The Perfume of the Lady in Black – Indicator Series (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1974
Director: Francesco Barilli
Writers: Francesco Barilli, Massimo D’Avak
Cast: Mimsy Farmer, Maurizio Bonuglia, Mario Scaccia, Jho Jhenkins, Nike Arrighi, Lara Wendel, Aleka Paizi, Renata Zamengo

Release Date: September 29th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 104 Minutes 28 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK)

"Silvia (Farmer) is tormented by hallucinations from her troubled childhood, including her mother applying perfume in a black dress. Her mental state unravels as she struggles to separate her surreal visions from a series of violent occurrences." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "The Perfume of the Lady in Black was scanned in 4K at Augustus Color in Rome using the original 35mm negative. 4K HDR color correction and restoration work was undertaken at Filmfinity, London, where Phoenix image-processing tools were used to remove many thousands of instances of dirt, eliminate scratches and other imperfections, as well as repair damaged frames. No grain management, edge enhancement or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way."

The Perfume of the Lady in Black comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 91.8 GB

Feature: 72.3 GB

The Perfume of the Lady in Black has not fared well on home media; fortunately, this new transfer corrects that, and the result is something that is vastly superior in every way to those aforementioned releases. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

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

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. 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 an image gallery (21 images - stills/lobby cards/soundtrack images/home video art/advertisements/posters), the international theatrical trailer (3 minutes 21 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), the Italian theatrical trailer (3 minutes 21 seconds, DTS-HD mono Italian with removable English subtitles), a then-and-now locations featurette titled The Locations of the Lady in Black (5 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo), an interview with DJ and soundtrack enthusiast Lovely. Jon titled Notes of Black (33 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with author Stephen Thrower titled The Perfume Affair (34 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio interview with actress Lara Wendel titled The Memories of the Lady in White (11 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with director Francesco Barilli titled Portrait in Black (24 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Francesco Barilli titled The Death of Cinema (16 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with Francesco Barilli titled Exploring Beauty (19 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson, and an 80-page book with cast & crew information, an essay titled Scents and Sensibility or a Nose for Trouble written by Paul Duane, an archival profile of actress Mimsy Farmer titled Mimsy Farmer Begins Comeback at Twenty, a career-spanning archival interview with director Francesco Barilli titled Cinema Between Brush Strokesa conducted by Roberto Curti, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

When one thinks of Italian thrillers, the image of black-gloved killers lurking in the shadows often springs to mind. While not all Italian thrillers adhere to the aforementioned genre staples, very few have deviated significantly from this established formula since Mario Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

Content-wise, the two most obvious influences on Francesco Barilli’s The Perfume of the Lady in Black are Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now and Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. In fact, one could go so far as to say that Roman Polanski’s cinematic style had the most undeniable influence on Francesco Barilli while making The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Besides the aforementioned Rosemary’s Baby, there are also many similarities that can be found between The Perfume of the Lady in Black and Roman Polanski’s Repulsion.

Although the narrative structure can be challenging at times, the climatic payoff is oddly appropriate and makes everything that has unfolded become clear. Between the hypnotic visuals, pitch-perfect pacing, and Nicola Piovani’s (Flavia the Heretic) evocative score, the overall style reinforces the fractured state of mind of The Perfume of the Lady in Black’s protagonist. From a production standpoint, The Perfume of the Lady in Black excels in just about every imaginable way.

Also exceptional are the performances from its entire cast, especially Mimsy Farmer (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) in the role of Silvia Hacherman, the protagonist of this film. This is easily one of the strongest performances of her career. Another performance of note is Lara Wendel (My Dear Killer) in the role of the adolescent Silvia.

Italian cinema has never shied from cloning whatever cinema was in vogue at the time. While there are certainly many moments in which The Perfume of the Lady in Black flamboyantly flaunts its influences, the end result is a film that, more than any other Italian film of the era, transcends its initial inspiration.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black makes its way to 4K UHD via a definitive release from Powerhouse Films, highly recommended.

Note: This release is a limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered units (4,000 4K UHDs and 1,000 Blu-rays) for the UK.

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

The Perfume of the Lady in Black – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1974
Director: Francesco Barilli
Writers: Francesco Barilli, Massimo D’Avak
Cast: Mimsy Farmer, Maurizio Bonuglia, Mario Scaccia, Jho Jhenkins, Nike Arrighi, Lara Wendel, Aleka Paizi, Renata Zamengo

Release Date: June 26th, 2017
Approximate running time: 103 Minutes 55 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono English, LPCM Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: OOP

"Hardened giallo fans have been screaming out for a British release of 1974’s macabre masterpiece THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK. Long considered one of the genre’s greatest achievements, this surreal and spooky exploration of a beautiful Hitchcockian blonde and her breakdown into oddball visions of childhood and violence, not to mention a bloody body count that seems concurrent with her mysterious and malevolent mindscapes, is a truly unique spin on the long-running Italian terror-trend." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Film sourced from the Original Negative.” 

The Perfume of the Lady in Black comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 30.5 GB

Feature: 29.1 GB

The 88 Films transfer is a massive improvement over the Raro Videos transfer in every way. Also, 88 Films dedicates almost 17 more GB to the main feature. It should be noted that 88 Films' transfer also exhibits digital noise, which fortunately is not as pronounced as it is on Raro Video’s transfer.

Audio: 3.75/5 (LPCM Mono Italian), 3.5/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in English and a LPCM mono mix in Italian. These audio tracks are compared to the audio tracks on Raro Video’s Blu-ray release. Included with this release are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 20 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Italian opening and closing credits (2 minutes 24 seconds, LPCM mono, and reversible cover art.

Summary:

When one thinks of Italian thrillers, the image of black-gloved killers lurking in the shadows often springs to mind. While not all Italian thrillers adhere to the aforementioned genre staples, very few have deviated significantly from this established formula since Mario Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

Content-wise, the two most obvious influences on Francesco Barilli’s The Perfume of the Lady in Black are Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now and Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. In fact, one could go so far as to say that Roman Polanski’s cinematic style had the most undeniable influence on Francesco Barilli while making The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Besides the aforementioned Rosemary’s Baby, there are also many similarities that can be found between The Perfume of the Lady in Black and Roman Polanski’s Repulsion.

Although the narrative structure can be challenging at times, the climatic payoff is oddly appropriate and makes everything that has unfolded become clear. Between the hypnotic visuals, pitch-perfect pacing, and Nicola Piovani’s (Flavia the Heretic) evocative score, the overall style reinforces the fractured state of mind of The Perfume of the Lady in Black’s protagonist. From a production standpoint, The Perfume of the Lady in Black excels in just about every imaginable way.

Also exceptional are the performances from its entire cast, especially Mimsy Farmer (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) in the role of Silvia Hacherman, the protagonist of this film. This is easily one of the strongest performances of her career. Another performance of note is Lara Wendel (My Dear Killer) in the role of the adolescent Silvia.

Italian cinema has never shied from cloning whatever cinema was in vogue at the time. While there are certainly many moments in which The Perfume of the Lady in Black flamboyantly flaunts its influences, the end result is a film that, more than any other Italian film of the era, transcends its initial inspiration.

88 Films gives The Perfume of the Lady in Black its best audio/video presentation, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Hotel Fear – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/Spain, 1978
Director: Francesco Barilli
Writers: Barbara Alberti, Amedeo Pagani, Francesco Barilli, Francisco Ariza, José Gutiérrez Maesso
Cast: Luc Merenda, Leonora Fani, Francisco Rabal, Jole Fierro, José María Prada, Lidia Biondi, Máximo Valverde, Francesco Impeciati

Release Date: June 14th, 2022
Approximate running time: 99 Minutes 11 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"The story takes place in Italy towards the end of World War Two, in a run-down hotel on the shore of a large lake. A strange assortment of guests are staying there. They seem to be either suffering from mental illness, involved in scams of one sort or another, or hiding from something in their past.

Rosa, a teenage girl played by Lenora Fani, works with her mother, Marta, trying to keep the hotel functioning. Due to the war and the frequent bombing raids that take place, the hotel is on its last legs and even finding food for the guests is a major problem. Rosa writes letters to send to her father who is off fighting in the war.

Rosa’s mother dies unexpectedly, and suddenly the girl finds herself at the mercy of the sexually rapacious and insane hotel guests. After a vicious rape by two of the guests, Rosa despairs. She calls on her absent father to avenge her. And it seems her call is answered when the two guests die violently at the hands of a masked, gloved killer. But who really is this mystery assassin? And is Rosa losing her grip on reality?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “a brand new 2K restoration of the original camera negative.”

Hotel Fear comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.5 GB

Feature: 28.9 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. The colors are nicely saturated, the image looks crisp, and the black levels are strong.

Audio: 4.5/5 (LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono Spanish)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in Spanish. Both audio tracks are in great shape. They sound clean, clear, and balanced throughout. The differences between these two audio tracks are minimal. Included with this release are two subtitle tracks. The first English subtitle track is for the Italian language track, and the second English subtitle track is for the Spanish language track. 

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Mondo Macabro preview reel, a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian, no subtitles), alternate scenes titled Italian & Spanish Versions Compared (6 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Spanish with non-removable English subtitles and text about each scene), an interview with director Francesco Barilli titled Madness in the Time of War (30 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with Francesco Barilli at Cin-excess London from 2015 (28 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), interview with actor Luc Merenda titled I’m Not That Guy (29 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Rachael Nisbit and Peter Jilmstad of the Fragments of Fear podcast.

Summary:

Hotel Fear was directed by Francesco Barilli, a filmmaker whose filmography consists mostly of documentaries. His only feature film that he directed is The Perfume of the Lady in Black, a film which also falls into the Giallo genre. That said, though his two feature films are from the Giallo genre, the results are two of the more unique films from this genre. Where most Giallo films were indebted to filmmakers like Mario Bava and Dario Argento, Francesco Barilli’s two forays into the Giallo genre bear little resemblance to the filmmakers who laid the foundation from which most Italian filmmakers drew inspiration.

Though Hotel Fear has many elements that are associated with the Giallo genre, if you have never seen Hotel Fear before, its slow-building narrative that is overflowing with melodrama and eroticism will have you wondering when the Giallo tropes are going to start. For about seventy minutes, Hotel Fear does not resemble a Giallo. It is not until a traumatic moment happens with thirty-minutes left that Hotel Fear transforms into a Giallo. The finale provides a satisfying exclamation point to the events that preceded.

Hotel Fear features a solid cast who are all very good in their respective roles, especially Leonora Fani (Gore in Venice) in the role of Rosa, a young woman through whose eyes the majority of the narrative is seen. Other notable performances include Francisco Rabal (It's nothing mama, just a game) in the role of Rosa’s mother's lover who hides in a closet, and Luc Merenda (The Violent Professionals) in the role of a suave playboy named Rodolfo.

Hotel Fear has many similarities to Francesco Barilli’s other Giallo, The Perfume of the Lady. Most notably, how both films feature protagonists who have experienced a traumatic event that prominently plays a role in the story at hand, and how both films are infused with a Gothic horror vibe. Another strength of Hotel Fear is Adolfo Waitzman’s (The Other Side of the Mirror) fabulous score, which does a superb job of reinforcing the mood. Ultimately, Hotel Fear is a solid psychological thriller that fans of Giallo cinema are sure to enjoy.

Hotel Fear makes its way to Blu-ray via an exceptional release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an abundance of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

The Perfume of the Lady in Black – Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1974
Director: Francesco Barilli
Writers: Francesco Barilli, Massimo D’Avak
Cast: Mimsy Farmer, Maurizio Bonuglia, Mario Scaccia, Jho Jhenkins, Nike Arrighi, Lara Wendel, Aleka Paizi, Renata Zamengo

Release Date: May 10th, 2016
Approximate running time: 103 Minutes 29 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Sylvia, a chemist who begins to suffer from strange visions; a mysterious woman in black applying perfume in a mirror appears to her and strangers follow her everywhere she goes. Barilli's psychological investigation into the workings of the mind becomes apparent when it is revealed that as a child, Sylvia committed a horrible crime. The slow progression from successful scientist to a woman on the verge of insanity shows an in-depth look at the intricacies of the haunted mind." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 2.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Digitally restored and remastered.” 

The Perfume of the Lady in Black comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22 GB

Feature: 14.7 GB

Though the source is in great shape. This is yet another Raro Video transfer that suffers from compression and noise reduction.

Audio: 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 3.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian. These audio mixes fare better than the transfer; dialog comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced. That said, the Italian language track sounds slightly more robust than its English language counterpart. Included with this release are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 22 seconds, DTS-HD mono Italian with removable English subtitles), a short film directed by Francesco Barilli titled The Knight Errant (23 minutes 34 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with Francesco Barilli (15 minutes 30 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a slipcover, and a four-page booklet with an essay titled The Perfume of the Lady in Black within the context of 1960’s horror, a biography for Francesco Barilli, and a filmography for Francesco Barilli.

Summary:

When one thinks of Italian thrillers, the image of black-gloved killers lurking in the shadows often springs to mind. While not all Italian thrillers adhere to the aforementioned genre staples, very few have deviated significantly from this established formula since Mario Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

Content-wise, the two most obvious influences on Francesco Barilli’s The Perfume of the Lady in Black are Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now and Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. In fact, one could go so far as to say that Roman Polanski’s cinematic style had the most undeniable influence on Francesco Barilli while making The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Besides the aforementioned Rosemary’s Baby, there are also many similarities that can be found between The Perfume of the Lady in Black and Roman Polanski’s Repulsion.

Although the narrative structure can be challenging at times, the climatic payoff is oddly appropriate and makes everything that has unfolded become clear. Between the hypnotic visuals, pitch-perfect pacing, and Nicola Piovani’s (Flavia the Heretic) evocative score, the overall style reinforces the fractured state of mind of The Perfume of the Lady in Black’s protagonist. From a production standpoint, The Perfume of the Lady in Black excels in just about every imaginable way.

Also exceptional are the performances from its entire cast, especially Mimsy Farmer (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) in the role of Silvia Hacherman, the protagonist of this film. This is easily one of the strongest performances of her career. Another performance of note is Lara Wendel (My Dear Killer) in the role of the adolescent Silvia.

Italian cinema has never shied from cloning whatever cinema was in vogue at the time. While there are certainly many moments in which The Perfume of the Lady in Black flamboyantly flaunts its influences, the end result is a film that, more than any other Italian film of the era, transcends its initial inspiration.

Raro Video’s The Perfume of the Lady in Black Blu-ray is another disappointing release.

Written by Michael Den Boer