We have started a Patreon page with the hopes that some of our followers would be willing to donate a small amount to keep DVDBeaver alive. We are a tiny niche, so your generosity is vital to our existence.

We are talking about a minimum of $0.10 - $0.15 a day, perhaps a quarter (or more) to those who won't miss it from their budget. It equates to buying DVDBeaver a coffee once, twice or a few times a month. You can then participate in our monthly Silent auctions, and have exclusive access to many 'bonus' High Resolution screen captures - both 4K UHD and Blu-ray (see HERE).

To those that are unfamiliar, Patreon is a secure/verified third-party service where users can agree to a monthly donation via credit card or PayPal by clicking the button below.


 

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Chi l'ha vista morire?" or "Who Saw Her Die?")

 

Directed by Aldo Lado
Italy 1972

 

Former Bond star George Lazenby (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Man from Hong Kong) headlines this classic giallo directed by Aldo Lado (Short Night of Glass Dolls, Night Train Murders) ¬–as compelling for its haunting atmosphere, twists and turns as for its parallels with another great Venetian horror/thriller – Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now.

Sculptor Franco Serpieri (Lazenby) welcomes Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi, Deep Red) – his young daughter from a failed marriage – to Venice, unaware that a disturbed child-killer is stalking the city’s canals. When Roberta’s body is found floating face-down in the river, the lives of Franco and his estranged wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg, The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail) are ripped asunder. Desperate for vengeance, Franco turns detective in a bid to track down his daughter’s killer, and in the process unearths shocking evidence of depravity and corruption which implicates some of the most respected figures in Venetian society.

Released at the height of the giallo boom, this gripping mystery thriller boasts some of the most iconic names associated with the genre on both sides of the camera. Co-starring Dominique Boschero (The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire) and Adolfo Celi (Thunderball), and featuring one of the all-time greatest scores from maestro Ennio Morricone (What Have You Done to Solange?), Who Saw Her Die? thrills anew in its high definition debut.

***

Sculptor Franco (George Lazenby, one-shot James Bond of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) is living and working in Venice when his daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi, BARON BLOOD and THE CURSED MEDALLION) visits from London where she has been living with her mother. Upon her arrival, Roberta becomes the object of interest to a mysterious veiled old woman clad in black who stalks her through the city. When Franco leaves her to play with the other town children in order to have a dalliance with Gabriella (Rosemarie Lindt, EMANUELLE'S REVENGE), the girl disappears only to turn up murdered. Although ex-wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg, A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN) is sympathetic, guilt-ridden, Franco pursues his own investigation of the killing which may be related to the murder of another red-haired girl the previous year; the aftermath of which peripherally involved several members of Franco's artsy circle including benefactor Serafian (Adolfo Celi, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE), his mistress Ginevra (Dominique Boschero, ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK), her bisexual boyfriend Phillip (Peter Chatel, CAMILLE 2000), and lawyer Bonaiuti (José Quaglio, THE CONFORMIST) who themselves are soon stalked by the woman in black. Parallels with DON'T LOOK NOW have previously been noted but the script is much more straightforward, the threat less ambiguous, and the couple's grief over their lost child at the forefront rather than underlining their everyday actions. The flash-cut editing of Angelo Curi is also more direct in its clues at certain points (while at others, it functions as a fancy way of transitioning between scenes). The red herrings are a bit obvious (even if Roberta might have been murdered for something she overheard, that would not have explained the veiled old lady stalker). Director Lado had previously helmed the giallo SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS after serving as assistant director on Bertolucci's THE CONFORMIST (which also featured Quaglio and Alessandro Haber who plays a priest here). Franco De Giacomo (FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET) - with NOSTALGHIA's cinematographer Giuseppe Lanci as camera operator - Techniscope photography aides Lado in creating a lived-in Venice (as opposed the city-wide museum seen in other films) although it is always conveniently empty for the stalking scenes. The lead performances suffer somewhat with Lazenby not particularly compelling and the beautiful Strindberg dubbed rather thickly but Elmi is used effectively here as in her other genre films. Associate producer Ovidio Assonitis went on to make a career in international exploitation films (usually utilizing Italian crew) including BEYOND THE DOOR, PIRANHA II, AMOK TRAIN, and CHOKE CANYON among many others and co-scenarist Francesco Barilli helmed two little scene but strong Italian thriller entries HOTEL OF FEAR and PERFUME OF A LADY IN BLACK.

