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| buy the trauma dvd from www.bensonsworld.co.uk |
| TRAUMA OVERSEAS FILMGROUP : ADC PRODUCTION ; ITALY dvd specification |
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| [video][sound][extras][conclusion] |
| An anorexic young woman (Asia) escapes from a psychiatric clinic and meets a young man who wants to help. She is caught and returned to her parents, who are soon beheaded by a garrotting stranger making the rounds about town, apparently striking only when it rains. The orphaned young woman and her new lover launch their own investigation and are endangered when a link is discovered with the victims and a particular operation performed years before. This is Dario's 'American' film and it is a strangely muted affair, the familiar style and panache are lacking and instead we have a pretty ordinary thriller. It seems that instead of sticking to his guns, he was actually influenced by outside sources as to what would be acceptable for an American audience. It is however probably the only film that contains a butterfly POV shot! |
| video |
| Tartan have used a nice quality 2.35:1 print for this dvd but for some strange reason have not anamorphically enhanced it. This is a missed opportunity especially considering that their PHANTOM OF THE OPERA disc is 16:9 enhanced. That said, it has a good colour balance and black levels are acceptably dark. There is very little descernable grain and no obvious digitally induced pixelation. It is good to note that the BBFC waived any previous cuts that they had made on the Tartan VHS release. However, blink and you will miss the differences. |
| sound |
| The Dolby 2.0 Surround track is not bad with very few clicks or pops. It is fairly dynamic but the music volume levels seem to be quite low. I don't know whether this is due to the films sound mix or the dvd. I don't like Pino Donnagio's score anyway so I didn't find it a problem. The use of surround effects is minimal but the film does not really require them. Of course, we have come to expect 5.1 re-mixes and so the lack of one is a minus point. However, the UK dvd industry has a way to go before it approaches the care and attention that is lavished on US genre releases by the likes of Anchor Bay. |
| extras |
| We get a theatrical trailer and a trailer for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA which Tartan released at the same time. There is a text interview with Asia by Billy Chainsaw. The thing with this is that it automatically scrolls so if you are a slow reader (holds hand up) it is a bit too fast at changing the page. There is also a text article by Richard Stanley recalling his introduction to Argento's films and the influence they have had on him. Whilst glad that these text based extras are there at all, it would have been far better if these were done as video featurettes. Finally we get a sparse stills gallery (6 picture), a list of the cuts previously made by the BBFC and the obligatory Tartan Terror Reel. |
| conclusion |
| This is not the release it could have been; no anamorphic transfer and lack of 5.1 soundtrack see to that not to mention the fact that it was originally to have contained a commentary track with Dario and Alan Jones. However, what there is makes a solid enough package and it's low price makes it well worthwhile adding this disc to your Argento collection. |
| reviewed by NJD |
| cover artwork |
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| buy the trauma dvd from www.sendit.com |
| buy the trauma dvd from www.bensonsworld.co.uk |
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