Dario Argento’s Suspiria heading to Blu-ray in the U.K.

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Dario Argento’s Suspiria heading to Blu-ray in the U.K.

By brenden ⋅ November 19, 2009 ⋅

Dario Argento’s horror classic, Suspiria is making its way to Blu-ray in the UK this January courtesy of new label Nouveaux Pictures / Cine-Excess! This could be incredible news, not only because it means that we might see the film show up on Blu on this side of the Atlantic some time soon but that there’s a new label on the lookout for exciting films to put into distribution. More importantly, it also means we might get a brand new transfer of the film to enjoy! On the other hand, without knowing where Cine-Excess’ transfer originated, this could also be incredibly bad news. Allow me to explain…

Earlier this year, Italian label Eagle Pictures released a Blu-ray edition of Suspiria based on a recent restoration. The results were horrendous, according to DVDTimes reviewer Michael Mackenzie.

“If cinematographer Luciano Tovoli did indeed approve the master used for the new BD release, then I can only conclude that either something went seriously wrong somewhere down the line after he had passed off on it, or he has lost his marbles. It’s not simply a case of this new release looking different: it actually looks downright unpleasant in places and is headache-inducing to look at.”
…
“Clearly, the same source that was used to mint the horrible new Italian and French DVD releases of the film from 2007 has been trotted out here, and clearly, despite no small amount of wishful thinking, the problems are inherent in the HD master itself rather than a standard definition down-conversion. I suppose we must ultimately accept the fact that, unless someone deems it expedient to haul the negative out of storage and go through the expensive and time-consuming restoration process again, this is the version of Suspiria that will be preserved and will continue to be used as the source for DVD and BD releases in the foreseeable future.”

Check out this comparison of screen-grabs as an example of how the Italian BD butchered the image.

US Anchor Bay DVD from 2001

Italian CDE BD from 2009

See more image-capture comparisons and read Mackenzie’s articles on the Suspiria Blu-ray disc on his website here, here and a final, full review here. My fear is that the Cine-Excess Blu-ray disc will use this same problematic transfer and that we’ll be stuck with it for the foreseeable future, just as Mackenzie suggests. But there’s no way of knowing until the label either releases more information about the process they’re using to bring the film to Blu or until we get our hands on it. Until then, we can only wait and hope.

Here are the details of the Nouveaux Pictures / Cine-Excess Blu-ray release:

SUSPIRIA
(January 18, 2010 - MSRP £???)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: TBA

Special Features:

‘Fear At 400 Degrees: The Cine-Excess Of Suspiria’ Documentary Featuring Director Dario Agento and Composer Claudio Simonetti
Audio Commentary by Leading Dario Argento Experts Alan Jones and Kim Newman
‘Suspiria Perspectives’ Featuring Claudio Simonetti, Norman J. Warren and Patricia McCormack

UPDATE: More info on Cine-Excess from a CNN article:

“The label has already re-released 1980s favorite “Amsterdamned” and in January 2010 comes a remastering of “Suspiria,” Dario Argento’s stomach-turning horror set in a ballet academy.

The restoration on the Blu-Ray and DVD release of “Suspiria” will include four new documentaries that examine everything from gender controversy in the film to its style and politics in Italy in the 1970s.

“It will be the ultimate DVD,” says Mendik, who says the label is responding to what fans want.

Cult devotees have more to look forward to.

Cine-Excess has been given rights to a catalog of 300 movies owned by B-movie producer director Roger Corman and is planning to release 15 films in the next 12 months with Nouveaux Pictures, says Mendik.

The label is aimed at both the everyday cult fan as well as the growing educational market that has emerged around cult, says Mendik, who teaches cult film and TV at Brunel University in the UK.”