6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl begins to focus his suspicions on the three girlfriends of the victim, who call themselves "The Inseparables".
Starring: Fabio Testi, Christine Kaufmann, Ivan Desny, Jack Taylor (II), Bruno AlessandroHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 76% |
Mystery | 22% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Fans of British mystery may find a couple of interesting parallels to a couple of iconic English sleuths in what the commentary on this new Blu-ray describes as a “little” giallo, Enigma Rosso, a film that was released under an almost funny number of different titles through the years (the actual title credit for the film on the disc is Rings of Fear). Lovers of a certain spinsterish Agatha Christie creation who picked up Miss Marple: Volume 3 may recall two mysteries that featured a man named Jason Rafiel, who kind of cheekily appointed himself Miss Marple’s “Nemesis”. Decades later, the Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour featured an episode with local school girls getting involved in some sexual shenanigans with much older, wealthier, males in the area. Both the name Nemesis from Miss Marple’s adventures and the perhaps salacious plot point that involved Endeavour Morse show up in Enigma Rosso, a film written by Massimo Dallamano, and one which bears more than a few passing resemblances to Dallamano’s What Have You Done to Solange? (Enigma Rosso was evidently initially planned as part of Dallamano's so-called "school girls in peril" trilogy, which may account for at least some its similarities). As commentator Nathaniel Thompson mentions, Enigma Rosso arguably tones down the gore that is the hallmark of many gialli, while upping the prurient aspects, sometimes fairly randomly (an early sequence features a lot of naked school girls showering for no other reason than, well, naked school girls showering). Perhaps the single biggest sexually charged issue with the film is the manner of death of its first victim, who it turns out was killed by an implement of gratification whose undue size “ripped up her insides” (I’m attempting to be a little circumspect for reasons which are hopefully obvious). That murder scene is left to the imagination in the early going, though a later montage does at least hint at it.
Enigma Rosso is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of a coaltion between Doppelganger Releasing, Scorpion Releasing and Music Box Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The back cover of this release advertises one of the supposed special features as a "brand new scan of the original negatives with extensive color correction done here in the States". I wish I had better news about this transfer, but it's unfortunately one of the less pleasing ones that this recent partnership between Doppelganger and Scorpion has offered. There are a number of issues that must have been inherent in the negative which have not been addressed (or at least adequately addressed) in any restoration process, including numerous instances of damage, including some fairly large and long lasting purple scratches (see screenshot 18). Clarity and detail levels are also fairly variable, especially toward the edges of the frame, where things often look almost slightly out of focus. The encode seems to encounter a few obstacles with grain resolution as well (see screenshot 17), though in motion things do look nicely organic a lot of the time. The best thing about this transfer is probably the palette reproduction, which means that whatever color correction was done here has hit its target. That said, this is not an overly saturated looking presentation, and skin tones tend to skew toward the slightly pink side of things.
Enigma Rosso features either Italian or English language tracks in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. Both tracks feature the traditional loose sync of Italian cinema, but each offers both dialogue and Riz Ortolani's really bizarre score (more about that in a moment) with generally okay fidelity. Ortolani, who had a fascinating career that saw him provide huge pop hits like "More" or "Forget Domani", offers some patently weird choices throughout this film. A lot of the score plays like a kind of early seventies' porn feature (which may in fact be kind of appropriate), but Ortolani accents certain lines of dialogue in an almost comedic way. Listen, for example, during Di Salvo's initial interrogation scene at the school, and hear how Ortolani suddenly offers deep, menacing chords at certain moments that would seem to indicate something important is being discussed. Here's a clue: it isn't.
When even the commentator hired to discuss the film tends to dismiss it (more or less, anyway) as a relatively minor offering in the often wild and wooly world of giallo, that's probably a salient clue as to where to set your expectation meter when approaching this film. There's actually quite a bit to like in Enigma Rosso for those not expecting an undiscovered masterpiece. But the pull quote on the back cover which announces the film is "ultra sleazy" may be another clue for those who are a bit squeamish at depictions of debauchery or elements like full frontal nudity. Doppelganger and Scorpion have been releasing some interesting gialli and other related genres, and have generally offered very good to excellent technical presentations. While there's nothing absolutely horrible about either the video or audio on this presentation, I personally find this to be the least pleasing in those departments of the releases this partnership has brought out thus far. Therefore, I suggest that those interested at least parse the screenshots included with this review carefully as they weigh whether or not to purchase this title.
Profondo rosso
1975
2018
Il gatto a nove code | Special Edition
1971
Giallo in Venice / Giallo a Venezia
1979
La morte ha sorriso all'assassino
1973
Cosa avete fatto a Solange?
1972
Chi l'ha vista morire?
1972
Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio
1973
Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso
1972
Standard Edition
1982
L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo
1970
1972
Los sin nombre
1999
Mil gritos tiene la noche | Remastered | Limited Edition Puzzle to 3000
1982
Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate
1971
Special Edition | La morte accarezza a mezzanotte
1972
Special Edition | La morte cammina con i tacchi alti
1971
Ég Man Þig
2017
Nude per l'assassino
1975
2019