Director: Dario Argento
MPAA Rating: NR
Run Time: 112 Minutes
Purchase: Amazon
This product was provided by Arrow Films for the purpose of this review. All opinions are our own.
Dario Argento has carved out a place for himself in cinema as one of Italy’s best horror directors, pioneering the giallo subgenre and crafting some of the most suspenseful, provocative and stylish horror films ever made. Suspiria and Deep Red remain two of my personal favorite horror films to date, but it was his animal trilogy that jump-started his career and helped shape the iconic style that we know today.
Argento’s second film, The Cat O’ Nine Tails, marked the second entry in the trilogy, sandwiched in between The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Four Flies on Grey Velvet, and while it wasn’t his most successful film – at least here in the States – and wasn’t his best (even by his own admission), the giallo DNA runs through it, providing an entertaining, if not a bit dull, thriller.
Set in Turin, the film stars James Franciscus as a reporter who teams up with a blind crossword puzzle maker, played by Karl Malden, to solve the murder of a scientist working at a local genetics lab. What the two uncover is a conspiracy that will put both their lives, and the lives of those around them, at risk.
In an interview from 2017 that was included on this Arrow Films Blu-ray, Argento states that he wasn’t initially proud of the film due to it feeling too American, a statement that no doubt refers to the fairly straightforward procedural nature of the film. Aside from two incredibly well shot and shocking moments – a man hit by a train and another attempting to stop himself from plummeting to his doom in an elevator shaft – the narrative is decidedly banal for Argento.
The characters are archetypal with the female performers feeling one note, especially Catherine Spaak’s character, which was robotic and stilted, almost to the point of comedy. There’s still enough here though to warrant a look, if only to see how these early films shaped what giallo would become in the coming years.
Contained on this disc is a brand-new, 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative, making it instantly the best version of the film to date. There’s both an Italian and an English mono soundtrack, with the Italian track containing newly translated English subtitles. It’s a great addition, but, as I stated in my recent review of What Have They Done To Your Daughters?, I prefer the English soundtracks on these movies for nostalgia’s sake.
Bonus features include a new audio commentary track from critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman; new interviews with Argento, co-writer Dardano Sacchetti, actor Cinzia De Carolis and production manager Angelo Iacono; trailers; and, one of the more interesting additions, a newly translated portion of the script that contains an alternate ending.
While not one of Argento’s strongest offerings, The Cat O’ Nine Tails is still a solid piece of early giallo cinema and Arrow has put its trademarked effort and care into this new Blu-ray edition.
