Torso: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4K UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1973
Director: Sergio Martino
Writers: Ernesto Gastaldi, Sergio Martino
Cast: Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, Luc Merenda, John Richardson, Roberto Bisacco

Release Date: September 17th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 93 Minutes 39 Seconds (Torso Italian Version), 93 Minutes (English/Italian Hybrid Version), 90 Minutes 11 Seconds (Carnal Violence, Torso)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono English/Italian Hybrid
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"A sex maniac is prowling the streets of Perugia, targeting the picturesque university town's female students. Alarmed at the plummeting life expectancy of the student body, Jane (Suzy Kendall, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and her three friends elope to a secluded country villa - only to discover that, far from having left the terror behind, they've brought it with them!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Torso / I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with mono Italian and English audio.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovita, Bologna. The film was restored in HDR10 at R3Store Studios, London. Dolby Vision grading was completed by Fidelity in Motion, Florida.

All materials for this restoration were made available by Surf Film."

Torso comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 90.3 GB

Feature: 66.4 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look. This release uses seamless branching for the three versions.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono English/Italian Hybrid)

The Italian language version comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. The export version comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The English/Italian hybrid version comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and Italian. There are two removable subtitle options: English SDH for all dialog and English for the Italian dialog. All of the audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, all of the audio tracks sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include English language trailer under the title Carnal Violence (3 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Italian theatrical trailer (3 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), alternate “Torso” titles (4 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), a Q&A with Sergio Martino from the 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival (46 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and Italian with English translation for the Italian), an interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film titled Saturating the Screen (25 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio Martino titled Women in Blood (24 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi titled Dial S for Suspense (29 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Luc Merenda titled The Discreet Charm of the Genre (34 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with co-screenwriter/director Sergio Martino titled All Colors of Terror (34 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colors of Sergio Martinou, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and 32-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled “Violence Brings in the Bucks”: Joseph Brenner the Forgotten Hero of 42nd Street written by Adrian Smith, an essay titled Songs for Europe: The Music of Guido and Maurizio De Angelis written by Howard Hughes and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Torso was directed by the versatile Italian filmmaker Sergio Martino, who worked in whatever genre was popular at the time. That said, he is best known for his work in the Giallo and Commedia sexy all'italiana genres. Notable films he directed include The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, All the Colors of the Dark, The Violent Professionals, Torso, and The Suspicious Death of a Minor.

A sex maniac targets the female students at a university.

The Giallo genre is often cited as an influence on the American slasher film. And out of the dozens of Gialli that I have seen, none more than Torso comes closer to what is now referred to as the slasher film. That said, Torso foreshadows the slasher film, making it a likely prototype for the genre.

Torso, like Sergio Martino’s other Gialli, is a well-made film that features stylish cinematography, inventive murder set pieces, and a bevy of beautiful women in various stages of undress. Torso is Sergio Martino’s most graphic Giallo. And the scene where the killer stalks a woman in the woods is Torso’s most memorable death scene.

When discussing the Giallo genre, one of its main draws is the murder-death set pieces. Though most Gialli from this era are known for their stylized kills, a film like Torso goes the opposite direction. That said, few Gialli from this era rival the gruesomeness of Torso’s murder-death set pieces.

When it comes to casting, Torso has a few recognizable faces like Suzy Kendall (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and Tina Aumont (Lifespan), who portray college students; John Richardson (Eyeball), who portrays their professor; and Luc Merenda (The Violent Professionals), who portrays a doctor. The cast of colorful characters that populate Torso offer a wide variety of suspects and red herrings. No one performance stands out; that said, none are lacking.

From a production standpoint, Torso is a film that fully exploits its resources. The well-constructed narrative has an ample amount of tension, and it does a superb job building to the finale. The narrative hits its stride when the four girls arrive at a secluded villa. Another strength of Torso is Guido & Maurizio De Angelis' (Street Law) exemplary score, which does a phenomenal job of reinforcing the mood. Ultimately, Torso is a well-made Giallo that fans of this genre are sure to enjoy.

Torso gets an excellent release from Arrow Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer