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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Torso" or "Carnal Violence" or "The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence" or "Die Säge des Teufels")
Directed by Sergio Martino
Italy 1973
A talented and versatile journeyman, director Sergio Martino (The Case of the
Scorpion’s Tail,
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) lent his
talents to multiple genres across his long and varied career, but is undoubtedly
best known for his giallo thrillers from the early 70s. Among the most highly
acclaimed of these, 1973’s Torso revels in the genre’s time-honored traditions
while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the modern slasher movie. ***
When two
comely coeds at the University of Perugia's summer art
program are brutally murdered, all of her classmates and a
couple associated unsavory types fall under suspicion. When
Daniela (Tina Aumont,
The Nude
Princess) suspects her
childhood-friend-turned-stalker (Roberto Bisaccio,
Deadly
Sweet),
she decides to get away to her family's conveniently
isolated home in the countryside with her friends (lesbian
lovers played by Carla Brait and Angela Covello and "final
girl" Julie played by Suzy Kendall of
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) only to be
followed by a couple red herrings as well as the killer.
John Richardson (Black
Sunday) and Luc Merenda (Tinto Brass'
Action) also star. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: October 21st, 1994
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD | |
Runtime |
Italian Version: 1:33:39.572 Hybrid English / Italian Version: 1:33:00.491 English Export Version: 1:30:11.113 |
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Video |
1.66:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 95,857,375,398 bytesFeature: 71,367,414,912 bytesVideo Bitrate: 93.35 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate 4K Ultra HD: |
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Audio |
DTS-HD Master
Audio Italian 1031 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1031 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 /
48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) DTS Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / 16-bit |
|
Subtitles | English, English (SDH), None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Arrow
1.66:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 95,857,375,398 bytesFeature: 71,367,414,912 bytesVideo Bitrate: 93.35 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video
Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc
• New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colours of
Sergio Martino
Black 4K Ultra HD Case Chapters 16 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
and
4K UHD
captures were taken directly from the respective
discs.
It is likely that the monitor y
NOTE:
52
We have reviewed the following 4K
UHD packages
recently:
All of Us Strangers,
Last Year at Marienbad
(NO HDR applied to disc),
Peril & Distress (And Soon the Darkness / Sudden Terror)
(NO HDR applied to disc),
The Case of the Bloody Iris
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Reptilicus
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Risky Business
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Conversation
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Perfect Days,
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Le samouraï
(software uniformly simulated HDR), Castle of Blood
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Pat Garret and Billy the Kid
(HDR),
Fist of Legend
(HDR),
American Gigolo
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Long Wait
(no HDR,)
Bound
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Valiant Ones
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Mute Witness
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Narc
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Peeping Tom
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Dr. Terrors House of Horrors
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
High Noon
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Picnic at Hanging Rock
(Criterion)
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
I Am Cuba
(no HDR),
The Demoniacs
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Nude Vampire
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Nostalghia
(no HDR),
Werckmeister Harmonies
(no HDR),
Goin' South
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
La Haine
(software uniformly simulated HDR,)
All Ladies Do It
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Old Henry
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
To Die For
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Snapshot
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Phase IV
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Burial Ground
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Dark Water
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Fear and Desire
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf
(no HDR),
Paths of Glory
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Southern Comfort
(software uniformly simulated HDR).
On their
4K UHD,
Arrow use DTS-HD Master mono tracks (24-bit) in both the Italian or English language.
"Torso" is filled with various types of violence that
comes through authentically flat.
Effects, screams etc. are flat but carry depth with an often tested
high-end.
The, occasionally intense, score by Guido
and Maurizio de Angelis (Goodbye
and Amen,
A
Blade in the Dark, 2019
After the Fall of New York, The
Mountain of the Cannibal God)
is suitable to the genre and sounds fine in the lossless -
perhaps with shade more depth than Arrow previous linear PCM mono
offerings, and, with the stellar video improvement more effective.
The disc offers
optional English
subtitles for the Italian soundtrack and optional English subtitles for
the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- and the disc is, like all
4K UHD, region FREE,
playable worldwide.
NOTE: The English
audio track on the original, longer cut has some portions of English
audio missing. English audio for these sections was either never
recorded or has been lost. As such, these sequences are presented with
Italian audio, subtitled in English.
This Arrow
4K UHD
duplicates all the supplements from
the
2018 Arrow
Blu-ray
starting with the observant audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of
All the
Colours of Sergio Martino. She is 'on her game' and
provides impressive insight into the production and especially
the director. There is a 34-minute video interview with
co-writer/director Sergio Martino, and a 35-minute, video
interview with actor Luc Merenda, a 1/2 hour video interview
with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi and a 25-minute new video
interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio
Martino. We also get a new video interview with Mikel J. Koven,
author of
La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
plus 3/4 of an hour of the 2017 Abertoir International Horror
Festival Q&A with Sergio Martino. The only new (I think) are
the 4-minutes of "Alternate "Torso" titles". There are both Italian and
English theatrical trailers and the package has a reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalaisand the first-pressing purchasers get an illustrated
collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian
Smith and Howard Hughes.
Sergio Martino's "Torso" is a favorite of many as a mainstay in
the
Giallo
genre including filmmakers who cite it as influential. It is from the pen of
prolific Italian screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi (The
Horrible Dr. Hichcock,
The
Case of the Bloody Iris,
The Grand Duel,
My Name is Nobody, Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory.)
Tim Lucas remarked that Gastaldi was the first Italian screenwriter to
specialize in horror and thriller films. I think this
4K UHD edition is the first of a
Sergio Martino (The
Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh,
The Case of the
Scorpion’s Tail,
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key,
Suspicious Death of a Minor) film in this 2160P format. Torso
is not shy, demur or delicate cinema and has a killer utilizing a
plain-woven foulard as the strangulation weapon of choice, a peeping tom,
lipstick lesbians, mutilation and dismemberment, blackmail, childhood
trauma, an ominous girl's doll at a cliff's edge... and a mandatory bottle
of
J
& B Scotch. Stalked gals include Suzy Kendall (Circus
of Fear,
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage,
Fear Is the Key,
Spasmo) Tina Aumont (Illustrious
Corpses,
Two Orphan Vampires,
Fellini's Casanova,) Angela Covello (Baba
Yaga,) Carla Brait (Escape
from the Bronx,
The
Case of the Bloody Iris.) Premium but gruesome
Giallo.
Arrow's
4K UHD
release is top shelf and a grand video improvement over their own 2018
Blu-ray
edition. For those who love the genre - it's a "must-own". |
Menus / Extras
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY and 4K UHD CAPTURE TO SEE IN FULL RESOLUTION
1) Shameless - Region 0 - PAL TOP2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
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1) X Rated Kult Video - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
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1) Blue Underground / Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC TOP2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
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More full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K Ultra HD Captures for Patreon Supporters HERE
Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |