Another World Entertainment Deep Red DVD - the second disc and the summing up

The second disc of Another World Entertainment's Deep Red set contains the alternate international, English-language cut of the film, presented in 2.0 and 5.1 mixes, and an array of supplemental materials.

Again presented with optional Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Danish subtitles, the differences between the cuts of the film are immediately evident, with the credits sequence having a different structure and the narrative then beginning with the parapsychology conference.

With the interplay between Marcus and Gianna being cut down in particular – there is no after-funeral discussion of Gianna's not having a boyfriend at the moment and Marc's parapraxic remark that he does not have either – the film has a faster pace to it, albeit at the expense of a bit less humour, social comment on feminism and, most important, adumbrations of images to come.


The disc

The extras encompass the 2001 British documentary Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror; well-writen biographies and filmographies for Argento, Nicolodi and Hemmings; a trivia section, and an extensive gallery of stills, posters and pressbooks including some material from Ecuador of all places (apologies in advance to any Ecuadorian readers).

In sum, a highly impressive presentation of the film, compromised only slightly for the English speaking viewer by the absence of an Italian language / English subtitle option – an omission likely explicable in terms of the vagaries of international film rights and one that the enterprising fan community might well be able to get round with a bit of subtitle extraction and re-timing from another disc, not that I would condone such borderline illegal activity, except for personal use...