Plot of Fear - Corinne Cléry

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "...e tanta paura" or "E Tanta Paura" or "Bloody Peanuts")

directed by Paolo Cavara
Italy 1976

The murders of a wealthy masochist in his apartment and a woman on an empty bus are linked by cut-out illustrations from the E.T.A. Hoffmann fairy tale "Shock-headed Peter" left at the scene. Inspector Lomenzo (Michele Placido, OEDIPUS ORCA) soon learns that the two victims were founding members of the "Wildlife Friends" club, who preservationist activities were a front for wild orgies at the villa of the group's president Hoffmann (John Steiner, TENEBRAE). Lomenzo learns that a scandal four years prior lead to the disbanding of the club, at which point Hoffmann sold off his menagerie and went to Amsterdam where he died. The case file on the scandal is empty and its disgraced investigator Del Re has mysteriously disappeared. Lomenzo learns from model Jeanne (Corinne Clery, THE STORY OF O) that a young prostitute had a heart attack at the villa when the drunken revelers tried to pull her into a cage with the tiger. As Lomenzo searches for the dead girl's recently released pimp Augustino (Claudio Zucchett, BURIAL GROUND), the members of the Wildlife Friends fear for their lives and consult private detective Struwwel (Eli Wallach, THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY) who leaks some selected information to Lomenzo. Lomenzo manages to catch the pimp, and the papers declare the killing spree over, which simply gives the Wildlife Friends a false sense of security since the murders continue...

Eric Cotenas

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Theatrical Release:

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DVD Comparison:

Raro Video Italy - Region 0 - PAL vs. Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the Screen Caps!

(Raro Video Italy - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT vs. Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Raro Video Italy Region 0 - PAL	Raro Video USA Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:30:42	1:34:54
Video	1.81:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.92 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.25 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Raro Video Italy
Bitrate: Raro Video USA
Audio	Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Subtitles	English, none	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Raro Video Italy Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.81:1 Edition Details: • Director's Biography • Director's Filmography DVD Release Date: Amaray Chapters 10	Release Information: Studio: Raro Video USA Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.83:1 Edition Details: • Interview with screenwriter Enrico Oldoni (16:9; 12:58) • Interview with the director's son Pietro Cavara (16:9; 13:21) • Interview with actor Michele Placido (16:9; 17:09) • PDF Liner Notes Booklet by Fangoria magazine's Chris Alexander • DVD Credits DVD Release Date: 22 May 2012 Amaray Chapters 10

Comments

Raro Video USA's HD-mastered dual-layer, progressive, anamorphic presentation is a major improvement over Raro Video Italy's non-anamorphic, single-layer disc. The image is darker, but the colors are also richer (framing appears identical). The English and Italian mono tracks are comparable between the two releases. I only noticed one spelling error in the optional English subtitles. Some viewers may be confused by a character referring to the detective protagonist as "doctor" in the English subitles, but this is an honorific (used sarcastically in this case), and may also notice that the English subtitles translate the title of the fairytale that figures into the murders while the English dub retains the Italian translation (but keeping the translation unclear is important to a revelation late in the film).

Raro's Italian edition was barebones apart from a text biography and filmography for the director. Raro's American edition adds new interviews with the writer Ernesto Oldoni (who discusses his collaboration with co-writer Bernardino Zapponi [SATYRICON]), the director's son Pietro Cavara (whose interview is something of a well-prepared essay on his father's oeuvre and his approach to the giallo genre), and actor Michele Placido (although both actor and interviewer seem ill-prepared and the camerawork is clumsy). Raro USA's YOUNG, VIOLENT, DANGEROUS promised a PDF booklet but it was absent from the disc. PLOT OF FEAR also promises a PDF booklet (by Fangoria editor Chris Alexander) and it is indeed present (Raro have decided to go back to printed insert booklets with their next releases).

- Eric Cotenas

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(Raro Video Italy - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT vs. Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)