Knife of Ice Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Knife of Ice Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 31, 2020

Umberto Lenzi's "Knife of Ice" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film; archival interview with the director; new program with critic and author Stephen Thrower; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I need to step out of the car, but I will be back soon.

There isn’t a shortage of interviews in which Umberto Lenzi calls out the critics that dismissed his films over the years, so I wasn’t surprised to see yet another one on Severin’s new release of Knife of Ice. But this interview was also pretty funny. In it Lenzi openly admits that the Edgar Alan Poe quote that appears in the beginning of Knife of Ice was essentially a meaningless curve ball, which destroys the argument of various critics that it is a key piece of the film’s narrative. Pay attention to Lenzi’s facial expressions while he enthusiastically describes how the idea for the quote came to him and then how wrong the supposedly critics that deconstructed his film were. It is pure comedy.

Knife of Ice of course isn’t a funny film. However, it isn’t the classic giallo some of its fans insist it is either. Lenzi confirms it in the same interview and then explains in great detail how a single segment during the finale alters the identity of the entire film. Until then the film uses a completely different playbook to impress, building primarily the type of atmosphere the classic thrillers from the 1930s and 1940s loved to promote. The secluded Spanish villa where Carroll Baker’s character is trapped was simply perfect for it, so Lenzi made the most of it and only at the end tweaked the narrative to make the film work as a giallo.

Rather predictably, the film does not utilize conventional giallo characterizations. For example, Baker plays a deeply traumatized young woman who has lost her ability to speak and relies on her hands to communicate with the people around her. She is still a rational woman whose instincts are very much intact, but there is a part of her that routinely experiences reality in different ways. So, while residing in the lavish Spanish villa Baker’s character actually looks a lot more appropriate for a vintage psychological thriller, which with the exception of the crucial final segment is in fact precisely how the film is scripted to impress. Another unusual character is Eduardo Fajardo’s driver, who would have looked much more at home in one of Ricardo Freda’s gothic horror thrillers because his presence brings a completely different vintage vibe to the film. As a result of these unique characterizations there is quite a bit of stylistic overlapping throughout the film and the giallo elements are actually barely recognizable.

A quick comparison with the other films in Severin’s box set -- Orgasmo, So Sweet... So Perverse, A Quiet Place to Kill -- makes it even easier to conclude that Lenzi was in fact seeking a completely different identity for Knife of Ice. All three are quite bold and in certain ways even subversive, carefully testing the boundaries of what could be seen as acceptable in mainstream cinema at the time. (Without Baker, who was promoted as a legitimate Hollywood star, these films absolutely would not have gathered the same attention, so the box office success they enjoyed in Italy and abroad would not have been the same either). Knife of Ice does not have any such bold or provocative material. It is very much an ‘old-fashioned’ film that sells its drama like its black-and-white predecessors did a few decades before it.

The film looks good, but it is not one of Lenzi’s visual stunners. The Spanish villa provides the necessary vintage glamour and the rest is basically good management of light, shadow, and different types of filters. Marcello Giombini’s soundtrack is rather underwhelming.

*Severin’s release of Knife of Ice is sourced from a new 2K master that was struck from the original 35mm camera negative. The film can be viewed with restored original English and Italian audio tracks.

Knife of Ice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ice of Knife arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K master that was struck from the original 35mm camera negative. The master is very good and I am fairly certain that it will be the last one that is prepared for this film. Clarity, delineation, and depth are all very pleasing, but you need to keep in mind that the foggy outdoor material introduces predictable fluctuations (screencaptures #7 and 8 should give you an idea what to expect). There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. There is some room for encoding optimizations that would have ensured that the visuals look 'tighter', but even on a larger screen the wide format hides the inconsistencies pretty well. The color grading job is convincing. I liked the primary colors and the manner in which the supporting nuances are balanced. Image stability is good. However, the encoding optimizations I mentioned above would have strengthened fluidity. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Knife of Ice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English and English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the film with the English audio track, which should be considered the 'original' track because virtually everyone in the film speaks English. However, it looks like at least some overdubbing was performed, which means that you should expect to hear the usual minor dynamic fluctuations that appear on these types of European genre films. The important thing that I wish to make clear is that there are no annoying age-related imperfections.

Knife of Ice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Until the Silence Screams - in this archival interview, Umberto Lenzi discusses the conception of Knife of Ice, its stylistic identity and critical reception, the evolution of the giallo during the late '60s and early '70s as well as other trends in Italian and European cinema, and the manner in which his work evolved. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (19 min, 1080p).

• Carroll and Umberto's Final Stab - in this new video interview, critic and author Stephen Thrower discusses the evolution of Umberto Lenzi's style and his work with Carroll Baker. In English, not subtitled. (30 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Knife of Ice. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Italian Credits - not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

Knife of Ice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Knife of Ice is defined by the continuous overlapping of stylistic characteristics that actually make its contemporary reputation seriously problematic. Yes, the surprising finale makes it easy to promote as a giallo, but it is pretty clear that Umberto Lenzi had a different film in mind. In the archival interview that is included on this release the director even identifies the two classic films that inspired him, The Spiral Staircase and Cat People, and then clarifies why he avoided the splatter craze that Dario Argento's work unleashed. I think that Knife of Ice is a very nice film, but a lot of people are mischaracterizing it and perhaps even failing to appreciate the good in it that makes it interesting. Severin Films' release is sourced from a lovely recent 2K master that was struck from the original camera negative. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.