DVD and Blu-Ray News: Inferno

Remember guys, Monday 13th Dario Argento's Inferno from Arrow Video will be available in stores in the UK and available to order online NOW in both DVD and Blu-Ray. It's a frankly stupendous package so go buy it!

Not convinced? Well check out the specs:

SPECIAL FEATURES:

THIS AMAZING 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION CONTAINS:
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned art work
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- Collector’s Booklet featuring brand new writing on Inferno by Alan Jones, author of Profondo Argento

BLU-RAY DISC 1 CONTAINS:
- Brand new restoration of the film, available fully uncut for the first time in the UK
- High Definition Presentation of the film (1080p)
- Optional 5.1 DTS / Stereo / Mono audio
- Choice of original Italian and English audio

BLU-RAY DISC 1 – SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Introduction by star Daria Nicolodi (1080p)
- Dario’s Inferno (1080p)
- Acting in Hot Water: An Interview with Daria Nicolodi (1080p)
- The Other Mother: Making the Black Cat - Director Luigi Cozzi goes behind the scenes of The Black Cat, his rarely seen, totally unofficial, 1989 sequel to Inferno (1080p)
- Inferno Q&A with Irene Miracle, Keith Emerson and Tim Lucas [Blu-ray exclusive] (1080p)
- X marks the spot (1080p)

DVD DISC 2 – SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava on Inferno
- 'Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror' Mark Kermode narrates this documentary on Argento’s career including interviews with George A. Romero and John Carpenter
- The Complete Dario Argento Trailer Gallery [18 films]

DVD and Blu-Ray News: Inferno

Coming on August 2nd from Arrow Video in the UK is Dario Argento's Inferno on both DVD and Blu-Ray. Once again, my colleagues and I from High Rising Productions have had a hand in the plentiful extras so take a look at what to expect:

THIS AMAZING 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION CONTAINS:

- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned art work

- Double-sided fold out Poster

- Collector’s Booklet featuring brand new writing on Inferno by Alan Jones, author of Profondo Argento

- High Definition Presentation of the film (1080p)

- Optional 7.1 DTS-HD/2.0 Stereo Audio

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Introduction to Inferno by star Daria Nicolodi

- Dario's Inferno (16 mins interview with Dario Argento)

- Acting in Hot Water: An Interview with Daria Nicolodi (18 mins interview)

- The Other Mother: Making the Black Cat (16 mins) In 1989 director Luigi Cozzi (a long time friend and collaborator of Dario Argento) decided to make the unofficial follow-up to Inferno and 'complete' the Three Mothers legacy. This feature looks at the torrid history of The Black Cat, with plenty of clips too!

- Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (57 mins) Mark Kermode narrates this documentary on Argento’s career including interviews with George A. Romero and John Carpenter

- The Complete Dario Argento Trailer Gallery [18 films]

- Easter Egg (5 mins of Dario Argento in English, with random memories of Inferno)

Pre-Order the Blu-Ray or DVD now from Amazon

Book News: Dario Argento by James Gracey

A new book on the great Dario Argento by fellow blogger James Gracey and available now from Kamera Books or from Amazon.co.uk

"The stylistic and bloody excesses of the films of Dario Argento are instantly recognisable. Vivid, baroque and nightmarish, his films lock violent deaths in a twisted embrace with an almost sexual beauty. Narrative and logic are often lost in a constant bombardment of atmosphere, technical mastery and provocative imagery. It's a body of work which deals explicitly with death and violence, all the while revelling in perversely alluring stylistics and shot through with an unflinching intensity.

Setting the tone with earlier gialli films such as The Animal Trilogy and Deep Red, Argento has steadily pushed the boundaries; through his elaborately gothic fairytales Suspiria and Inferno, right up to his more recent contributions to TV's Masters of Horror compendium and the conclusion of his Three Mothers trilogy, Mother of Tears: The Third Mother. Along the way, his prowling camera work, pounding scores and stylistic bloodshed have only gained in intensity and opulence.

This Kamera Book examines his entire output. Hailed as one of horror cinemas most significant pioneers and the twentieth century's major masters of the macabre, Argento continues to create inimitable and feverishly violent films with a level of artistry rarely seen in horror films. His high profile and mastery of the genre is confirmed with his role as producer on celebrated classics such as George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Lamberto Bava's Demons. His work has influenced the likes of Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter and Martin Scorsese, to name but a few."

DVD News: Argento Classics on Sale Now

Click the lovely new artwork to buy the DVD's from Amazon.co.uk

DVD News: Arrow go Argento Crazy!

This is not meant to be a Arrow Film love fest but they are re-releasing some past Argento hits onto DVD but with some mind blowing cover art (and perhaps hopefully some nice little extras and better AV - all will be revealed soon) that will make you want to double and triple dip! All released on March 22nd!

The Stendhal Syndrome (La Sindrome di Stendahl,1996)

The Stendhal Syndrome - Features include:

* Double sided sleeve featuring new artwork
* Exclusive collector’s booklet
* Poster
* Dario Argento trailer gallery
* Theatrical trailer
* English 5.1 and Italian 5.1 audio options

The Card Player (Il Cartaio, 2004)

The Card Player - Features include:

* Double sided sleeve featuring new artwork
* Exclusive collector’s booklet
* Poster
* ‘The Making of The Card Player’ featurette
* ‘The Card Player’ promo
* Trailer
* Dario Argento trailer gallery
* English 5.1 and 2.0 audio options

Terror at the Opera (Opera, 1987)

Terror at the Opera - Features include:

* Double sided sleeve featuring new artwork
* Exclusive collector’s booklet
* Poster
* Feature presentation (102 minutes) with English 5.1 and Italian 5.1 audio options
* US edit of feature (91 minutes) with original ‘Cannes dub’ (English 2.0)
* US edit of feature (91 minutes) with approved, re-dubbed English 2.0 audio
* Dario Argento filmography and biography
* Photo gallery
* Opera by Demonia music video
* Dario Argento trailer gallery
* Top 6 gore scenes
* US trailer
* International trailer

Blu-Ray News: Suspiria

Released on January 10th will be Suspiria on Blu-Ray from Cine-Excess in the UK, which hopefully will be a step up from the Italian release that suffered from lots of image problems and was ultimately a disappointment! Having heard from someone from Cult-Labs who has seen some of the Blu-Ray, it is meant to be looking good! Fingers crossed!

In addition, I don't like to pick out faults with new labels who are bringing, hopefully, a fantastic edition of Suspiria, but their tag line "Taking Trash Seriously" for a film that is anything but, is a little bit of insult! Anyway if the disc is great then all is forgiven!

UK Blu-Ray News: Dawn of the Dead

Great news for UK horror fans - a quite fantastic package from Arrow Films! Read on...



"Ok people some breaking news here - lots of good news, one little hiccup but an interesting solution has come of it.

The Argento cut of Dawn is not going to be in HD - it's simply not up to scratch - not by a long way.

So the package is going to work as follows - we'll have the lead Blu-ray disc which will contain the theatrical cut in HD and then two DVDs - one with the directors cut and one with the Argento cut - anyone with a Blu-ray player will be able to play the DVDs which will upscale and anyone who doesn't yet have a Blu-ray player can now own the Argento cut on DVD without having to import it plus enjoy some previously unavailable extras."

The overall line-up and the extras that have been assembled should make this a rather tasty package. Here's how it looks:

Disc One (Blu Ray):

* Theatrical Cut in High Definition
* DTS HD and Stereo Audio.
* Commentary 1 with George A Romero, Tom Savini and Chris Romero.
* Commentary 2 with Richard P. Rubinstein
* Document of the Dead - the classic documentary
* Document of the Dead: The Lost Interview and Deleted Scenes
* Fan of the Dead (mad French dude goes to visit the locations!)

Disc Two (DVD):

* Director’s Cut of Dawn of the Dead
* The Dead Will Walk Documentary (the stunning 2004 documentary)

Disc Three (DVD):

* Argento Cut of Dawn of the Dead
* Scream Greats (brilliant Tom Savini documentary)
* Publicity Vault containing:

* US and German Trailers
* TV and Radio Spots
* Reviews
* Giallo Trailers (Macabre, Sleepless and House by the Cemetery)

Buy it exclusively from October 19th at HMV UK

Suspiria

Tuesday evening was spent with my good friend and fellow film afficionado Mike McKenzie at the GFT in Glasgow watching Dario Argento's "Suspiria" with a surprisingly good audience in tow! Although at times a scratchy looking print and with some of the violence trimmed, it was a fun experience watching a classic film in the cinema with like-minded fans! Hopefully a precursor to the forthcoming "Weekend of Italian Terror", with hopefully another good attendance! Remember go buy tickets! Like now!

Italian Film Festival - Glasgow

Anyone interested in Italian Cinema, should note that the Italian Film Festival begins tomorrow April 17th and runs until May 27th with many interesting and involving movies being shown around the country so check out your local arty cinema and see whats on! Being from the "Boot" (© Tony Soprano) myself, I thought I'd recommend a few to check out!

19th April - GFT@3.30pm

Wild Blood, directed by Marco Tullio Giordano and Starring Monica Bellucci and Luca Zingaretti

"Wild Blood has been a labour of love for writer/director Marco Tullio Giordana (The Best Of Youth) who brings a fresh eye to bear on the passion and politics of a true life tale from the fascist era."

24th April - GFT@6.30pm

The Girl by the Lake, directed by Andrea Molaioli and Starring Toni Cervillo (Gomorrah)

"One of the finest Italian debut features in recent years, Andrea Molaioli’s The Girl by the Lake is a tense, satisfying murder mystery with a powerful central performance from Toni (The Consequences Of Love, Il Divo) Servillo that won him the Davide di Donatello prize for Best Actor and the Pasinetti Best Actor prize at Venice."

29th April - GFT@6.00pm

Her Whole Life Ahead, directed by Paolo Virzi and starring Sabrina Ferrilli and Micael Ramazzotti

"Hands down one of the best Italian comedies in recent years"

Variety

Also remember that as part of the Alida Valli season, Dario Argento's Suspiria will be shown on the 26th and 27th of May at the Glasgow Film Theatre! One not to miss!

Blu-Ray: Suspiria Update

Further to my earlier news about a BD version of Suspiria, there is now a listing over at DVDLand.it and indeed it looks like this already stunning looking film is getting a HiDef makeover. More news when I get it!

Blu-Ray News: Suspiria

News from Italy suggests that Suspiria is being released on Blu-Ray on March 11th from Eagle Pictures. Now this is a film that could look stunning in BD, hopefully the transfer will do it justice! Specs and cover art when I find some!

Argento's "Four Flies on Grey Velvet": DVD Imminent!

Fantastic news that Dario Argento's long unreleased Giallo, "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" is due for imminent release on DVD from RetroFilm of Germany, but questions remain whether this release is legit or not.

Currently being discussed over at DVD Maniacs...

DVD Cover & Screencaps:



Specs:

Freigabe: ungeprüft
Fassung indiziert? Nein
Laufzeit: 96:55 Min.

Regionalcode: 0
DVD-Format: DVD-9 (8,5 GB)
TV-Norm: PAL
Verpackung: Hartbox

Bildformat: 2,35:1 (anamorph / 16:9)

Tonformat: Deutsch (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Englisch (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Italienisch (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Untertitel: Deutsch

Laufzeit Bonus
bzw. Extras: 18 Min.

Extras:

* Original - Teaser (englisch) (0:57 Min)
* Original Trailer (englisch) (2:17 Min)
* erweiterte Endszene (italienischer Ton ohne UT) (7:11 Min)
* alternative Credits (2:57 Min)
* Trailer zu "Die neunschwänzige Katze" (3:28 Min)
* Trailer zu "Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Handschuhe" (2:38 Min)

No Shame Return: Argento's "Door into Darkness"

Very good news to see that NoShame are not dead and buried!

