Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Blood and Black Lace Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 3, 2015

Mario Bava's "Blood and Black Lace" a.k.a. "Sei donne per l'assassino" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary with Mario Bava expert Tim Lucas; original trailer for the film; archival episode of David Del Valle's TV series; Michael Mackenzie's visual essay "Gender and Giallo"; short video piece featuring Belgian filmmakers Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzan; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked".

"I can't take this anymore. If I don't get some soon, I'll go crazy."

A vicious killer stalks and murders the elegant models of the popular Christian Haute Couture fashion house in Rome. The owner of the house, the affluent widow Contessa Cristina Como (Eva Bartok, Operation Amsterdam), attempts to maintain order, but after the body of the first victim, Isabella (Francesca Ungaro), is discovered, everyone panics.

The experienced Inspector Silvester (Thomas Reiner) begins sniffing around and realizes that in addition to selling designer clothes the house may have been used to distribute drugs in the city. Shortly after, he questions the Contessa’s lover and business partner, Max (Cameron Mitchell, The Toolbox Murders), and Isabella’s roommates, Peggy (Mary Arden) and Nicole (Arianna Gorini).

Meanwhile, the killer strikes again.

Mario Bava’s Sei donne per l'assassino a.k.a. Blood and Black Lace isn’t the first giallo film -- the Italian director’s The Girl Who Knew Too Much is frequently credited for giving birth of the giallo genre -- but it is the film that defined all of the key stylistic elements the genre is known for. It has a dual identity that allows it to easily misdirect its audience while routinely exploring some rather extreme content. (In the most popular giallo films the extreme content is typically a mix of graphic violence and sleazy sex/ultra erotic footage).

In Blood and Black Lace the murders of the elegant models are essentially used to build and sustain a very specific atmosphere. There is an obvious desire to infuse the film with a strong Gothic flavor but at the same time give it a contemporary edge that adds a new dimensionality. To be perfectly clear, despite the expressive use of light, shadow, color and music, there is a sense of authenticity that remains an integral part of the narrative.

Indeed, the identity of the killer is revealed long before the final credits roll, but the film continues to promote the same type of atmosphere that emerges during Isabella’s murder. There are unexpected character transformations, but they also appear to have been introduced to support a specific stylistic vision rather than function as crucial parts of a carefully constructed puzzle.

The film was shot with a small budget, but the visuals are quite extraordinary. In fact, Bava and cinematographer Ubaldo Terzano’s work in this film is decisively better and more effective than that done with far bigger budgets and better equipment years later by the likes of Dario Argento, Sergio Martino, and Luciano Ercoli.

The script was written in English, but the film can be viewed in English and Italian. Two official English dubs were recorded. The fist was done in Rome and featured Bartok and Mitchell’s original voices, but it was lost. The second was created in Los Angeles and it is the one used for the current English version of the film.

The exotic soundtrack was created by Carlo Rustichelli (Pietro Germi's Divorce Italian Style, Seduced and Abandoned).

Blood and Black Lace Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The film has been restored in 2K -- with the scanning done on a pin-registered ARRISCAN at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna -- and in terms of detail and image depth the results are indeed very impressive. Despite the fact that light is used in a variety of different ways to enhance the tense atmosphere, image depth is consistently excellent. Clarity is also very good and as a result it is easy to see various small objects and details. Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Colors are appropriately (for a Bava film) lush and well saturated. However, some fluctuations exist, with balance occasionally shifting towards a wider range of pink hues. There is a layer of very fine and beautifully resolved light grain, which ensures that the film has a consistent organic appearance. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Finally, overall image stability is excellent.

Unfortunately, while the technical presentation is indeed quite impressive, the current image composition is unconvincing. Indeed, there is missing relevant information on both sides of the frame and as a result various parts -- indoor and outdoor sequences -- of the film look quite awkward. Here are a few specific examples that highlight the issues introduced by the current 1.67:1 framing: In screencapture #19, which is taken from a static shot, the composition is problematic. In screencapture #6, it should be easy to see that there is also missing information on the sides. And finally, in screencapture #12, where Contessa Cristina Como addresses the rest of the characters, it is also clear to see that relevant information has been removed (portion of her body is missing).

Ultimately, while there may be sufficient evidence that the film was projected in two ratios, 1.66:1 and 1.85:1, after having viewed the new 2K restoration, my opinion is that it was clearly composed by Bava for a wider presentation (meaning wider than the current 1.67:1 framing). Naturally, I think that the most logical presentation of this film would have included two versions, one framed in 1.85:1, and another in 1.66:1. (For a similar presentation of a recently restored film, see Criterion's release of Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront).

