Short Night of Glass Dolls Blu-ray

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

(aka "Short Night of Glass Dolls" or "La corta notte delle bambole di vetro" or "Malastrana" or "The Short Night of the Butterflies" or "Paralyzed" )

directed by Aldo Lado
Italy, West Germany, Yugoslavia 1971

Short Night of Glass Dolls (La Corta Notte delle Bambole di Vetro, 1971) is a mystery-heavy Giallo film, the début of director Aldo Lado. It stars Jean Sorel as an American reporter, trapped inside his apparently dead body, but still trying to decipher the disappearance of his beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Bach). Set in a Prague depicted as remarkably depraved, the film also stars the great Ingrid Thulin, and is highlighted by a stunning score from the one and only Ennio Morricone, available on this Twilight Time release as an isolated track.

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The corpse of reporter Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel of "Lizard in a Woman's Skin") is found in a Prague plaza and brought to the local morgue. But Moore is actually alive, trapped inside his dead body and desperately recalling how the mysterious disappearance of his beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Bach of "The Unseen") led to a terrifying conspiracy of depravity. Can a reporter with no visible signs of life solve this perverse puzzle before he meets his ultimate deadline?

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Aldo Lado’s remarkable film is an atmospheric delight that boasts an incredible score from the maestro himself, Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly), and more than deserves it’s reputation as one of the finest examples of the Giallo genre. 88 Films are proud to present this stone cold classic of Italian cinema, in pristine HD, for the first time in the UK!

Posters

Theatrical Release: 28 October 1971(Italy)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Anchor Bay (The Giallo Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Anchor Bay (The Giallo Collection) Screen Caps!

Box Covers			Coming to 4K UHD in March 2025:
Distribution	Anchor Bay Region 0 - NTSC	88 Films Region 'B' - Blu-ray	Twilight Time Region FREE' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:36:45	1:36:52.223	11:36:50.262
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: ? mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 30,234,778,437 bytes Feature Size: 29,306,296,320 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC	Disc Size: 30,345,605,438 bytes Feature Size: 28,771,620,864 bytes Total Bitrate: 30.00 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: *Anchor Bay (The Giallo* Collection)**
Bitrate: 88 Films Blu-ray
Bitrate: Twilight Time Blu-ray
Audio	Dolby Digital Mono (English)	LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit LPCM Audio Italian 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit	DTS-HD Master Audio Italian 1573 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1573 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1623 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1623 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1836 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1836 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Isolated Score: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1925 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1925 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	None	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: � Strange Days of the Short Night - interview with director Aldo Lado (11:31) � Theatrical Trailer (3:05) � Aldo Lado Filmography DVD Release Date: June 25, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 25	Release Information: Studio: 88 Films Disc Size: 30,234,778,437 bytes Feature Size: 29,306,296,320 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • English Theatrical Trailers (3:05) • Italian Theatrical Trailers (3:05) Blu-ray Release Date: November 21sr, 2016 Transparent Blu-ray case (thick - UK) Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Twilight Time Disc Size: 30,345,605,438 bytes Feature Size: 28,771,620,864 bytes Total Bitrate: 30.00 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Audio Commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and Matteo Molinari • Isolated Music Track • English Theatrical Trailers (3:05) • Italian Theatrical Trailers (3:05) Liner notes Blu-ray Release Date: November, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray case Chapters 24

Comments

NOTE: the Anchor Bay DVD is identical to the Blue Underground release HERE.

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

ADDITION: Twilight Time - Region FREE' - Blu-ray - November 18': Not much difference with the image quality - also dual-layered with a high bitrate - sometimes skin tones can seem cooler but it looks like there isn't enough to determine a superior release between the two Blu-rays.

Audio is more of a bump with, like the 88 Films, both English and Italian tracks in lossless transfers. But Twilight Time add the Isolated score option of Morricone's music (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.) and it sounds wonderfully rich and stylistic. English subtitles are also options (see sample below.) The Twilight Time is Region FREE and limited to 3,000 units.

Both English and Italian trailers are also here but the big addition is Twilight Time's audio commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle (author of Six Reels Under) and Matteo Molinari (author of The Horror Movie Survival Guide). It's very enjoyable and educational - Giallo fans will appreciate it.

Depending on your obsession with the genre, the Twilight Time Blu-ray of Short Night of Glass Dolls may be worthy of a double dip with the advantages of the commentary, isolated score, liner notes plus the disc is Region FREE. Superior Giallo - essential!

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ADDITION: 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - March 17': You can see the vast improvement of the 1080P over the SD image in the comparison captures below. It is described as a "New 2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative". Skin tones cool and become far more realistic, detail rises, there is more information in the frame etc. No contest. I appreciate the texture of the higher resolution transfer - it's lush and fairly consistent and gives the BD presentation a, very pleasing, film-like quality. It has both English and Italian seamlessly branched (same transfer.)

88 Films use linear PCM tracks at 1536 kbps (16-bit) for both English and Italian languages (both cited as 'Restored'). It's imperfect (obvious DUBs) with modest effects - competent if unremarkable - much along the lines of the production - but the score by the iconic Ennio Morricone (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.) adds a delicious atmosphere of mystery and suspense adding to the film experience. There are English subtitles for the Italian version and my Oppo has identified it as being Region 'B'-locked.

Only extras are a couple of trailers (English and Italian) but it's a wonderful Giallo with non-linear timelines. Well above-average, imo. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The 88 Films is the way to go to watch Short Night of Glass Dolls in your home theatre!

- Gary and Gregory

Menus
(Anchor Bay (The Giallo Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT)