Four Flies On Grey Velvet, 1971.
Directed by Dario Argento.
Starring Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Bud Spencer, and Calisto Calisti.
SYNOPSIS:
A man who thinks he accidentally murdered someone he thought was stalking him attempts to unravel a mystery when he discovers there was more behind it.
It has been a long time coming but Shameless Screen Entertainment have finally dived into the world of 4K UHD, and what better filmmaker to showcase on your debut HDR disc than Italian maestro Dario Argento? Alright, it isn’t Suspiria – arguably his visual masterpiece – but 1971s Four Flies On Grey Velvet is still a respectable place to start, if only to show off Argento’s masterful use of darkness and shadow.
And this point is made before the movie even starts, as we are told before the credits that the director intended this movie to viewed in as dark a room as possible. Then we are introduced to Roberto Tobias (Michael Brandon), the drummer in a prog rock band, who has a problem with a rogue mosquito on his high-hat cymbals, which could be some sort of metaphor – or maybe not.
Roberto has noticed a man following him all week, and follows him to an abandoned theatre where the man denies stalking him and pulls a knife. During the scuffle, the man is stabbed and Roberto notices that he is being photographed whilst holding the murder weapon, and after he confesses what has happened to his girlfriend Nina (Mimsy Farmer) more people around him start dying. Is Roberto really guilty of murder, and if not, then who is setting him up?
The third of Dario Argento’s so-called ‘animal trilogy’, following on from his The Bird with the Crystal Plumage debut and its follow-up The Cat O’ Nine Tails, Four Flies On Grey Velvet could lay claim to be the best one after the occasionally stuffy execution of his previous movie failed to improve on its predecessor. With the traditional giallo formula more-or-less nailed, Argento needed to push the boundaries, and whilst this movie doesn’t quite hit the stylish highs of Deep Red or Tenebrae later on, it does side-step the black-gloved killer of old in favour of a more cerebral mystery, forcing us to not only figure out who is behind the events unfolding on-screen but why, and what it has to do with the seemingly innocent Roberto, who always seems to be two steps behind everyone else, including the audience.
The pre-titles message about how to view the movie is an important one, as the 4K UHD image shows up every piece of set decoration in crisp detail, even the parts in near-darkness. Large portions of the film are shot in the dark and the blacks are as rich as any of the brighter colours in the daylight scenes, proving that Argento’s eye for visual detail was as sharp as his knack for creating violent set pieces, of which there are a few to savour here. Although not as graphic as his movies would go on to be, Four Flies On Grey Velvet does feature some nasty moments that Argento frames beautifully, finding that perfect sweet spot where thriller meets horror.
It stands to reason that physical media-collecting Argento fans will already own Shameless’ previous Blu-ray release, so as well as a near-perfect UHD transfer – there are one or two small pops throughout, but nothing to get uppity over – what else do double-dippers get for their money? Well, they get two new interviews, one with Dario Argento and one with Michael Brandon, and both are well worth hearing, especially Brandon’s, who has more than a few amusing tales to tell. An archive interview with co-writer Luigi Cozzi is also ported over from the previous release, as well as new introductions from Cozzi, Brandon and Argento, and just when you thought you couldn’t learn any more information about a 54-year-old movie, a booklet featuring writing from Argento biographer and Italian cinema expert Alan Jones is included to educate you further, so it is worth the double-dip if you are so inclined.
As well as watching it in the dark, a decent speaker setup or headphones also pays dividends as the DTS-HD audio adds a tremendous amount of atmosphere to the experience, which makes this edition of Four Flies On Grey Velvet the definitive one to watch. In the canon of Dario Argento’s work, Four Flies On Grey Velvet is a vital stepping stone between the rough-around-the-edges brutality of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage to where he would go with the slicker Deep Red, but it is also probably not the first movie you would go to in an Argento marathon as it is a little dry in places and does require your absolute attention to get the most out of it. However, thanks to this stunning release the movie looks and sounds the best it ever has and is ever likely to, bringing all of Argento’s stylish flurries and quirks to the forefront, finally allowing it to be seen how the director originally intended.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
