Argento Classics, Volume Two – The Second Slice! (Bird With
The Crystal Plumage/Phantom Of The
Opera 1998/Suspiria; Umbrella
Entertainment Import DVD Set)
PLEASE NOTE: The Argento Classics DVDs can only be operated on machines capable of
playing back DVDs that can handle Region 4 and the PAL format software, and can
be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address
provided at the end of the review.
Picture:
C+/B-/B- Sound: C+/B-/B- Extras: B-/C/C Films: B-/C-/B-
Dario
Argento’s films continue to be favorites on DVD and not only see several
versions issued in a single market, but get produced for all DVD regions
worldwide. The three films in the second
volume of three more of his favorites are among the first Horror titles this
site ever covered. You can read about
each film as follows:
Bird With The Crystal Plumage (VCI DVD)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/810/Bird+With+The+Crystal+Plumage
Phantom Of The Opera 1998 (Anchor Bay U.S. DVD)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/500/Phantom+Of+The+Opera+(Argento)
Suspiria – Limited Edition (Anchor Bay U.S. DVD)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/458/Suspiria+(Limited+Edition)
So how
much better are these PAL import versions than their U.S. counterparts? They are the same as the Anchor Bay editions,
but the Umbrella transfer of Plumage
is a nice improvement over the VCI edition, which itself was succeeded by a
better U.S. edition anyhow. This is a
newer print and newer transfer, really bringing out what Argento intended. Recently, a new print was struck for Suspiria, but that is not the print
used in the DVD here. Plumage also has better Dolby Digital
2.0 Mono in this case. The other films
have Dolby Digital 5.1 mixed the equivalent of the Anchor Bay releases, but Suspiria here is missing the superior
DTS-ES track the Anchor Bay edition has, so that is the one big sonic
disappointment.
Extras in
Bird include international &
Italian trailers for this film, TV spots for this film, three trailers for other
Argento films, a trailer for George Romero’s The Crazies and featurette An Eye For Horror, repeated on Opera, which has its own behind the
scenes footage, U.S. & French trailers, video trailer and an on camera
interview with Julian Sands. Suspiria only offers a trailer for
itself and seven other Argento films.
All three
discs come in a single-sized DVD case and it is still a good set. If you can play Region 4 and are a fan, it is
not a bad buy.
As noted
above, you can order this import Argento
set exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
- Nicholas Sheffo
