The Perfume of the Lady in Black 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Perfume of the Lady in Black 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 20, 2025

Francesco Barilli's "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" (1974) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new and archival programs with Francesco Barilli; new program with actress Lara Wendel; new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson; new program with critic Stephen Thrower; original trailers; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Several of Gaston Leroux’s classic novels have been turned into films, but the most famous ones are The Phantom of the Opera and The Secret of the Yellow Room. The former routinely inspires different theatrical productions, too. However, the brilliance of Leroux’s writings has never been replicated -- in a film or theatrical production.

This is almost certainly the reason why Francesco Barilli’s directorial debut, The Perfume of the Lady in Black, is only loosely based on Leroux’s novel of the same name. Indeed, even though Barilli and screenwriter Massimo D’Avak worked with original material from Leroux’s novel, the former did not set out to deliver a proper cinematic adaptation of it because it would have been a project doomed to fail. This is a crucial detail to remember whenever Barilli’s The Perfume of the Lady in Black is discussed.

Mimsy Farmer is Silvia Hacherman, a young woman with a complicated, mysterious past. She is in a romantic relationship with Roberto (Maurizio Bonuglia), but even though the two genuinely love each other, oftentimes they are alone. Silvia is the one who enjoys the luxury of choosing when to be alone. Roberto is forced to be alone whenever his job dispatches him to destinations that are thousands of miles away from Italy.

While Roberto is on a regular business trip in South Africa, Silvia suffers a nervous breakdown that tricks her mind into overlapping her childhood memories with her present. The initial overlapping episodes are short, but as more time passes by, they expand and become almost unbearably intense. After a trip to a local medium recommended, Silvia’s condition evolves into classic paranoia, and several of her neighbors, including her best friend, a retired professor, become very concerned. Just hours before Roberto lands in Italy, Silvia then kills a man who, according to her, had emerged from her past and attacked her. But when Silvia leads the utterly perplexed Roberto to the scene of the crime, where she claims to have left the cold body of the attacker, her entire story falls apart.

It is best not to mention what happens after that because two major, interconnected developments reset the entire narrative. While this is hardly surprising considering that The Perfume of the Lady in Black emerged during the golden days of giallo, even by the most flexible standards of the time, one of these developments is quite unusual.

The clues that prepare for the inevitable reset begin emerging very early, and their management is where Barilli’s inexperience shows the most. All have something to do with Silvia’s deteriorating condition, so after a while, they quickly become repetitive and predictable. Instead of intervening, Barilli only rehashes several visual tricks that these types of genre films loved and used to strengthen their atmosphere.

The other obvious and unmissable weakness of The Perfume of the Lady in Black is Farmer’s performance. It is often very melodramatic, creating contrasts that instantly begin to look out of sync with the narrative. Admittedly, some genre films, and especially Italian genre films, like The Perfume of the Lady in Black are worth seeing precisely because they produce over-the-top melodrama that can appear most attractive, but here there is just too much that looks and feels very artificial. A more experienced director undoubtedly would have requested that Farmer adjust her performance so that this particular element of it is avoided.

Barilli completed his directorial debut with cinematographer Mario Masini, who several years later collaborated with the Taviani brothers on their award-winning film Padre Padrone.

* D’Avak worked with Umberto Lenzi on the very twisty thriller So Sweet... So Perverse, which has a similar reset and flexible genre identity. However, before the reset, multiple characters pull it in different directions, so the clues that emerge along the way are never repetitive.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Indicator/Powerhouse Films' 4K Blu-ray release of The Perfume of the Lady in Black does not have a Blu-ray copy of the film. If you need one, you should consider acquiring this Blu-ray release.

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray disc and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of The Perfume of the Lady in Black, which can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with HDR.

