Announced by Arrow Video today, Dario Argento‘s 1971 Giallo thriller The Cat o’ Nine Tails is coming to 4K Ultra HD, known as the second film in Argento’s “Animal Trilogy.”
The Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray set is available in the US, UK and Canada (all 4K discs, we must remind, are inherently Region Free), with the US release set for July 27, 2021.
There will also be a special “Arte Originale Limited Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray set” that features alternate Italian cover and box art, but is otherwise the very same release.
Limited Edition contents include:
- New 4K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
- English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- Audio commentary by critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
- Nine Lives, an interview with co-writer/director Dario Argento
- The Writer O’ Many Tales, an interview with co-writer Dardano Sacchetti
- Child Star, an interview with actress Cinzia De Carolis
- Giallo in Turin, an interview with production manager Angelo Iacono
- Script pages for the lost original ending, translated into English for the first time
- Original Italian, international and US theatrical trailers
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring an original essay on the film by Dario Argento, and writing by Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth and Howard Hughes
- Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative
- Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
- Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring originally and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative
Following the success of his debut feature, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, distributor Titanus tasked writer/director Dario Argento with delivering a follow-up in short order. The resulting film, granted a greatly enhanced budget and heralded in its US marketing campaign as “nine times more suspenseful” than its predecessor, was The Cat O’ Nine Tails.
When a break-in occurs at a secretive genetics institute, blind puzzle-maker Franco Arnò (Karl Malden, Patton, One-Eyed Jacks), who overheard an attempt to blackmail one of the institute’s scientists shortly before the robbery, teams up with intrepid reporter Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus, Beneath the Planet of the Apes) to crack the case. But before long the bodies begin to pile up and the two amateur sleuths find their own lives imperiled in their search for the truth. And worse still, Lori (Cinzia De Carolis, Cannibal Apocalypse), Franco’s young niece, may also be in killer’s sights…
This second entry in the so-called “Animal Trilogy” found Argento further refining his distinctive style and cementing his reputation as the master of the giallo thriller. Co-starring Catherine Spaak (Il Sorpasso) and Rada Rassimov (Baron Blood), and featuring another nerve-jangling score by the great Ennio Morricone (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly), The Cat O’ Nine Tails remains one of Argento’s most suspenseful and underrated films.
You can pre-order either version of the set in the US through Diabolik DVD.