Source: Twitchfilm.net

Twitch has (as do many sites) a relationship with NoShame‘s USA arm which goes back to their relatively recent inception and shrouded-in-mystery demise, or should I say apparent demise. People have been scrambling to pick-up DVDs from their reasonably prolific output of USA DVDs in recent times, fearing the worst and predicting they’ll be permanently OOP soon as there was no true and concrete sign NoShame would be back from a regrouping of their business, or from an apparent trip to secure USA rights for further releases - well, in with the rumors that had been flying around forums in recent months, there was a mention for a wider release for a TV Series of four hour-long films partly directed by Argento in his earlier career years, under a few different names as it happens, that has appeared in a scarce Dragon DVD over in Germany in years gone by. I’ve that set stuck away somewhere, but many didn’t get their hands on one of those several thousand sets, many have some to Argento (as they will) since. Here’s your chance then.

I will wait to hear more specific and detailed information about any permanent resurrection, but for now this listing seems to confirm we could hope for a revival of the company… I hope, this time around, that they continue some of their excellent choices with genres favored by American audiences, and that some of the weaker stuff few obviously connected too will avoid any other difficult times in their future - they’ve been a great source of some classics, and a good example (quite often) of how to go about things in terms of providing supporting information on a reliable basis.

Mother of Tears Trailer!

The first proper teaser trailer for Dario Argento's upcoming opus has arisen over at Yahoo!, and it looks fantastic and very dark! Hopefully the movie will live up to all expectations, remember the release date looks like the 31st October in Italy, so get over to Ryanair and get those flights booked if your Italian is half-way decent.

Dario Argento - New Website on the way!

Launching 7-7-07 is Dario Argento's new site with hopefully a HQ trailer for his long awaited new film "La Terza Madre"

One to keep an eye on!

Mother of Tears: Poster Art

Very nice! My excitement over this is slowly getting higher, actually contemplating going over to Italy to see this on the weekend of release!

Source: Shock Till You Drop

1st Footage of Argento's "La Terza Madre"!

From CineCitta News:

It is around 2mins into this video clip: LINK

Very Nice! Will see if I can find a better or complete trailer!

Suspiria on Location!

Very nice little trip taken by an Italian fan of Suspiria, check it out here.

Asia confirms Daria Nicolodi in "Mother of Tears"

Source: DarkDream.org

The news about Dario Argento's latest movie gets better and better...

"I've been in Hong Kong for a while and i didn't bring my computer with me. I am now writing you from the "business center" of my hotel. God, you're always ahead of everyone, yes I am going to be in my dad's new movie (the script is brilliant!) and I am happy to tell you before anyone else that my mother is playing a role in it as well! How exciting! The family reunited. My heart is so mushy. And no, Sienna Miller ain't gonna be in it."

Asia Argento to star in Dario's "The Third Mother"

Source: Profondo Rosso

"Nel frattempo però Asia Argento ha dato la sua disponibilità a interpretare "La Terza Madre", è questa è certamente una notizia attesa dai fan.

Asia Argento has accepted to star in "The Third Mother"."

Excellent to hear this, more Asia on the big screen is always welcome.

Some other Argento news:

"Una bella notizia: Dario Argento ha girato un nuovo episodio, "Pelts", per la seconda stagione della serie televisiva americana "Masters of Horror".Dario Argento è già stato invitato a tornare in America per girare un altro episodio per la terza stagione della stessa serie.

Dario Argento has directed "Pelts", a new feature for the second season of American TV series "Masters of Horror". Argento has now been invited to go back to the States to direct a third feature for the same series.

Una notizia: l'inizio delle riprese del nuovo film di Dario Argento, "La Terza Madre", è stato spostato: il film si farà a novembre.

Shooting on Dario Argento's "The Third Mother" has been delayed till next November or later."