Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Girl Who Knew Too Much Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 5, 2014

Mario Bava's "La ragazza che sapeva troppo" a.k.a. "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's American version, "Evil Eye"; original trailers; audio commentary by Tim Lucas; short introduction by writer and critic Alan Jones; archival interview actor John Saxon; and filmed conversation with directors Luigi Cozzi and Richard Stanley and authors Alan Jones and Mikel Koven. In Italian or English, with optional English or English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Nora

Nora Davis (Letícia Román, Fanny Hill) arrives in Rome hoping to have a good time, but her aunt dies shortly after she unpacks her bags. Nora then gets mugged on her way to a local hospital and witnesses the murder of a beautiful woman. She reports the murder to the local authorities, but they fail to discover the body and conclude that her mind might have played a trick on her.

During the funeral ceremony, Nora is approached by Laura Torrani (Valentina Cortese, Le Amiche, Day for Night), a friend of her aunt, who later on invites her to stay at her lavish home while she visits her husband in Bern, Switzerland. Nora accepts and when Laura leaves she discovers a box with newspaper clippings from local reports about the mysterious Alphabet Killer, who apparently attacked his victims in the same area where she witnessed the murder of the beautiful woman. Nora then receives a chilling phone call from a stranger.

Convinced that there is a connection between the missing body of the beautiful woman and the Alphabet Killer, Nora begins asking questions. Initially she is assisted only by Dr. Marcello Bassi (John Saxon, The Appaloosa), who took care of her aunt while she was alive, but later on investigative reporter Andrea Landini (Dante DiPaolo, Blood and Black Lace) also provides her with some valuable information.

This very influential thriller from the great Mario Bava which is frequently credited for the birth and proliferation of the giallo genre borrows elements from different films. As its title suggests, there is an obvious desire in it to imitate the style and atmosphere of Alfred Hitchcock’s films. (Anyone familiar with Hitchock’s work should quickly realize that Bava’s film does not borrow only from The Man Who Knew Too Much). The narrative construction and the lensing, and in particular the manner in which light and shadow are treated, also suggest that Bava was very much inspired by Fritz Lang’s films about Dr. Mabuse. (Compare the important roles Berlin and Rome have in Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse and The Girl Who Knew Too Much, how the sequences with the tape recorders redirect the two films, how the sense of paranoia in these films gradually becomes far more important than the puzzles their protagonists are trying to solve, etc).

Bava’s eye for detail, however, gives The Girl Who Knew Too Much a unique identity. Indeed, the manner in which the camera follows Nora and carefully observes the strange world around her creates and sustains a very special atmosphere that essentially places the film in that very attractive niche that exist between the real and the surreal. This very same niche will later on be frequently visited by the likes of Dario Argento, Sergio Martino, Umberto Lenzi, Luciano Ercoli, Massimo Dallamano, and Giuliano Carnimeo, amongst others.

Arrow Video’s release features two versions of Bava’s film: the original Italian version, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, and the re-edited American version, Evil Eye. The American version contains entirely new footage in different parts of the film that drastically changes its tone and atmosphere. It also replaces the original Italian score by Roberto Nicolosi (and removes Adriano Celentano’s opening song Furore) with a new original score by Les Baxter.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much 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 The Girl Who Knew Too Much arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"An original 35mm Fine Grain Interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin-registered ArriScan. A 35mm internegative element was also used for a small number of scenes. The film was graded on the Nucoda grading system. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris and light scratches were removed through a combination of software and other digital restoration tools. The original mono soundtrack was transferred and synched from the magnetic reels. Some minor instances of picture damage remain, in keeping with the condition of the original materials.

Film restoration supervisor: James White, Arrow Films.
Restoration services by Deluxe Digital-EMEA, London.
Film Scanning: Paul Doogan, Bob Roach.
Film Grading: Stephen Bearman. Restoration supervision: Tom Barrett, Clayton Baker.
Restoration Management: Mark Bonnici, Graham Jones."

Generally speaking, detail and clarity are very good. Well-lit close-ups, in particular, look terrific (see screencaptures #11 and 15). Shadow definition is also very pleasing. In fact, because the image is so well balanced -- there are no traces of contrast boosting or sharpening adjustments -- the darker sequences are very atmospheric. Grain is easy to see throughout the entire film. There are some minor fluctuations, but it is well resolved and natural. This being said, there are various minor scratches, damage marks and dirt specks that are quite easy to spot. A rather large line splits the image during the opening credits as well. Some stability issues remain -- there is one very obvious frame jump in the first half of the film and various instances of minor movement within the image frame (to get an idea what these stability issue look like, please see the paper sheet around 01.08.14 and the girl's face at 01.09.19). The encoding is very good.

Also included on this release is the film's English language version, Evil Eye. This version of Bava's film was also restored and for the most part looks fairly similar to the Italian version (overall density is better on the Italian version). Some small specks, scratches, and minor stability issues remain.

(Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Girl Who Knew Too Much Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 2.0 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English and English SDH subtitles for the Italian and English versions of the film.

The Italian track has good clarity and depth. The dialog is stable and free of background hiss. The music is well rounded while dynamic intensity is very pleasing (some mild unevenness remains in select areas of the film, but considering the fact that overdubbing was performed this isn't surprising). There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review. The English track has quite a bit of background hiss and even some pops. Overall dynamic intensity is limited.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Alan Jones - writer and critic Alan Jones introduces Mario Bava's film and points out some of the key differences between the Italian and English language versions. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Audio Commentary by Tim Lucas - in this audio commentary, Tim Lucas discusses the production history of Mario Bava's film, the key differences between the Italian and English language versions, the different locations where some of the most atmospheric sequences from the film were shot, the framing and lighting techniques, some of the symbolism behind Letícia Román/Nora Davis and Valentina Cortese/Laura Craven-Torrani's names, the set decorations, etc.

• All About the Girl - in this filmed conversation, directors Luigi Cozzi (Contamination) and Richard Stanley (Hardware) and authors Alan Jones (Profondo Argento) and Mikel Koven (La Dolce Morte) discuss the transformation of Mario Bava's film from a romantic comedy (as initially intended) into a dark and atmospheric thriller that inspired the giallo genre, the Hitchcockian overtones in the film, the Italian director's diverse output and some of the genre cliches his films spawned, etc. In English and Italian, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (22 min).

• Remembering the Girl with John Saxon - in this video interview, actor John Saxon recalls how he was approached by Letícia Román (Nora Davis) to play Dr. Marcello Bassi, and discusses his contribution to Mario Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much as well as what it was like to live and work in Italy at the time when the film was shot. In English, not subtitles. (10 min).

• International Trailer - international trailer for The Girl Who Knew Too Much. In Italian, with printed English subtitles. (3 min).

• U.S. Trailer - original U.S. trailer for Evil Eye. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Cover - reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys.

• Booklet - illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kier-La Janisse.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is easy to see why Mario Bava's film The Girl Who Knew Too Much had such a profound impact on a number of young Italian directors -- its atmosphere was drastically different. I think that it has aged quite well, though it is clearly not as well polished as some of Bava's later films. Arrow Video's Blu-ray release also includes the re-edited and re-scored American version of the film, Evil Eye, but you should see it only after you have already experienced the Italian version. RECOMMENDED.