Death Smiles on a Murderer – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1973
Director: Aristide Massaccesi (Joe D’Amato)
Writers: Claudio Bernabei, Joe D’Amato, Romano Scandariato
Cast: Ewa Aulin, Klaus Kinski, Angela Bo, Sergio Doria, Attilio Dottesio, Marco Mariani, Luciano Rossi, Giacomo Rossi Stuart

Release Date: May 21st, 2018 (UK), May 22nd, 2018 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 88 Minutes 16 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region A,B/Region 1,2 NTSC
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"Set in Austria in the early 1900s, Death Smiles on a Murderer stars Ewa Aulin, (Candy, Death Laid an Egg) as Greta, a beautiful young woman abused by her brother Franz (Luciano Rossi, Death Walks in High Heels, The Conformist) and left to die in childbirth by her illicit lover, the aristocrat Dr. von Ravensbrück (Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Kill, Baby... Kill!). Bereft with grief, Franz reanimates his dead sister using a formula engraved on an ancient Incan medallion. Greta then returns as an undead avenging angel, reaping revenge on the Ravensbrück family and her manically possessive brother." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution at EuroLab.

The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master and restored at R3store Studios. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, picture instability and other instances of film wear were repaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques."

Death Smiles on a Murderer comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.9 GB

Feature: 24.7 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Colors look very good, flesh tones look healthy, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 4.25/5 (LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in English. These two tracks, quality-wise, are comparable. Both audio tracks sound clean, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise things sound very good. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a English language theatrical trailer (2 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a Italian language theatrical trailer (2 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), an image gallery, a video essay by Kat Ellinger titled Smiling on the Taboo: Sex, Death and Transgression in the horror films of Joe D’ Amato (21 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director Joe D’Amato titled D’ Amato Smiles on Death (5 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Ewa Aulin titled All About Ewa (42 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with author and film critic Tim Lucas. reversible cover art and a 44-page booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled The Thousand and One Days of Aristide written by Stephen Thrower, an essay titled The Angel Ends Where the Devil Begins: Shooting Death Smiles on a Murderer written by Roberto Curti, an interview with Romano Scandariato and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Directed by Joe D’Amato (Emanuelle in America), a prolific filmmaker who has just under two hundred films that are accredited to him as a director. Death Smiles on a Murderer is the only time Joe D’Amato uses his real name, Aristide Massaccesi, in a film he directed.

The narrative revolves around a man grieving the death of his sister, who brings her back to life by using the formula engraved on an ancient Incan medallion.

Though there have been Italian gothic horror films in color, most of these films pale in comparison to their black-and-white counterparts. And nowhere is it clearer than when it comes to the visuals. Black-and-white cinematography creates an atmosphere that is rarely rivaled by films shot in color. This brings us to Death Smiles on a Murderer, an Italian gothic horror film that was shot in color and released long after the gothic film genre had reached its apex.

Content-wise, Death Smiles on a Murderer has all the ingredients that have since become synonymous with Italian gothic horror cinema. Most notably, a protagonist comes back from the dead to avenge those who did them wrong, setting the events that unfold in an era from the past. Another element that Italian gothic horror cinema has become known for is the way that this genre uses taboo subjects. A few of the taboo subjects that appear in Death Smiles on a Murderer include abortion and incest.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where Death Smiles on a Murderer does not deliver in spades. The diabolical premise is superbly realized, and there are an ample number of grotesque set pieces. And visually, Death Smiles on a Murderer achieves an atmosphere that is sorely lacking in other Italian Gothic horror films that were shot in color.

Performance-wise, the cast is all very good, especially Ewa Aulin (Death Laid an Egg) in the role of Greta von Holstein, the woman whose brother resurrects her from the dead. Another performance of note is Luciano Rossi (Death Walks at Midnight) in the role of Greta’s brother Franz. Throughout his career, he often portrayed secondary characters’ that often stood out, and with this film, he is given a rare opportunity to portray a character that showcases his range as an actor. Other notable cast members include Giacomo Rossi Stuart (Kill, Baby, Kill!), who portrays the doctor who performs the abortion that killed Greta, and Klaus Kinski (Nosferatu the Vampyre), who does what he does best, portraying a maniacal character. Ultimately, Death Smiles on a Murderer is one of the best examples of Italian gothic horror cinema, and it is arguably Joe D’Amato’s most underrated film.

Death Smiles on a Murderer gets an exceptional release from Arrow Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer