Deep Red - The Reviews

[The Limey]

And another:

Deep Red Blu-ray review | DVD Outsider

"A film as visually arresting as Deep Red has, since its first arrival on home video, been crying out for the sort of transfer it gets here. Although a few dust spots remain, the picture is for the most part very clean and the crispness of detail easily outstrips any previous video or DVD release, something that really registers in the busier wide shots and facial close-ups, where sweat, tears and even skin texture are clearly defined. Flesh tones sometimes have an unnaturally green hue, but those all-important reds are vividly captured, notably the curtain backdrop to Helga's performance and, of course, the blood. The contrast varies somewhat, suggesting that more than one source was used for the restoration – sometimes it's well balanced, while at others the detail in darker areas has been sucked into a swathe of deep black. But despite these inconsistencies, this is still a pleasure to watch and showcases Luigi Kuveiller's lovely scope cinematography well. There is a brief digital picture glitch just over 45 minutes (by director's cut timing), but its appearance is fleeting.

There's a welcome choice between the English Language and Italian soundtracks, with optional subtitles provided for the latter. Both are available in their original Dolby stereo 2.0 and both show their age, though the English track definitely comes off worst, having a restricted range, a treble bias to the dialogue, an audible background hum, and some occasional shifts in volume. The Italian version fares better, and on the director's cut it's also available as a remixed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and sonically this leaves its companions coughing in the dust, particularly in the fabulous clarity, range and punch of Goblin's score. Much (if not all) of the English dialogue in the director's cut has been lost or was simply never recorded, and the audio on these sequences switches from English to automatically subtitled Italian, which is, of course, delivered by different actors.

For many Deep Red is the finest film in the distinguished horror career of one of the genre's acknowledged masters, and it's easy to see why. It boasts some of Argento's most darkly inventive set-pieces, one of his best leading men, and what has to rank as his most satisfying and well structured storyline. The picture quality on Arrow's 2-disc Blu-ray may not be perfect, but it's still leagues ahead of previous DVD releases and is backed by an excellent Italian DTS sound mix and some enjoyable extra features. For horror fans especially, an absolute must-have."

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by Pecker

Where did you hear that?

I know when BU put out the US DVD about 5 years ago (?) they did a HD master, and I think this was used as the source for the ABUK Box of the Banned release.

Could be wrong.

Steve W

Hmmm...it's a long story, that one. Basically, BU ended up using the print that Shriek Show had produced, with a few extra tweaks. It might have been an HD master, but not suitable for an HD release, if that makes sense. I believe BU are commissioning an all-new hi-def transfer for their BD of ZFE.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by DVD Trash

My 2 cents about the transfer: I tried it on my cheap Technika and it looked very grainy but then I tried it on my Sony S370 and while not perfect it was waaaay better! There was a very marked difference.

Looked good on a Samsung as well.....

[bdc]

I only recently re-calibrated my tv and there was a big improvement with all my discs...including this one.
The tv (lcd or plasma) and it's proper calibration can make a big picture quality difference.
I think we need a hdtv calibration thread on here.

[Vampix]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Hmmm...it's a long story, that one. Basically, BU ended up using the print that Shriek Show had produced, with a few extra tweaks. It might have been an HD master, but not suitable for an HD release, if that makes sense. I believe BU are commissioning an all-new hi-def transfer for their BD of ZFE.

You can definitely put me down for BU's BD release of Zombie Flesh Eaters, I can't wait!

[Sargento]

Originally Posted by Vampix

You can definitely put me down for BU's BD release of Zombie Flesh Eaters, I can't wait!

Region 0 ? Let's hope. I'm not gonna buy another BD player just to watch ZFE though, so I can live in hope.

[Vampix]

I don't see why Blue Underground's BD release of Zombie Flesh Eaters won't be region ALL, most of their others are (City of the Living Dead, New York Ripper, Maniac, Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, etc).

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Reaper@Cult Labs

Looked good on a Samsung as well.....

Looked pretty grainy on my Sony, but as you all know, I love the grain. So as far i'm concerned, it looked pretty good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sargento]

Originally Posted by Vampix

I don't see why Blue Underground's BD release of Zombie Flesh Eaters won't be region ALL, most of their others are (City of the Living Dead, New York Ripper, Maniac, Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, etc).

Cheers Vamp, unless Arrow pick this up .. the BU release will be on my pre-order list.

[zombeaner]

I completely forgot to put my review up here:

Blu-ray Review: DEEP RED @ Twitch