Tenebrae – The Reviews

[bgart13]

DVD Savant Blu-ray Review: Tenebrae

...Arrow Video's Blu-ray of Tenebrae is an acceptable encoding of this highly-regarded Dario Argento slasher horror. Many scenes have an odd grain structure that doesn't appear to be sourced in the film itself, and in some cases digital enhancement seems a bit heavy. On whole the film looks very bright and attractive -- most of these killings occur in lush and luxurious environments, as opposed to stylized shadows. This goes against the Latin title Tenebrae, which means "shadows and darkness"...

[springjack]

Originally Posted by broonage

Watched last night.

What can I say, I was blown away by the transfer on this disk. Gorgeous in almost every way! Best Blu transfer so far? Almost! As mentioned before I don't mind FR subs on screen since the missus needs them, I barely noticed them.

As for the film, absolute belter of a movie, loved it. Not seen it in years!
Watched the doc that was an extra and was surprised to see Argento speaks good French! lol

One more proof that the French disc is the best.

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by springjack

One more proof that the French disc is the best.

Possibly, but Arrow's Blu is a good one as well.

Greetings!

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Niggles aside,Arrow's Tenenbrae is almost worth the price just for the GOBLIN live at the Glasgow Arches feature.Amazing.

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Reaper@Cult Labs

Niggles aside,Arrow's Tenenbrae is almost worth the price just for the GOBLIN live at the Glasgow Arches feature.Amazing.

That's true - it's an extremely nice special feature!

Greetings!

[Fausto]

Originally Posted by Reaper@Cult Labs

Niggles aside,Arrow's Tenenbrae is almost worth the price just for the GOBLIN live at the Glasgow Arches feature.Amazing.

Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda

That's true - it's an extremely nice special feature!

Greetings!

Not quite it's an atrocious disc with far too many flaws, I was at the gig so a little supplement is nothing in comparison for a shoddy disc - dunno about you two but I buy discs for the FEATURE not a couple of tacked on extras, can we please have enough of these Arrow apologist themes the disc is SHOCKING!!

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Fausto

Not quite it's an atrocious disc with far too many flaws, I was at the gig so a little supplement is nothing in comparison for a shoddy disc - dunno about you two but I buy discs for the FEATURE not a couple of tacked on extras, can we please have enough of these Arrow apologist themes the disc is SHOCKING!!

This here is a free forum, so everybody's allowed to embarrass him- or herself by posting unobjective and polemical comments. Or in Igor's words: Suit yourself, I'm easy.

Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda

A couple of days ago, I said that I would comment on the technical aspects of Arrow's Tenebrae release. (Note: I am an amateur when it comes to technical jargon – but I’ve watched a huge number of films. I am no high definition freak – but I enjoy good AV quality.) I use the KISS method – keep things short and simple. Here you are.

TENEBRAE

PQ: 7.5 out of 10 points. There are quite a few visual merits of this Arrow release. Sharpness and contrast are not perfect, but nothing to worry about either - it's not a movie from 2011. The colours look great – natural skin tones, no colour casts. The biggest pro of this release: its brightness. Luciano Tovoli, the film’s cinematographer, once stated that Argento wanted Tenebrae to look very clean and bright (see booklet for more info) – maybe Dario wanted a contrast to the film’s title? However, that’s what you get: a bright picture, but still with a natural look. I sometimes change the settings of my TV in order to improve the picture - this was not necessary with this release. So why only 7.5 out of 10? Well – call it “strange looking grain” or “digital noise”, but that’s what you’ll have to deal with throughout the movie. It does not look like real film grain, but more like the consequences of some digital treatment. It’s quite obvious for the first thirty minutes – afterwards, it’s getting a lot better; some of the last shots (I especially remember the rainy scene at the end in the car) look really great.
/// The picture quality of this release is definitely not perfect - but it’s not in the least as bad as some reviewers make us believe. I was not overwhelmed, but quite satisfied with the picture. ///

AQ: 7.5 out of 10 points. The dialogues are clear, although there are some slight variations of loudness. Soundtrack and sound effects are powerful and well-balanced. So why only 7.5 out of 10? First, there are two very (and I’d like to stress that: very) short moments of asynchronicity – nothing to whine about, but nothing do deny either. Second, the score by members of Goblin sounds powerful – but it’s also a little bit rough from time to time, forcing the speakers to sound a bit tinny. I also took into account that some members here complained about having some trouble with their rear speakers.
/// Again, the sound is not perfect – but it is more than adequate. I also liked the fact that the movie is presented in its faithful original Mono mix. ///

Extras: 9 out of 10 points. As usual, the extras are very nice. I especially liked the interview with Daria Nicolodi. It’s always a pleasure to see and hear her pulling Dario’s leg without humiliating him. The Goblin extra’s a little gem - but see and listen for yourself. As for the packaging: the usual Arrow treatment. 4 nice sleeves, slip case, booklet, and poster.
/// Great as usual – nothing to complain about. I would have loved to hear more from Luciano Tovoli, though. ///

It is a nice package after all. Yes, there are some issues with the picture – but it is worth every penny all the same. Recommended.