Note: This is a Region-A/B locked Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A, Region-B, or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

Blood and Black Lace Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit) and English LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English subtitles have been provided for the Italian track.

I viewed the film twice, once in Italian, and once in English, and later on did some direct comparisons between the two tracks.

English track: Generally speaking, clarity remains good throughout the entire film. Depth is somewhat limited, but this should not be surprising considering the fact that Blood and Black Lace was not a lavish production. Some minor sync issues can be spotted as well, but they are not a byproduct of poor mixing -- various actors were overdubbed and the current minor sync issues are indeed inherited. This being said, some light buzz frequently makes its presence felt. The most obvious examples occur when Carlo Rustichelli's score is used to further enhance the tense atmosphere, but the buzz can be felt even during casual exchanges.

Italian track: The Italian track appears slightly better balanced, but the light buzz mentioned above is also present on it. Interestingly enough, it is not as easy to detect on Carlo Rustichelli's score (see and compare the footage around 00.22.01 on the two tracks). The dialog is stable and easy to follow. On the English and Italian tracks there are no audio dropouts to report in this review.

Blood and Black Lace Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original Italian trailer for Blood and Black Lace. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Helene Cattet & Bruno Forzani - in this short video piece, Belgian filmmakers Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzan (Amer, The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears) discuss the unique visual style and atmosphere of Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace and highlight some of the key qualities of the giallo genre. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min, 1080p).

• U.S. Opening - presented here is an alternative credit sequence created by Filmation for the U.S. release of Blood and Black Lace. The titles were sourced from Joe Dante's private print of Blood and Black Lace and scanned in high definition. (2 min, 1080p).

• The Sinister Image - presented here is an archival episode of David Del Valle's TV series, which focuses on Cameron Mitchell (Max Marian in Blood and Black Lace) and his quite diverse body of work. The actor discusses his work in America and Italy, some of the more popular genre films he appeared, his work and interactions with such legends as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster, Mario Bava's directing methods (he appeared in six of his films), etc. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Part One. (28 min, 1080i).
  2. Part Two. (29 min, 1080i).

• Psycho Analysis - this documentary film focuses on the production history of Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace and the origins of the giallo genre. Included in it are clips from interviews with film historian Roberto Curti, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, author Carlo Lucarelli, film writer Steve Della Casa, and Dario Argento, amongst others. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (56 min, 1080p).

• Blood and Bava - presented here is a panel discussion featuring Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, and Steve Della Casa. The three gentlemen discuss the filming of Inferno, Mario Bava's directing methods, the gap/misconceptions that separated the great classic Italian directors (Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni) and the Italian genre directors (Mario Bava, Dario Argento), etc. The discussion was recorded at the 2014 Courmayeur Film Festival. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (12 min, 1080p).

• Gender and Giallo - in this visual essay, Michael Mackenzie takes a closer look at the origins of the giallo genre and the socio-political overtones found in some of the more popular giallo films. In English, not subtitled. (38 min, 1080p).

• Yellow (2012) - presented here is Ryan Haysom and Jon Britt's short neo-noir film Yellow, which follows closely an elderly man looking for a serial killer in 1980s Berlin. Starring Hester Arden, Stephen M. Gilbert, and Rocco Menzel. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, discusses the visual style and ambiance of Blood and Black Lace, some of the notable differences between the Italian and English audio tracks (such as the different names some of the characters are given), the alternative U.S. opening credits, the brilliant use of color, the effective misdirections in the film, Carlo Rustichelli's exotic score, etc.

• Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring: "The Glamor House of Horror" by Howard Hughes (2015); "Whodunnit? The Unusual Suspects" by Howard Hughes (2015); "Joe Dante Remembers the Genius of Mario Bava" by Alan Jones (2000); "Bava's Avenger" by David Del Valle (2014); "Yellow: A Neo-Giallo"; "Yellow: A Review" by Anton Bitel (2013); and technical credits.

Blood and Black Lace Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arrow Video's new 2K restoration of Italian master Mario Bava's very stylish Blood and Black Lace is clearly the best presentation of the film on the home video market, but I can't say that it is the definitive presentation fans of the film have been hoping to get. I think that this is one of those films that should have been presented on Blu-ray in multiple ratios so that it is seen as it was supposedly screened when it was released theatrically in 1964, though I am convinced that the film was clearly composed for a wider presentation. The release comes with some very good supplemental features, including a long and very informative video piece with actor Cameron Mitchell. RECOMMENDED.