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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Murder Obsession (Follia Omicida)" or "Unconscious" or "Fear" or "The Wailing" )
directed by Riccardo Freda
Italy 1981
Michael Stanford (Stefano Patrizi, The Tough Ones) is on a break from shooting his latest horror film with his friends, visiting his mother (Anita Strindberg, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) at their family estate. A series of heinous murders follow and Michael is the main suspect due to his revelation that he murdered his father as a child. Is Michael’s past coming back to haunt him or is there another explanation? Italian genre legend Riccardo Freda’s (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock) final film is a deliriously extravagant late-period giallo with the director’s signature gothic flourishes, featuring a great supporting cast including Laura Gemser (Black Emmanuelle), John Richardson (Black Sunday) and Martine Brochard (Eyeball). *** After nearly strangling his co-star Beryl (Laura Gemser, THE ALCOVE) to death on the set of his latest horror film, actor Michael Stanford (Stefano Patrizi, CONVERSATION PIECE) is overcome with an urge to visit his childhood home where he murdered his composer father William (also Patrizi) as a child. Michael's girlfriend Deborah (Silvia Dionisio, LIVE LIKE A COP DIE LIKE A MAN) is coldly welcomed by his mother Glenda (Anita Strindberg, A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN) - who lives all alone in the villa with her late husband's manservant Oliver (John Richardson, BLACK SUNDAY) - however, she is extremely affectionate with Michael. The next day, Michael's director Hans (Henri Garcin, THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR), assistant director Shirley (Martine Brochard, THE VOYEUR), and Beryl join them to look over the estate for filming locations. That night, strange events start to occur (Deborah has a nightmare where she takes part in a black mass, Hans encounters a sleepwalking Oliver in the foggy woods, and someone tries to drown Beryl in her bath). The next day, Michael, Beryl, Hans, and Shirley drive off to inspect locations. Michael and Beryl sneak off to make love, and Michael wakes up to find that Beryl has been slaughtered with his hunting knife and he has no memory of it. Could he be the wandering presence that has armed itself with a chainsaw and axe to stalk the other inhabitants of the villa? Riccardo Freda's final film is a somewhat uneven return to the Italian Gothic territory that he briefly mined in the sixties with the memorable The Horrible Dr. Hichcock and THE GHOST (and returned to briefly in the seventies with TRAGIC CEREMONY AT VILLA ALEXANDER). Cristiano Pogany's camera prowls candlelit rooms and views incestuous undercurrents through sheer wall hangings, and Strindberg and Richardson are in fine form; however, the central lovers are uninteresting (although it is regrettable that Dionisio - who was previously married to director Ruggero Deodato [CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST] did not make more genre films), as are the body count fodder characters. Potentially suspenseful sequences are recounted in flashback, preventing the audience from identifying with the perspective characters' fear (including an attempt at a delirious nightmare sequence involving devil worshipers and a giant spider not unlike the imagery of Luigi Batzella's NUDE FOR SATAN, a nudity-filled seventies throwback to sixties Gothic horror). The gore effects - the work of uncredited Angelo Mattei (INFERNO) and Sergio Stivaletti (THE STENDHAL SYNDROME) - compare poorly to those that Carlo Rambaldi (E.T.) fashioned for Freda's TRAGIC CEREMONY (a somewhat similarly-themed Spanish/Italian co-production in which fun-loving teenagers are given shelter in a villa inhabited by devil worshiping aristocrats). Despite its flaws, MURDER OBSESSION is still a worthy viewing with a somewhat sixties Italian horror atmosphere combined with seventies sex and eighties gore. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: 24 February 1981 (Italy)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Raro Video (Italy) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Raro Video USA (2012) - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Raro Video UK (2023) - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the DVD Screen Caps!
