Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Torso Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 26, 2018

A lot of murder mysteries often have a kind of bumbling or clueless detective involved, and in at least somewhat the same way author Michael J. Koven admits to kind of haphazardly backing into starting to analyze gialli as a sidebar to some writing he was considering on American slasher films from the 1970s and 1980s. And in fact, as Koven agreeably points out in a fun supplement included on this Blu-ray, it’s easy to see Torso as a kind of “missing link” between then well established giallo tropes and what might be thought of as still nascent slasher tendencies. As Koven also gets into in his piece, Torso is interesting simply taken as a giallo on its own, since it both exploits giallo tropes (or “codes”, as Koven calls them), like a masked and gloved killer, while completely eschewing them at other times (as in rather discursive presentations of some murders, typically one of the more graphic calling cards of any number of gialli). Torso is kind of oddly structured, therefore, and it, like at least a few other of its murderous kin, trot out an almost absurd number of red herrings before finally getting to the “big reveal” in the closing moments. Suzy Kendall is on hand as a student named Jane whose college is suddenly beset with murders. In typical “what are they thinking?” fashion, Jane and a bunch of friends head of to an isolated clifftop villa where they assume they’ll be safer than on campus. Yeah, right — guess how that one works out.

Torso received a Blu-ray release several years ago from Blue Underground, and those interested in a plot summary are encouraged to read my colleague Martin Liebman’s Torso Blu-ray review of that version. I’d only add that there’s a definite psychosexual underpinning to much of what goes on in Torso, and the film, while perhaps charmingly reticent to show blood and guts (at least at the moment they’re being spilled), is more than happy to present lots of full frontal nudity by a variety of comely females in the story.

Torso Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Torso is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Torso / I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Scanning and restoration work was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin-registered Arriscan. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, picture instability and other instances of film wear were repaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. The mono Italian and English language tracks were remastered from the optical sound negatives. The audio synch will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post production, as per the production standards of the period.

The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master at R3Store Studios, London.

All original materials used in this restoration were accessed from Surf Film.

While the palette was just a tad on the cool side to my personal liking here, otherwise this is a clear improvement over the Blue Underground release. Arrow has minimized if not outright eliminated signs of age related wear and tear, and grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation. Densities are generally excellent, though I wouldn't have minded a bit more of a suffused quality, especially in some of the outdoor material. Detail levels are excellent, especially in some of the close-ups, which later involve looks at sliced and diced bodies. There are still some variances, including some probably exacerbated by optical effects, and some of the climax looks a little rough in comparison to the bulk of the presentation. The brief flashback that appears as part of the "Moishe the Explainer" sequence is among the warmest and most vividly suffused moments in the film.

Torso Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Torso features LPCM Mono tracks in Italian and English, and while neither is probably going to set audiophiles' ears on fire, they each get the job done, albeit with a somewhat boxy and at times slightly reverberent atmosphere. While, as per Arrow's verbiage above, the film was obviously post looped, at least some of the leading players were just as obviously speaking English during the shoot, so some may prefer that soundtrack, since lip movements at least occasionally come close to matching the sounds emanating from them. The mix tends to prioritize either dialogue or score, with ambient environmental effects getting shunted off to the background, and with even "important" effects like the click of the shutter of a still camera in the opening sequence sounding just a bit anemic at times.

Torso Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger


• All Colors of Terror (1080p; 34:02) is a new interview with co-writer and director Sergio Martino.


• The Discreet Charm of the Genre (1080p; 34:53) is a new interview with actor Luc Merenda.


• Dial S for Suspense (1080p; 29:16) is a new interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi.


• Women in Blood (1080p; 24:59) is a new interview with Federico Martino, daughter of Sergio Martino and herself a filmmaker.


• Saturating the Screen (1080p; 25:04) is a new interview with author Michael J. Koven.


• Sergio Martino Live (1080i; 47:00) is a Q & A from the 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival.


• Italian Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 3:08)


• English Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 3:06)

Additionally, as can be gleaned from Screenshot 20, there are several different versions of the film available, with the original Italian version running the longest at around 94 minutes. Arrow has also provided their typically nicely appointed insert booklet.

Torso Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Marty gave Torso a 3.5, but I'm upping that slightly since I find Torso not just a fun mystery, but a kind of interesting deconstruction of vaunted gialli "norms". The naked women don't hurt, either (that's a joke, maybe). Arrow's release is the clear winner in technical merits, and as usual they've assembled a fantastic assortment of supplements. Recommended.