Dario Argento's Deep Cuts

Dario Argento, master of horror, known for such classics as Suspiria, Deep Red, and Tenebrae also dabbled in television, at the peak of his popularity. Argento has been called Italy’s answer to Alfred Hitchcock and with these shows, he gets to further that emulation, with his own versions of something like Alfred Hitchcock Presents. All three shows share the common thread of being horror anthologies, but the visual storytelling aesthetic of all three differ very much.

The first two discs are devoted to four hour-long episodes of Argento’s television show Door Into Darkness. All four episodes are introduced by Argento, doing a sort of Rod Serling-esque musing on the meaning and themes of each story. The first episode, “Il Vicino di casa” (“The Neighbor") is directed by Luigi Cozzi, about new tenants in an apartment where their upstairs neighbor has just murdered his wife one stormy night. When they discover the grisly scene, they must fight to survive the night. The second story, “Il tram” (“The Tram”) is the series’ best episode and the only sole directing effort by Argento. In it, a passenger on a streetcar is murdered and a detective seeks to recreate the fateful ride that left her dead. “La bambola” (“The Doll) is directed by Mario Foglietti and tells a macabre tale of a mental patient who has escaped an insane asylum, and the attempt to re-apprehend them. And, finally, “Testimone oculare” (“Eyewitness”) co-directed by Dario Argento and Luigi Cozzi is about a woman who finds a dead body driving along a desolate road one evening. When she reports the crime, the body disappears and she starts to question her own sanity.

The third disc is dedicated to Argento’s other television project Night Shift, another horror-anthology series with the common thread of the twisted misadventures that various taxi drivers get into, involving murder, mystery and possible ghostly apparitions in the night. There are altogether fifteen episodes of Night Shift and Argento only served as a producer on this series. None of the individual episodes were directed by him, instead they were helmed by Luigi Cozzi and Lamberto Bava (of the Demons films). Night Shift wisely breaks its stories into much smaller segments, ranging between fifteen and twenty minutes, and never gets too bogged down with story details. It’s all set-up and payoff and never has a chance to get boring. I’m also a sucker for anthologies that share a common thread, with the opening credits on each episode introducing us to the cab drivers who still star in each episode. The same countdown to the titual night shift begins each episode, and I like to pretend that all these horrific events all fall on the same night.

Finally, disc four is Dario Argento’s Nightmares, far and away the corniest of the three shows, but I adored it. These episodes are very short, about 3-5 minutes each, originally having appeared as a segment on the TV show Giallo by Enzo Tortora. Each segment will have Argento reading a story that usually combines all the elements throughout his career that we know and love him for. They’re mysteries, they’re giallos, they’re nightmarish episodes of the supernatural. As Argento reads these stories, there are stagey-looking enactments—a young kid who would be Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window finds himself inexplicably covered in snakes. The most famous episode “Nostalgia Punk” got Argento in some hot water with RAI TV over violent content. All three shows are extremely, extremely tame by Argento’s usual standards in the cinema world and he tones himself down for television. By and large, shows himself more than capable of thrilling an audience without having to rely on his trademark blood-splattering effects.

Severin’s collection of these three shows is fantastic stuff and really appeals to the kid in me, who grew up on shows like Tales from the Darkside. They delicately balance good humor and fun with the grisly goings on. These episodes can be scary, but they’re never TOO scary. Argento saves that for his movies, where he really wants to scar his viewers.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Dario Argento’s Deep Cuts is a four-disc Blu-ray set, with the first two discs dedicated to Door Into Darkness, disc three housing all fifteen episodes of Night Shift and the final disc for the nine episodes of Dario Argento’s Nightmares. All four discs contain an episode guide and a special features menu to access and are housed in a single standard case.

