1) Blue Underground - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

ADDITION: Arrow - Region FREE Blu-ray (February 2019): Wow - Arrow have significantly improved on the drab Blue Underground SD from 13-years ago. Colors, contrast, detail are all far in advance of the bland DVD image. The Arrow 1080P is cited as being from a "2K restoration from the original camera negative". It looks textured and the colors have depth and vibrancy. Arrow are doing some amazing work in  the Giallo genre. 

Arrow use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) for both Italian and English soundtracks. This is a rather passive giallo in terms of aggressive violence but what is there carries some depth in the uncompressed track. The score by the iconic Ennio Morricone (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.) and adds some amazing flavor to the abundant style of the cinematography. There are both optional English and English (SDH) - see samples below - on this Region FREE Blu-ray.

Talk about a stacked disc - Arrow add a new audio commentary by critic Travis Crawford who explores many visual details - lights, windows, reflections and their prominence in the frame. He is very interesting. Lines and Shadows is a new 18-minute video essay on the film's use of architecture and space by critic Rachael Nisbet. It is like a visual essay and is well-written. Whisky Giallore is a new video interview with author and critic Michael Mackenzie that runs shy of 1/2 hour and it is also impressive analysis. Black Day for Nero is a new video interview with actor Franco Nero and he is always a pleasure to hear. The Rhythm Section is a new 22-minute video interview with film editor Eugenio Alabiso about The Fifth Cord's editing cadence. Arrow include a rare, previously unseen deleted sequence, restored from the original negative that runs about 2.5-minutes. There are both original Italian and English theatrical trailers ands an image gallery. The package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love and an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kat Ellinger and Peter Jilmstad for the first pressings.

Arrow have gone above and beyond here with this beautifully-realized Giallo on Blu-ray. One of the easiest recommendations of the year. My overplayed DVD will be disposed of forthwith.

***

ON THE DVD: The Fifth Cord is an entertaining example of the Giallo genre starring genre icon Franco Nero (Django, Hitch-Hike, Nymph) and Silvia Monti (A Lizard in a Woman's Skin) and Pamela Tiffin (One, Two, Three) , with DoP extraordinaire Vittorio Storaro (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and score by the greatest of Italian composers Ennio Morricone (Property is No Longer a Theft).

This is also part of Sony's Midnight Movies Vol 13: Suspense Triple Feature DVD with Forbidden Photos and Pyjama Girl Case (unknown quality.)

NOTE: Gregory tells us: "...the Sony set you mention - is actually includes the same stand-alone DVDs, contents and graphics. The set was released by Blue Underground in 2013. It was initially distributed by Entertainment One which is now owned by Sony Pictures, hence this studio is listed on Amazon. I picked up this collection to get all these gialli I was missing."

Blue Underground's, anamorphic DVD transfer is in around the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and looks bland and flat. The image is clean and clear with no damage, examples of depth and modest detail. It exports acceptable SD visuals - and this is extremely serviceable while awaiting a 1080P transfer. 

Lossy Dolby track only in the English DUB. The score by the iconic Ennio Morricone (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.) doing a wonderful job of setting tone - often restrained. There are no subtitles on the NTSC DVD.

The extras consist of a 16-minute piece entitled Girnata Nera (Black Days) with interviews of both Franco Nero and Vittorio Storaro running consecutively. It's in Italian with English subtitles and it's a good, short, piece touching upon the production of The Fifth Cord., and their involvement etc. There is also a theatrical trailer

This is a solid Giallo from Luigi Bazzoni (Footprints)- let's hope for it to surface on Blu-ray one day - however, I appreciated this Blue Underground DVD to allow me to see, and enjoy, the film.

  - Gary Tooze

Blue Underground