Box Covers |
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BONUS CAPTURES: |
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Distribution |
Raro Video (Italy) Region 0 - PAL |
Raro Video USA Region 0 - NTSC |
Raro Video USA (2012) Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Raro Video U K (2023)Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:33:06 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:37:09 | 1:37:18.749 | 1:37:17.498 |
Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.85:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 44,374,197,932 bytesFeature: 23,689,943,040 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.21 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
1.85:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 48,279,106,520 bytesFeature: 23,838,968,832 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. |
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Bitrate:
Raro Video (Italy)
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Bitrate:
Raro Video USA
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Bitrate:
Raro (2012) Blu-ray
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English version on Raro (both) Blu-ray |
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Bitrate:
Raro (2023) Blu-ray
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Audio | Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono |
DTS-HD Master
Audio Italian 1583 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1583 kbps / 24-bit
(DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) English Version has: DTS-HD Master
Audio English 1587 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1587 kbps / 24-bit
(DTS |
DTS-HD
Master Audio Italian 868 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 868 kbps /
24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -30dB |
Subtitles | English (for Italian-only scenes on English track), none | English (for Italian-only scenes) | English (for both version) | English (SDH) (for both version) |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Raro Video (Italy) Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 10 |
Release Information: Studio: Raro Video USA Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: 6
December 2011 Chapters 10 |
Release Information: Studio: Raro Video USA (2012)
1.85:1 - 1080P Dual-layered
Blu-ray Edition Details:
• English Version of Murder Obsession (1:31:35.323 in 1080P
- 17 Gig - 21.99 Mbps) • Interview with Claudio Simonetti (22:04 in 480i) • Interview with Gabriele Albanesi (8:52 in 480i)
• Deleted Scenes (:24 in 480i)
Blu-ray
Release Date:
May 8th, 2012 Chapters 10 |
Release Information: Studio: Raro Video UK (2023)
1.85:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 48,279,106,520 bytesFeature: 23,838,968,832 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• Audio commentary by
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Blu-ray
Release Date:
December 18th, 2023 Chapters 10 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION Raro Blu-ray - November 2023: Raro have improved on their 2012 Blu-ray (and DVDs) of Riccardo Freda's "Murder Obsession". It is cited as "High Definition digital transfer from the original camera negative presented in two versions: the original uncut Italian edit with the original score and, for the first time on digital formats, the shorter re-edited English version and electronic score". This 2023 transfer looks much better - tighter, better contrast, warmer skins tones - still maintaining grain structure. See our matched large comparison captures. The 2012 transfer has black bars on the side edges - this does not.
NOTE: Eric informs
us: "... the Radiance disc’s English version is different from the
Raro USA one. The Raro USA version is a cut down version of the Italian
version with the English track synchronized to it. The audio is, actually, in a less robust DTS-HD Master track - dual-mono (24-bit) in the original Italian. Perhaps a shade less impactful in the various violence and screams present in the film. The score was by Franco Mannino (Visconti's L'innocente and Conversation Piece, John Huston's Beat the Devil, and Giuseppe Patroni Griffi's The Driver's Seat). It sounds decent and authentically flat with emphasis on the more hokey effects. Raro include optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray. As a bonus Raro have included the English version (6 minutes shorter) - also in 1080P and with lossless sound. Picture quality is about the same - slightly less consistent - technically it is solid (21 Gig - 30.00 Mbps bitrate, like the original Italian-language feature). It has 16-bit DTS-HD Master in the English DUB and optional English subtitles. Image quality compares well. Supplements add an audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas author of Rape Revenge Films. I've enjoyed her horror commentaries in the past and she is well-researched and covers salient points of interest on the film and interpretations. The 2023 Blu-ray offers the same 10-minute interview with Sergio Stivaletti (now in 1080P) as found on their previous DVD and 2012 Blu-ray. Also repeated are interviews with Claudio Simonetti (composer and founder of Goblin) for 22-minutes and with Gabriele Albanesi for about 9-minutes - both discussing Murder Obsession in Italian with English subtitles. There is a brief 24-seconds of deleted scenes in 4:3 and a 12-page liner notes limited edition booklet with new writing by Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo.
