Blood and Black Lace is easily one of the better in the giallo sub-genre and the place to start for those new to it. The suspense is generally intense and the plot is well developed with true intrigue throughout. This Blu-ray released through Arrow Video offers excellent video/audio transfers and a fine selection of bonus material.
Blood and Black Lace
(1964)
Genre(s): Horror, Thriller
Arrow Video | NR – 89 min. – $39.99 | July 5, 2016
Date Published: 07/25/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: The Christian Haute Couture fashion house is a home to models, backstabbing, blackmail, drug deals… and murder. A masked killer – which bears some resemblance on Rorschach from “Watchmen” – is on the loose and when one of the models, Isabella (FRANCESCA UNGARO), is savagely beaten, murdered and body placed inside the fashion house, the police, led by Inspector Sylvester (THOMAS REINER), are stumped and the list of suspects is long, including: Manager Max Morlan (CAMERON MITCHELL) and his lover, the recently widowed Countess Christina Como (EVA BARTOK); workman Mark (MASSIMO RIGHI); antiques dealer and boyfriend to model Peggy (MARY ARDEN), Frank (DANTE DI PAOLO); Aristocrat Marquis Richard Morrell (FRANCO RESSEL) who is having financial troubles; and dress designer Caesar Lazar (LUCIANO PIGOZZI). Quick Hit Review: With the recent slate of Arrow Video releases, I am a newcomer to the giallo genre of Italian cinema and although there’s been some decent enough films, namely Death Walks Twice and Death Walks at Midnight, while others were underwhelming (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave), but Blood and Black Lace has been known as the top of the line in giallo and no doubt, it’s my favorite so far. The film contains some wonderful suspense while the mystery holds up. Anybody who is new to the genre, this is the movie to begin with. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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This 3-disc set is housed in an HD Keep Case with reversible artwork and inside a very nice booklet with essays on the director and actors. Audio Commentary features Mario Bava’s biographer Tim Lucas as he provides insight into the director and the film itself. Psycho Analysis (55:08; HD) – This feature-length documentary on Blood and Black Lace and the origins of giallo, with directors Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, critics Roberto Curti and Steve Della Casa, crime novelist Carlo Lucarelli and others. Helene Cattet & Bruno Forzani (10:36; HD) is an appreciation of Blood and Black Lace by the creative team behind Amer and The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Years. Yellow (26:02; HD) is the much-acclaimed neo-giallo by Ryan Hayson & Jon Britt. It’s a story of an old man on the hunt for a vicious serial killer of women in neon-lit Berlin. Blood and Bava (11:21; HD) – A panel discussion on Mario Bava featuring Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava and Steve Della Case, recorded at the 2004 Courmayeur Film Festival. The Sinister Image (56:25; SD) is an episode of David Del Valle’s TV series, devoted to Cameron Mitchell. Also included is the film’s Trailer (3:24; HD); Gender and Giallo (38:)01; HD, visual essay by Michael Mackenzie; and the US Opening (1:56; HD), an alternate credit sequence created by Filmation for the US release. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Blood and Black Lace is the latest semi-obscure release from the reliable Arrow Video. The picture quality, when considering it was released in 1964 and done on a limited budget, looks pretty damn good 50 some-odd years later. This is thanks to the hard restoration work by Arrow in eliminating most instances of dust, dirt, scratches and debris. The colors aren’t the best but that’s in keeping with the giallo-themes while black levels are fairly stark and show no major aliasing or artifacts. |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The disc comes with both an Italian and English dubbed DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks, either one perfectly satisfactory, though I default on the original language, with dialogue levels sounding clear and fairly clean. Effects have decent depth as does the score by Italian veteran composer Carlo Rustichelli who has over 250 credits to his name. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, Blood and Black Lace is easily one of the better in the giallo sub-genre and the place to start for those new to it. The suspense is generally intense and the plot is well developed with true intrigue throughout. This Blu-ray released through Arrow Video offers excellent video/audio transfers and a fine selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.