I have nothing but great things to share about the quality of the 4K restoration and its presentation. To be honest, I was so impressed with everything that my system displayed, I did not even consider pulling out my Raro Video Blu-ray release release to perform comparisons. Indeed, delineation, clarity, and depth were quite simply exemplary, and the healthy grain field provided all visuals with an entirely different, vastly superior organic appearance. (Raro Video's presentation of the film is plagued by a heavy electronic noise that creates a wide range of different, very prominent, often very distracting anomalies). This 4K restoration is also incredibly well graded. In fact, the color-grading job may very well be the most faithful, most convincing I have seen done on a 4K restoration from Indicator/Powerhouse Films' catalog. It boasts very lush, healthy, and wonderfully balanced primaries and supporting nuances that give the entire film an incredibly attractive period appearance. The HDR grade handles all types of material equally well, too, which is not easy because the original cinematography does some quite interesting things with filtered lights, daylight, and nuanced shadows. (I do not have a Blu-ray copy with the 4K restoration, but I suspect that color reproduction and balance will be equally great in 1080p as well). There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. A fantastic 4K makeover, indeed.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH (for the English track) and English (for the Italian track) subtitles are provided.

I viewed the new 4K restoration of The Perfume of the Lady in Black with the English track, which should be considered the original track because Mimsy Farmer and various other actors with prominent parts deliver their lines in English. The overall quality of the audio is easy to describe as very good. However, because it features overdubbing, it does have some spots with small yet unmissable unevenness. Dynamic intensity is quite good, especially in areas with audio effects, though the native limitations of the soundtrack are still pretty obvious. I like the size of the subtitles a lot more than those included on Raro Video's release.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this audio commentary, critics Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson discuss the stylistic identity of The Perfume of the Lady in Black -- and fail to agree on whether it is a giallo or a different type of genre film -- comment on the various famous locations that are seen in it, Francesco Barilli's screenplay and direction, and Mimsy Farmer's character and performance. Also, there are some interesting generic comments about the evolution of the giallo during the 1970s.

• Francesco Barilli: Exploring Beauty - in this new program, Francesco Barilli discusses the early stages of his career, and specifically his transition from in the Italian TV industry to the movie business, and the conception and production of The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Barilli also shares some quite peculiar observations about his professional relationship with co-writer Massimo D'Avack, and explains how their screenplay reached Flora Carabella, Marcello Mastroianni's wife. The program was produced by Eugenio Ercolani. In Italian, with English subtitles. (20 min).

• Francesco Barilli: The Death of Cinema - in this archival program, Francesco Barilli explains how a few famous Roman Polanski films influenced the conception of The Perfume of the Lady in Black and discusses its production. Barilli also explains why genre films like The Perfume of the Lady in Black are no longer possible to make. In Italian, with English subtitles. (17 min).

• Francesco Barilli: Portrait in Black - this archival documentary examines the genesis and stylistic identity of The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Included in it are clips from a lengthy interview with Francesco Barilli. In Italian, with English subtitles. (25 min).

• Lara Wendel: The Memories of the Lady in White - in this new program, actress Lara Wendel discusses her acting career and friendship with Federico Fellini, and recalls her contribution to The Perfume of the Lady in Black. In Italian, with English subtitles. (12 min).

• Stephen Thrower: The Profumo Affair - in this new program, critic Stephen Thrower discusses the The Perfume of the Lady in Black and explains why it is not a giallo. In English, not subtitled. (35 min).

• Lovely Jon on Piovani: A Classical Approach - in this new program, critic Lovely Jon discusses Nicola Piovani's soundtrack for The Perfume of the Lady in Black and his career. In English, not subtitled. (34 min).

• Barilli's Roma - a quick tour of some of the locations in Rome where parts of The Perfume of the Lady in Black were shot. Then-and-now comparisons are provided. With music. (6 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is a restored original Italian trailer for The Perfume of the Lady in Black. In Italian, with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is a restored original international trailer for The Perfume of the Lady in Black. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is a collection of original promotional materials for The Perfume of the Lady in Black.

• Booklet - an 80-page book with a new essay by Paul Duane, a career-spanning archival interview with director Francesco Barilli, an archival profile of actor Mimsy Farmer, and technical credits.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sadly, Francesco Barilli is probably right that films like his directorial debut, The Perfume of the Lady in Black, will never be made again. Why? For multiple reasons. In the 1970s, these types of projects could easily get funded, and young directors, like Barilli, had all the freedom they needed to be creative and impress. This is why so many of these films are now considered cult -- they were bold and different. While flawed, The Perfume of the Lady in Black is very much worth seeing because it is one such film, bold and different. This upcoming 4K Blu-ray release introduces a fabulous new 4K restoration of it, which is easily the most faithful I have seen done on behalf of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. It is enormously impressive. A Blu-ray release of the 4K restoration streets on the same date as well. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.