In 1969, Fabio Piccioni (once assistant director to
Lucio Fulci) wrote a short story titled Il grido del Capricorno (The
Cry of Capricorn), which he later adapted into
an adult comic book. Dario Argento bought the rights and some
elements would appear in his films
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and
Deep Red. Piccioni modernized his original story and with
Antonio Cesare Corti + Riccardo Freda it would evolve into Murder
Obsession, as an Italian and French co-production. It's a
Giallo that leads with fantastic imagery including torture,
misleading and distracting clues, murder plus titillation with
Indonesian-Dutch Laura Gemser (Violence
in a Women's Prison,) famous for erotic cinema, Swedish beauty
Anita Strindberg (The
Case of the Scorpion's Tale,) who started her career in gialli,
sexy French actress Martine Brochard (Tinto Brass'
The Voyeur) and luscious Italian actress Silvia Dionisio (Waves
of Lust.) The new Raro
Blu-ray
has the improved video and
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas commentary. Fans of this genre
should add this wild entry to the library.
***
As a bonus Raro have included the English version (6 minutes shorter) -
also in 1080P and with lossless sound. Picture quality is about the same
- not as consistent - technically it is marginally inferior (17 Gig - 22
Mbps bitrate).
Audio gets the lossless treatment and stays 2.0 channel for both Italian
and English versions and has some bass and the higher end supports
Franco Mannino's tinny score.
Very solid upgrade from Raro - improving and adding value in all
categories - a/v and extras. This is easily the definitive version and
fans should indulge to own the most film-like and complete package
available of Murder Obsession.
- Gary Tooze
*** ON THE
DVDs: Raro USA's
single-layer, progressive transfer is more than a 16:9
upgrade. It improves on the color, contrast, and framing
over the Raro Italy DVD. The opening text suggests that Raro
USA has augmented the English cut with scenes from the
longer Italian cut, but this is not true. It is the longer
Italian version, not a composite cut. The audio is a
composite work, however, and the Italian-only scenes have
English subtitles (as they did on the import). Regrettably,
Raro USA has dropped the Italian track which features a
piano score by Franco Mannino (who scored Visconti's last
two films and conducted the classical music selections for
his DEATH IN VENICE and
LUDWIG) which features original compositions by
Mannino as well as performances of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of
Man's Desiring" and "Well Tempered Clavier" as well as
Liszt's "Liebestraum." The English track features an
intrusive keyboard score in place of the original Mannino
piano pieces (the Bach and Liszt cues remain) and is heard
over scenes that play without scoring on the Italian track.
The only extra on the disc is a subtitled interview with
make-up and visual effects artist Sergio Stivaletti, who
worked uncredited along side Angelo Mattei on the gore
effects. A liner notes booklet is also included. |
Menus
(Raro Video (Italy) - Region 0 -
PAL - LEFT vs. Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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Raro Video USA - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Raro Video UK (2023) - Region FREE - Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Samples
1) Raro Video USA (2012) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP2) Raro Video UK (2023) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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Screen Captures
1) Raro Video (Italy) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP2) Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Raro Video USA (2012) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD
4) Raro Video UK
(2023) - Region FREE -
Blu-ray
- BOTTOM |
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1) Raro Video (Italy) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP2) Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Raro Video USA (2012) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD
4) Raro Video UK
(2023) - Region FREE -
Blu-ray
- BOTTOM |
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1) Raro Video (Italy) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP2) Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Raro Video USA (2012) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD
4) Raro Video UK
(2023) - Region FREE -
Blu-ray
- BOTTOM |
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1) Raro Video (Italy) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP2) Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Raro Video USA (2012) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD
4) Raro Video UK
(2023) - Region FREE -
Blu-ray
- BOTTOM |
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1) Raro Video (Italy) - Region 0 - PAL - TOP2) Raro Video USA - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Raro Video USA (2012) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD
4) Raro Video UK
(2023) - Region FREE -
Blu-ray
- BOTTOM |
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More Raro 2023 Blu-ray
More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Raro 2023 Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE
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