The Card Player – Scorpion Releasing (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 2003
Director: Dario Argento
Writers: Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini
Cast: Stefania Rocca, Liam Cunningham, Silvio Muccino, Adalberto Maria Merli, Claudio Santamaria, Fiore Argento, Elisabetta Rocchetti, Vera Gemma, Conchita Puglisi

Release Date: January 1st, 2020
Approximate Running Time: 103 Minutes 39 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD 5.1 Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Dario Argento (Susperia) returns to classic form with this vicious thriller about a serial killer who taunts police with online video poker. But for every round the cops lose, a kidnapped girl is mutilated live via webcam. Now an Italian detective and an Irish forensics expert (Liam Cunningham, TV’s Game of Thrones) must race against time to trap the killer. The stakes are murder and the hunt is on for the psychopath known only as The Card Player." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

The Card Player comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40 GB

Feature: 32.2 GB

There's no information given about the source of this transfer. The source that’s used for this transfer is in excellent shape; colors and flesh tones look correct, image clarity and black levels remain strong throughout, there are no issues with compression, and there are no issues with noise reduction or other digital tinkering.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with two audio options: a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Italian. Both audio mixes are in great shape. Dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and range-wise, both audio mixes sound robust when they need to. Included with this release are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a limited-edition O-Card slipcover, an interview with director Dario Argento titled Watch me when I Kill (17 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Franco Ferrini titled Taking Risks (8 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with set designer Massimo Antonello Geleng titled A Chip and a Chair (11 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Fiore Argento titled Game Over (8 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles) and an audio commentary with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth.

Summary:

After the success of Non ho sonno (Sleepless), a film in which Dario Argento would return to the more visceral visual style for which he is most known and the demise of a project titled Occhiali neri (Dark Glasses), He would shift direction once again with his next project, The Card Player, a film that had originally been planned as a sequel to The Stendhal Syndrome. The story of The Card Player and its protagonist would be revised when Asia Argento, who had starred in The Stendhal Syndrome, was unavailable to star in a proposed sequel.

There are many elements in The Card Player that are in line with the type of killer present in most of Dario Argento’s thrillers. Like a killer who wears black gloves and disguises their voice, their identity and motivations are not revealed until the finale. From a pacing standpoint, The Card Player moves along nicely with just the right amount of time spent in between each new twist. There are plenty of red herrings offered along the way, including what many viewers feel is an obvious nod to who the killers are.

The most fascinating aspect of The Card Player is how Dario Argento adapts his style of storytelling to modern technology like cell phones and the internet. This more modern visual style is greatly bolstered by Benoît Debie’s (Irreversible) naturalistic approach to the look of the film. Frequent Dario Argento collaborator, composer Claudio Simonetti, delivers a score that compliments the story at hand. Though the murders are mostly kept off-screen and are not as gory as they have been in earlier Dario Argento films, The mutilated corpses are sufficiently gory to convey the killers' brutality.

The one area where this film excels the most is its superb cast, with the standout performance coming from Stefania Rocca in the role of the protagonist, Anna Mari (The Talented Mr. Ripley). Another performance of note is Liam Cunningham (Dog Soldiers) in the role of John Brennan, an Irishman who works for his country's embassy in Rome. Ultimately, The Card Player is a well-made thriller that does a good job of building tension and keeping things interesting throughout.

The Card Player gets an excellent release from Scorpion Releasing, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer