ADDITION: Arrow 4K UHD (July 2021):  Arrow's have transferred Dario Argento's "The Cat o' Nine Tails" to 4K UHD (3840 X 2160.) This is the second entry in his so-called “Animal Trilogy”. Like The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, the Arrow 4K UHD presentation is in Dolby Vision - HDR10 compatible and is a "new 4K restoration from the original negative." Like Arrow's 2018 4K-restored Blu-ray (compared HERE) the 4K UHD maintains the significantly darker and richer appearance but has warmer flesh tones. It has more than double the bitrate of the older Blu-ray carrying brilliant grain, and an up-tick in color tightness. It looks spectacular and better than I have ever seen the film look on digital... by a wide margin. The authentic darker appearance suits the film's thriller and suspense tropes. 

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 50 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsining (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

Audio duplicates the 2018 Blu-ray - is transferred via DTS-HD Master mono tracks at 1000 kbps (24-bit) in the option of Italian or English languages (seamlessly-branched opening credit sequence.) Effects are discreet with another giallo score by the iconic Ennio Morricone (Luna, A Bullet for the General, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, U Turn, Stay As You Are etc. etc.) establishing and supporting the film's appealing style. It's authentically flat, buoyant and clean. There are optional English (SDH) and English (for Italian) subtitles and like all 4K UHD discs it is  region FREE.

Arrow also duplicate the extras from their 2018 Blu-ray - we get a same audio commentary by critics Alan Jones (author of Dario Argento: The Man, the Myths & the Magic) and Kim Newman (author of Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s) who work well together providing minutia on the film, Argento, the genre, the performers and much more. It's very good. There are the same interviews with co-writer/director Dario Argento (1/4 hour entitled 'Nine Lives'), co-writer Dardano Sacchetti (35-minutes entitled 'The Writer O'Many Tales'), actress Cinzia De Carolis (11-minutes - 'Child Star') and production manager Angelo Iacono (1/4 hour - 'Giallo in Turin') plus 3-minutes of the script pages for the lost original ending, translated into English, plus the original Italian and international theatrical trailers. The package (see below) has an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring an original essay on the film by Dario Argento, and writing by Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth and Howard Hughes, a fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative plus six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards and it comes in limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring originally and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative.

Like The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Arrow's 4K UHD release seems an upgrade in the video only as compared to their excellent 2018 Blu-ray - with the same lossless mono audio transfers (both English and Italian), commentary and extras. But it is still a notable upgrade for new adopters. This is essential Giallo and is dynamic, building thriller with abundant Argento style. Certainly a film that fans will want in this 3840 X 2160 resolution. "The Cat o' Nine Tails" deserves this upgrade (thank you Arrow!) - you deserve it - highly recommended!

Gary Tooze