Author: Wolfgang Preiss
Edition: Standard Edition/Blu-Ray
Binding: Blu-ray
Format: Anamorphic
Release Date: 30-11-2021
Details: Alongside the spaghetti western, the giallo is one of the most famous Italian export genres: films steeped in mystery and intrigue, delivered with stylised violence and unforgettable musical themes.
The Possessed (1965) masterfully combines noir, mystery and giallo tropes in a proto-giallo based on one of Italy's most notorious crimes. It tells the story of a depressed novelist (Peter Baldwin) in search of his old flame (Virna Lisi) who has disappeared under suspicious circumstances, prompting an investigation that finds him plunged into a disturbing drama of familial secrets, perversion, madness and murder. The Fifth Cord (1971) boasts a complex, Agatha Christie-esque plot of investigation into a series of brutal assaults. As the body count rises, whisky swilling journalist Andrea Bild (Franco Nero) finds himself under suspicion, making it all the more imperative he crack the case. The Pyjama Girl Case (1978), inspired by a real-life case that baffles to this day, takes us to Australia where former inspector Timpson comes out of retirement to crack the case of a young woman, found on the beach, shot in the head, burned to hide her identity and dressed in distinctive yellow pyjamas...
The first of a multi-volume series of Giallo Essentials. Each film is restored from the original camera negative and presented with many interviews and featurettes.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
2K restorations of the film from the original camera negative for The Possessed, The Fifth Cord and The Pyjama Girl Case
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
Original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
Optional English subtitles for the English soundtracks
Rigid box packaging with newly designed artwork by Adam Rabalais in a windowed Giallo Essentials Collection slipcover
THE POSSESSED
Commentary by writer and critic Tim Lucas
Richard Dyer on The Possessed, video appreciation by the cultural critic and academic
Cat’s Eyes, interview with the film's makeup artist Giannetto De Rossi
Two Days a Week, interview with the film's award-winning assistant art director Dante Ferretti
The Legacy of the Bazzoni Brothers, interview with actor/director Francesco Barilli, a close friend of Luigi and Camillo Bazzoni
Original trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
THE FIFTH CORD
Commentary by critic Travis Crawford
Lines and Shadows, video essay on the film’s use of architecture and space by critic Rachael Nisbet
Whisky Giallore, interview with author and critic Michael Mackenzie
Black Day for Nero, interview with actor Franco Nero
The Rhythm Section, interview with film editor Eugenio Alabiso
Rare deleted sequence, restored from the original negative
Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love
THE PYJAMA GIRL CASE
Commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
Interview with author and critic Michael Mackenzie on the internationalism of the giallo
Interview with actor Howard Ross
Interview with editor Alberto Tagliavia
Interview with composer Riz Ortolani
Image gallery
Italian theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon
EAN: 0760137719182
Package Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.5 x 2.0 inches
Languages: English, Italian