NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Arrow 4K UHD (February 2025): Arrow have transferred Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling to 4K UHD. It is cited as being from a "Brand new 4K restoration from the original 2-perf Techniscope camera negative by Arrow Films". Back in 2017 we compared the Blue Underground DVD to Blu-rays, including Arrow's, HERE. This 2160P has both the Italian and English versions - seamlessly-branched for the opening title and credits. The new image looks fabulous on my system - much better color balance, richer colors, superior contrast layering and even instances of depth. The film itself has inherent softness but this higher res image seems to have improved on that as well from the previous 1080P transfers. It's quite a remarkable upgrade with a towering bitrate. 

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: We have added 60 more large resolution 4K UHD captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: The Lion in Winter (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cruising (software uniformly simulated HDR), Drugstore Cowboy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Eyes Without a Face (software uniformly simulated HDR), Winchester '73 (NO HDR applied to disc), The Grifters, The Mother and the Whore (NO HDR applied to disc), The Devil's Girls (software uniformly simulated HDR), Requiem For a Vampire (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Block Island Sound (software uniformly simulated HDR), Bug (software uniformly simulated HDR), North By Northwest (software uniformly simulated HDR), Paper Moon, Bob le Flambeur (NO HDR applied to disc),  Play Misty for Me (software uniformly simulated HDR), Signs (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Simple Plan (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fright, The Tenant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Gummo, Demon Pond, Happiness, Cheeky (software uniformly simulated HDR), Produced By Val Lewton , The Long Good Friday, The Ladykillers (software uniformly simulated HDR), Torso (software uniformly simulated HDR), 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.)

On their 4K UHD, Arrow repeat the linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original Italian language with the English version/DUB option as found on their 2017 Blu-ray. Don't Torture a Duckling has gore and aggression that comes through with authentically flat. Most of the tension comes from the memorable, if minimalist, score by mondo, giallo, horror, and 'pasta' film composer Riz Ortolani (Castle of Blood, How To Kill a Judge, Lightning Bolt, Killer Crocodile, The Pyjama Girl Case, The Valachi Papers, Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes, The McKenzie Break, Day of Anger, Il Sorpasso, Woman Times Seven, Cannibal Holocaust, The Voyeur, Mondo Cane) and it adds some creepy Giallo flavor including a haunting lullaby sung by Edda Dell’Orso. It's an evocative blend that perfectly complements the film’s unsettling atmosphere and psychological tension. Arrow offer optional English (translation from Italian) and SDH (for the DUB) subtitles on their Region FREE 4K UHD.

The Arrow 4K UHD duplicate the extras from their 2017 Blu-ray including the commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films and it is excellent - plenty of detail, background on the performers, Fulci and much more. He starts with a quote from Fulci suggesting it is the director's favorite film, and Howarth admits it is not only his favorite Giallo, but one of his favorite films of all time! The Blood of Innocents is entitled in the menu as "Giallo a la Campagna" and is a new 1/2 hour video discussion with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film. I learned quite a bit from it. Every (Wo)man Their Own Hell, (entitled in the menu as "Hell is Already in Us") is a new 20-minute video essay by critic Kat Ellinger and it, likewise has strong value in analyzing deeper themes of Fulci's film. There are interviews with co-writer/director Lucio Fulci in two parts - audio only - recorded by Fulci (Part 1- shy of 1/2 hour - Part 2 - approaching 1/4 hour) and partially published in a 1988 magazine and a 1996 book (Spaghetti Nightmares). New (unless I missed it on the original Blu-ray release) is Who Killed Donald Duck? is an 18-minute interview with actress Barbara Bouchet recalling her role of the wealthy, provocative woman, Patrizia. Bouchet ventured into entrepreneurship, founding a production company in 1985, opening a fitness studio in Rome, and releasing fitness books and videos. We spend 1/2 hour with Brazilian actress Florinda Bolkan (Maciara in Don't Torture a Duckling,) 3/4 of an hour with cinematographer Sergio D Offizi, 25-minutes with assistant editor Bruno Micheli and just over 1/4 hour with assistant makeup artist Maurizio Trani - all in Italian with English subtitles. There is also a theatrical trailer. The package has a reversible cover (see below) featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady and a collector's booklet with new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw (Simenon: The Man, The Books, The Films ) and Howard Hughes.

Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling revolves around a series of child murders that unravel a web of superstition, hypocrisy, and repressed secrets among the townsfolk - set in the fictional remote southern Italian village of Accendura. The plot follows a journalist, Andrea Martelli (Tomas Milian), and a wealthy outsider, Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet), as they investigate the killings alongside the police. Suspicions initially fall on local eccentrics, like the hermit-like “witch” Maciara (Florinda Bolkan - Lizard in a Woman's Skin, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion), who’s blamed due to the village’s deep-seated superstitions. Her voodoo-like rituals and cryptic demeanor make her an obvious scapegoat. Don't Torture a Duckling stirred controversy for its anti-clerical stance and graphic moments - like a brutal chain-whipping scene - leading to bans in some countries. Fulci prizes psychological depth over cheap thrills and its one of my favorites of the Giallo genre. Aside from the Barbara Bouchet interview - no new extras but great artwork and a stellar image on Arrow's 4K UHD. Fans should consider this must-own territory.

Gary Tooze