Quality here, in terms of overall video quality, quality of transfer, is going to be a relative term. The existing condition of these film sources and master tapes was not in great condition, but Severin has done the absolute best with them that they can. I’m awarding the show four stars because of the sheer work that’s gone into restoration and allowing them to look as good as they do. Four stars here, depending on the episode, depending on the show in questions, might be a one, maybe a two-star picture review somewhere else.

Door Into Darkness looks the best out of the three shows, and three out of four episodes were restored from their original 16mm negatives. The presentations remain rough, still, with dirt and scratches and an image that, at times, fluctuates and seems to warp. They also contain a sharp image beneath the dirt and debris and look about as good as they’re ever going to look. They don’t look “fantastic” but they do look awesome and I think the state of disrepair that they’re in adds to their overall charm.

It's hard for me to find technical details on the original shooting format for Night Shift but if I were a betting man, I’d guess that it was shot on 35mm, like Dario Argento’s Nightmares was. In both cases, for both shows, the restoration process appears to be from a master tape video source, so the image isn’t very sharp. Since these were television productions, the lighting is very simple and visual storytelling techniques simplified. Video quality on these episodes isn’t as good as Door Into Darkness but they have a retro TV look I find really compelling.

For all three shows, I’m grading on a curve and giving it high marks for looking as good as it does, and for being easily watchable. The condition of the episodes vary, with some looking quite good and some looking straight from VHS. Just know what you’re getting into before purchasing.

All episodes in this collection are available in Italian 2.0 mono, encoded in DTS-HD MA. Unlike the video presentation, there doesn’t seem to have been any issues with audio restoration. Because these shows were television productions which are extremely talky by nature, dialogue is favored in all of the mixes. Dialogue can sound a little muffled, depending on the episode, but it’s barely a concern and audibility is never compromised.

Music is balanced well and sound effects like the occasional gunshot, bloody gurgling scream, or someone crashing through a window, is appropriately loud without ever being overloud. Ambient effects aren’t really a thing, outside of very obvious effects like rain falling or traffic on a busy street. These episodes weren’t produced with modern 5.1 sound systems in mind, but the front-stage elements are put together very well. 

Severin has assembled some truly awesome special features for this set. And I mean awesome in the truest sense of the word: They inspired awe in how detailed they were. All four discs have archival documentaries and numerous interviews with creative minds involved with the show, including Argento, and provide a lot of history into their productions. For someone who considered themselves to be a big Argento fan, I never knew about these shows, and this set helped broaden my understanding of his career as a whole through these supplemental features.

DISC ONE

• Audio Commentary – For “The Tram” with Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson and author Troy Howarth
• Dario Argento: My Cinema, Part 1 (SD 58:23)
• Dario Argento: My Cinema, Part 2 (SD 1:03:32)

DISC TWO

• Audio Commentary – For “Eyewitness” with Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson and author Troy Howarth
• Dario Argento: Master of Horror (SD 1:27:23)
• A Streetcar Named Fear – Interview with Dario Argento (HD 19:51)
• On the Other Side of the Door – Interview with Luigi Cozzi (HD 33:41)

DISC THREE

• TV Nightmares – Interview with Dario Argento (HD 9:31)
• Giallo on the TV – Interview with Luigi Cozzi (HD 18:51)
• Taxi Drivers – Interview with director Lamberto Bava (HD 10:56)
• Big Giallo Taxi – Interview with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (HD 12:07)
• Calypso 9 – Interview with actress Antonella Vitale (HD 6:43)

DISC FOUR

• Giallo Argento (SD 1:25:10)

Dario Argento completists unite, for Severin has put together one hell of a box set dedicated to the television career of the master filmmaker. Dario Argento’s Deep Cuts contains some incredible storytelling that I think benefits the director and his team well. Working with tight schedules and low budgets, they had to flex creative muscles to make it all work for the format. Though the video quality is not the greatest, I sincerely believe it’s the best it’s ever going to look, given the circumstances. And in overall special features, this set can’t be topped. Dario Argento’s Deep Cuts is very Highly Recommended.