Greetings!

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

Decided to finally settle down and watch the whole film. Some scenes look pretty good and some (to my eye) look pretty bad. If it wasn't for this strange 'grain like' image in a lot of the scenes, it would all look pretty good. I'm still perplexed as to what it is. It doesn't look like film grain at all. Darker scenes are much better looking overall. It is really strange that this phenomenon has only really affected a few of the Italian Arrow releases. Just look at titles like Vamp, The Funhouse and Obsession, which all look amazing on blu-ray.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Greetings!

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Fausto

Not quite it's an atrocious disc with far too many flaws, I was at the gig so a little supplement is nothing in comparison for a shoddy disc - dunno about you two but I buy discs for the FEATURE not a couple of tacked on extras, can we please have enough of these Arrow apologist themes the disc is SHOCKING!!

Apologist themes?

Once again,I'll state for the record.....
I AM NOT EMPLOYED BY ARROW
I HAVE NO FINANCIAL INTERESTS IN ARROW
I AM NOT PAID HERE TO MODERATE

I'm simply stating that I found the Goblin featurette amazing to watch.

Obviously I'm not in a position to comment as I wasn't at the gig,but I'm glad it was 'tacked' on.....

You must be from Glasgow....you 'walked' amongst us before?

[doolahrock]

I really don't think that Arrow is the problem here. That much is obvious from the non-Italian releases. It seems pretty obvious that they are working with sources that are not in a great way to begin with and that can only be blamed on whoever is producing these masters.

The Wildside transfer is much better and I've seen both. Of course, Wildside produced their own master to the best of my knowledge. I'm sure if arrow had access to a print to produce a master, the results would be much better. Whether such a thing is possible, I don' know.

I have the Blue Underground Stendhal Syndrome and it's probably the worst Argento Blu I have seen and people hail this company. I'm sure they were in the same position as Arrow though. They could only do what they could with the materials on hand. I've seen plenty of reviews about the natural film grain on that release but it is NOT film grain. It's digital noise and that can only really be put down to the supplied master unless the encode was a disaster, which I don't think would be the case. This produces an interesting situation. All the reviewers who fall over themselves about this release and Blu Underground in general, either have no idea idea at all about encoded video or say what they think is the 'right' thing to say. Don't get me wrong though, B U produce good stuff in general.

It's a tricky situation for sure. I encode loads of video for my job and it's a bit of a minefield. Saying that, if the source material is good, it's much harder to produce a poorly encoded video than a good one.

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by doolahrock

I really don't think that Arrow is the problem here. That much is obvious from the non-Italian releases. It seems pretty obvious that they are working with sources that are not in a great way to begin with and that can only be blamed on whoever is producing these masters.

The Wildside transfer is much better and I've seen both. Of course, Wildside produced their own master to the best of my knowledge. I'm sure if arrow had access to a print to produce a master, the results would be much better. Whether such a thing is possible, I don' know.

I have the Blue Underground Stendhal Syndrome and it's probably the worst Argento Blu I have seen and people hail this company. I'm sure they were in the same position as Arrow though. They could only do what they could with the materials on hand. I've seen plenty of reviews about the natural film grain on that release but it is NOT film grain. It's digital noise and that can only really be put down to the supplied master unless the encode was a disaster, which I don't think would be the case. This produces an interesting situation. All the reviewers who fall over themselves about this release and Blu Underground in general, either have no idea idea at all about encoded video or say what they think is the 'right' thing to say. Don't get me wrong though, B U produce good stuff in general.

It's a tricky situation for sure. I encode loads of video for my job and it's a bit of a minefield. Saying that, if the source material is good, it's much harder to produce a poorly encoded video than a good one.

Blu undergrounds stendahl was a tricky one, its better than the dvd's and loses the 'soft focus' look, the colors are better as well, but the weird fuzz is the same stuff that turns up on some of arrows stuff.

My own theory is that these transfers to blu ray are still a learning process, I also think some of the complaints are over the top, some people hate the torso blu-ray despite it being the best the film has looked (even better than shameless)