A Black Ribbon for Deborah – Cineploit (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1974
Director: Marcello Andrei
Writers: Marcello Andrei, Giuseppe Pulieri, Piero Regnoli
Cast: Bradford Dillman, Marina Malfatti, Gig Young, Delia Boccardo, Micaela Esdra, Lucretia Love, Adriano Amidei Migliano, Luigi Casellato

Release Date: May 5th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 104 Minutes 58 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono German
Subtitles: English, German
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: 29,90 EUR

"Deborah's life is thrown off course by a traumatic event. On the way home from a party, she witnesses a horrific car accident that catapults her into another reality. Her despair grows when neither her husband nor the doctors are able to help her. She is admitted to a clinic but is mysteriously released. What is reality, and what is imagination? The answers to these questions are the key to Deborah's fate." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Worldwide 2K Blu-Ray Premiere!"

A Black Ribbon for Deborah comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 39.4 GB

Feature: 30.9 GB

Outside of a few very minor blemishes, the source looks excellent. Image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and the image retains an organic look. That said, there are a few moments where colors and flesh tones look odd; fortunately, the majority of the time they look accurate.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and a DTS-HD mono mix in German. The English and Italian language tracks are in great shape. There are no issues with background hiss or distortion. Dialog always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are removable English and removable German subtitles for the Italian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (17 images - posters/lobbys cards/home video art/soundtrack art), English language opening and closing credits (4 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), a featurette about Italian supernatural and demonic possession films titled The Devilish Plagiarisms (29 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with removable English subtitles), a double-sided poster with 2 Italian motifs, and a media book packaging that contains a 28-page booklet with a bio for composer Alberto Verrecchia (text in German & English), an essay titled Devilish Desire written by Udo Rotenberg (text in German & English), an essay titled The Black Ribbon written by Udo Rotenberg (text in German & English), and archival images (international promo material and photos). 

Additionally, this release includes multilingual menus in English and German.

Summary:

Marcello Andrei directed A Black Ribbon for Deborah. He’s most known for Season for Assassins and Scandal in the Family.

A woman who's a medium becomes pregnant after an encounter with a dying pregnant woman.

While A Black Ribbon for Deborah includes supernatural elements, it would be inaccurate to label it a horror film. All the supernatural moments are linked to the protagonist, who has the ability to communicate with the spirit realm. That said, what unfolds is better described as a melodrama with mystery genre elements.

The pre-credits sequence features the protagonist demonstrating her ability to foresee events before they occur. This moment is highly effective, as it foreshadows the direction in which the narrative is headed. Although this experience deeply impacts her, a dramatic turn occurs at a party where her medium abilities lead to glasses shattering. On her way home from that party, she and her husband witness a car crash in which a pregnant woman dies in front of her. It is this moment that sends her into a downward spiral.

There are only two performances of note: the more notable of these is Marina Malfatti (The Red Queen Kills Seven Times), who portrays the protagonist, a medium named Deborah. Almost immediately her character is in a state of shock, and her performance does a superb job conveying her character's state of mind. The other performance of note is Delia Boccardo (High Crime), who portrays Mira, the pregnant woman who died in a car crash. Other notable cast members include Bradford Dillman (Piranha), who portrays Deborah’s husband, and Gig Young (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?), who portrays a medium named Herman Ofenbauer. In the case of the latter, this is another performance where he just goes through the motions.

Despite a solid premise and a strong start, things quickly unravel and never manage to gain traction. Another weakness of the narrative is that it is slow-moving, and any time it builds momentum, it undermines itself. The visuals are pedestrian, while the score does a much better job creating atmosphere, notably how it employs discordant sounds. Ultimately, A Black Ribbon for Deborah is more a story about revenge than the supernatural, which feels like a missed opportunity.

A Black Ribbon for Deborah makes its way to Blu-ray via a strong audio/video presentation from Cineploit and a good selection of extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer