape the plasteran unnecessary digression that interrupts the flow toward the climactic revelation. Another result of this expansion is that the dramatic main theme music now drops out long before the sequence is over, leaving Mark to finish his work in near silence. The additional footage, in this case, only detracts from the overall effectiveness.

Things pick up again in at the end of Chapter 24. After Giordani receives his 'Blade in the Neck,' there is a new sequence of Gianna informing Mark of the professor's death, which leads Mark to decide to leave town before he becomes the killer's next victim. This realistic detail (our hero actually wants to turn tail and run) helps make the story seem less like a contrived movie plot where everyone always does the predictable thing, and it also shores up a major whole in the continuity (Mark never knew or questioned what happened to Giordani in the short version).

The extended scene is perhaps a bit too much: it ends with actress Nicolodi doing a sultry, vampy exit (accompanied by some twangy blues on the soundtrack) as Gianna mocks Mark's past preference in women ('You used to go for vamps, huh? You like super sexy women?') It should come as no surprise to learn that the actress and her director fell in love while making this movie. Perhaps Argento was indulging his leading lady in scenes like this, letting her add decorative bits of business to the scenes. It's not necessary to the story, but at least it helps give the characters some personality, instead of leaving them as stock figures.

After this, the film proceeds through the rest of 32 chapters without any more additions. There is, however, one major, crucial gaff at the very end: another freeze frame, like the one that mars the lizard shot in Chapter 21. In this case, [Mild Spoiler Alert] after Mark dispatches the killer, the credits roll while, wounded and exhausted himself, he stares at his own reflection in a pool of the killer's blood. The problem? The entire shot is a single freeze frame, with the credits rolling over the top. Without the actual motion of the character (little as it was), the impact of the shot is almost totally destroyed. The whole point (as with many Argento films) is that Mark the artist has been forcibly jolted out of his previous world view, which was presumably informed by the structure and order of the art he practiced. Now, he sees the world through 'deep red,' tinted with the color of blood, the result of senseless, almost random violence. With the freeze frame, all we have is an abstract credits sequence: a photograph of the lead actor's face upside down on the screen, apparently shot through a red filter.

It's a sad way to end what should have been the perfect version of the film. There is much about this DVD to make the Argento collector happy, and you have to give Anchor Bay credit for the good work that is apparent, but to come so close and then not quite get it rightwell, the result is a certain amount of frustration, mixed in with the gratitude.

DVD FEATURES

Anchor Bay's DVD presents the film in its original 2.35 aspect ratio, with the image enhanced for 16x9 television screens. The image is clear and sharp, and contains picture image at the edge of the frame that was missing from the Japanese laserdisc (such as the coated figure Mark sees walking around a corner after the first murder).

There are two soundtracks, English and Italian. Both are presented in Dolby 5.1 and Dobly 2.0 stereo sound. There is also an option for English subtitles. As mentioned above, the English version reverts to Italian for all restored scenes. The sound mix enhances the score by Goblin, but in general the film still sounds like a mono track for dialogue and effects, with the only the music spread out over the separate stereo channels. Still, this isn't something to be discounted, as the music plays an important part in building up the horror of the film.

This disc has a fairly simple interactive menu, which consists mostly of images from the film with musical loops playing behind them. In a clever touch, as you select buttons for the different features, a scream erupts from your TV speaker as the camera seems to zoom into the mouth of the corpse seen in the film.

EXTRAS

The disc contains talent bios, two theatrical trailers, and a 25th anniversary featurette, including interviews with Argento, co-writer Zapponi, and members of Goblin.

The American trailer emphasizes the violence, accompanied by a narration that stretches for hyperbole ('Deep Redit will put you into...Deep Shock.') The Italian trailer (which can be viewed with or without subtitles) takes a more enigmatic approach. Backed by Goblin's rather ambient 'Wild Session' track, the trailer suggests a genuinely creepy movie rather than a simply slasher flick, relying mostly on static images and still frames (ironically, the closing credits shot, of Hemmings reflection in the pool, is shown in three snippets, as it was meant to appear in the filmas live action, not a still frame). A brief snipped on the soundtrack gives us an early demo rendition of the 'School at Night' theme, a sort of children's lullaby, played on the piano instead of with full orchestra as in the film. (This is one of the tracks composed by Georgio Gaslini before Argento replaced him with Goblin.) There is no narration on the Italian trailer, so the English subtitles add little, except to tell you that the trailer presents the film as 'An Exceptional Event,' in keeping with Argento's stature in Italy.

The talent bios are for stars David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi, director Dario Argento, composers Goblin, producer Claudio Argento, and co-writer Bernadino Zapponi (who died on February 11, 2000 shortly after recording his interview for the 'making of featurette). The information contained is, of necessity, condensed, but the result is fairly informative for those not familiar with the careers of the people involved. It is enhanced by the use of some judicious quotes taken from previously published interviews, especially for the entry on Argento, making this a bit less like a dry encyclopedia entry and more like a short article.

The 25th Anniversary featurette runs about ten minutes, featuring interviews with Argento, Zapponi, and Goblin. Argento and Zapponi discuss the film's script, while the rock group barely have time to do more than introduce themselves. (Why not get them to perform the film's main theme? Now that would have been a value added extra worth having!) Inevitably, these brief snippets leave you wanting more, but there are some great tidbits of information. Zapponi explains the killer's methods were chosen because they were reminiscent of something most viewers could have experienced in real lifebeing cut, burned, etc, as opposed to being shot with a gun. Argento insists the film isn't more violent than his previous 'animal trilogy'; it's just presented with greater impact. He also alludes to the reason for dismissing the film's original composer, Georgio Gaslini, in favor of Goblin but gives no details except that his work didn't 'capture the spirit' of the film.

Perhaps tangentially explaining why there is no director's commentary track, Argento goes on to say that he doesn't like to revisit his old films, because that only reminds him of what didn't work or was cut out; he does, however, express gratitude to Anchor Bay's William Lustig for preserving Deep Red in complete form. The featurette also reprises Argento's comments (previously seen on the Inferno DVD) about why he uses his own hands for insert close-ups of the killer at work ('I know how to do those dramatic movements').

CONCLUSION

Although it would be nice to have even more information and supplemental material, this DVD is a well-done presentation of one of Argento's best works. The film itself is more than worth having on its own merits alone. The disc's extras are just so much icing on the cake. One can imagine a more perfect presentation (with the English language dialogue fully restored, supplemented by more interviews and maybe an audio commentary), but for the time being, this disc will tide you over.