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 12th, 1972

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

  

Distribution

Blue Underground

Region 0 - NTSC

Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:34:21         1:34:14.899 
Video

2.28:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 4.99 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 49,933,184,938 bytes

Feature: 27,014,141,184 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)

LPCM Audio Italian 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 320 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 320 kbps

Subtitles none Optional English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing , None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Blue Underground

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.28:1

Edition Details:
• Death in Venice: Interview with Aldo Lado (16:9; 11:10)
• Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 3:12)
• Aldo Lado Filmography

DVD Release Date: February 26, 2008
Amaray

Chapters 24

Release Information:
Studio:
Arrow

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 49,933,184,938 bytes

Feature: 27,014,141,184 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• New audio commentary by author and critic Troy Howarth
• I Saw Her Die, a new video interview with director Aldo Lado (56:55)
• Nicoletta, Child of Darkness, a new video interview with actress Nicoletta Elmi (22:26)
• Once Upon a Time in Venice, a new video interview with co-writer Francesco Barilli (31:29)
• Giallo in Venice, a new video interview with author and critic Michael Mackenzie (26:17)
• Original Italian (3:13) and English (3:13) theatrical trailers
• Poster and fotobusta gallery (1:40)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love”


Blu-ray Release Date:
September 17th, 2019
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 13

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (September 2019): Arrow have transferred Aldo Lado's Who Saw Her Die? to Blu-ray. Arrow continue to produce the best 1080P transfers and supplements of Giallo films. This is another impressive example. The image, as evidence by our matching screen captures, is a huge advancement over the 2008 DVD - in every area; more information in the 2.35:1 widescreen frame, colors are deeper and richer, skin tones normalize, detail and texture advance. Marvelous job. 

They NOTE: "We are aware of some recent online speculation about our release of WHO SAW HER DIE? and we are pleased to confirm that our version is the official uncut release from the original camera negative. We are aware of all the other releases in the market – one of which does contain more footage – however, this additional footage has been added in from the original trailer, consisting of alternate takes that were never intended to be part of the official film release. The restoration team at Arrow worked carefully to ensure that WHO SAW HER DIE? was presented as it was originally intended in all its uncut glory. "

On their Blu-ray, Arrow use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the both Italian and the English DUB. It is another advancement in the film's audio effects and score by Ennio Morricone (The Black Belly of the Tarantula, The Fifth Cord, 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.) sounding deeper with more consistent dialogue (DUB sync's aren't distracting). Arrow offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Arrow Blu-ray has extensive extras starting with a new audio commentary by author and critic Troy Howarth where he discusses what an incredibly detailed film Who Saw Her Die? is, how it is an example of an Italian film of the era at its most grandiose with impressive craftsmanship - technically very slick (and hence a good reason to see it in this Blu-ray version). More on the skinnier Lazeby and his bout with Bondism, the kinship of the film to Don’t Look Now (parents dealing with grief, Venetian setting etc.), the exploitable nudity, and much more. It is at his usually entertaining end edifying standard. I Saw Her Die is a new 57-minute video interview with director Aldo Lado covering much of his career work. Nicoletta, Child of Darkness is a new 22-minute video interview with actress Nicoletta Elmi (Roberta Serpieri), Once Upon a Time in Venice, is a new 1/2 hour video interview with co-writer Francesco Barilli who shares some information on the evolution of the film. I always enjoy Michael Mackenzie's input on Giallo films and, Giallo in Venice is a new 26-minute video interview with him providing keen analysis and details referencing specifics of the genre. There are trailers in both English and Italian, a poster and fotobusta gallery plus the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love.

What a great package for fans of this genre. Who Saw Her Die? has Aldo Lado's meticulous realization - instilling the style and conventions that we all love. It's a film on Blu-ray that I am so happy to add to my digital library shelf. A very strong recommendation! 

Gary Tooze

ON THE DVD (Feb 2008): Blue Underground's DVD is a direct port of Anchor Bay's (HERE) now out-of-print 2002 edition (available separately or in a box set with Lado's SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS, Antonio Bido's BLOODSTAINED SHADOW [also set in Venice], and box set exclusive title CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS by Guiliano Carmineo) which featured a single-layer progressive, anamorphic transfer with English dubbed mono audio.

The disc also includes an interview with Aldo Lado (originally produced by Blue Underground for the Anchor Bay release). The film's theatrical trailer bears the English export title while the film itself features Italian credits and title card (as do all DVD editions currently). In the UK, Shameless Screen Entertainment has also released an anamorphic edition of the film using the same master. While it is reportedly not as sharp as the US editions, it does include a few seconds more of one murder scene (7 stabs versus 5) and subtitles for the Italian-language choral lyrics of Ennio Morricone's score (the Anchor Bay/Blue Underground editions only subtitle some onscreen Italian text). The German Eyecatcher Movies edition (under the title THE CHILD) also features the English track and the complete soundtrack.

  - Eric Cotenas

 


Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC

 

Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

 

 


1) Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Blue Underground - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

More Blu-ray Captures
 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 

 


 

 


  

 

Box Cover

  

Distribution

Blue Underground

Region 0 - NTSC

Arrow - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

Hit Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

 CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!