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The Bloodstained Butterfly
2-Disc Special Edition, Special Edition
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Additional Blu-ray options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
Blu-ray
August 23, 2016 "Please retry" | 2-Disc Special Edition | 1 | $37.99 | $33.99 | — |
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Arrow Films is a British independent film restorer specializing in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. It sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs.
Product Description
Directed by Duccio Tessari (Death Occurred Last Night, A Pistol for Ringo), The Bloodstained Butterfly melds the lurid giallo traditions popularized by Dario Argento and Mario Bava with courtroom drama, resulting in a film that is as concerned with forensic detail and legal process as it is with grisly murders and audacious set-pieces.
When a young female student is savagely killed in a park during a thunderstorm, the culprit seems obvious: her lover, TV sports personality Alessandro Marchi (Giancarlo Sbragia, Death Rage), seen fleeing the scene of the crime by numerous eyewitnesses. The evidence against him is damning... but is it all too convenient? And when the killer strikes again while Marchi is in custody, it quickly becomes apparent that there’s more to the case than meets the eye...
Starring 70s heartthrob Helmut Berger (Dorian Gray, The Godfather: Part III) alongside genre mainstays Evelyn Stewart (The Psychic, The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail) and Carole André (Colt 38 Special Squad), and featuring a score by Gianni Ferrio (Death Walks at Midnight), The Bloodstained Butterfly is presented uncut and in a sumptuous new 4K restoration that allows this unique and haunting thriller to shine like never before!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray (Region A) and Standard Definition (480p) DVD (Region 1) presentations
- Original Italian and English soundtracks in DTS-HD MA mono 1.0
- Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- New audio commentary with critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
- Murder in B-Flat Minor, a new visual essay on the film, its cast and crew by author Troy Howarth
- New career retrospective on director Duccio Tessari
- Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
- Gallery of original promotional images
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
- Limited edition 36-page booklet illustrated by Tonci Zonjic, containing writing by James Blackford, Howard Hughes and Leonard Jacobs
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 8.32 ounces
- Item model number : 35632291
- Director : Duccio Tessari
- Media Format : NTSC, Widescreen, Anamorphic
- Run time : 1 hour and 39 minutes
- Release date : August 23, 2016
- Actors : Helmut Berger, Giancarlo Sbragia, Evelyn Stewart
- Studio : Arrow Video
- ASIN : B01FEE1XCA
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #121,859 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #2,384 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV)
- #4,566 in Horror (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this movie to be a good mystery/crime thriller. The art direction receives positive feedback, with one customer noting how the print looks great. The language aspect receives mixed reviews, with one customer appreciating how the wordless montage fits the giallo tradition.
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Customers find the movie to be good, with one describing it as gorgeous.
"...not the best Giallo out there, but nevertheless a captivating and gorgeous film with a final twist that is unexpected but makes sense...." Read more
"...This is a good movie. The audio and visuals are excellent. The movie is artistic, intelligent, well-written, acted, directed, and edited...." Read more
"Good movie." Read more
"I couldn't get past the subtitles. I'm sure the movie was lovely." Read more
Customers appreciate the art direction of the movie, with one mentioning that the print looks great.
"...I love the cinematography and art direction and was particularly intrigued with how the final part of the film was edited and pulled together...." Read more
"...Print looks great!" Read more
"A good, smart, artistic, mystery/crime thriller. Recommended...." Read more
Customers find the movie suspenseful, describing it as a good mystery/crime thriller.
"Maybe not the best Giallo out there, but nevertheless a captivating and gorgeous film with a final twist that is unexpected but makes sense...." Read more
"...Puzzle is his most entertaining giallo, but its gonzo moments (including a wouldbe victim defending herself with a chainsaw) aren’t quite enough to..." Read more
"...I have no idea if this is a good giallo movie, but it's a good mystery/crime thriller, and it is well worth watching, in my opinion...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the language of the movie, with one customer appreciating the wordless montage that fits the giallo tradition, while another notes that there is no way to get captioning in English.
"...The wordless montage fits the giallo tradition like a black leather glove, while the titles evoke an older stage tradition and ties the film to the..." Read more
"No way to get captioning in English. Disappointed. I don't understand Italian." Read more
"...The movie is artistic, intelligent, well-written, acted, directed, and edited...." Read more
"not in english and it does not tell you in the description" Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016Maybe not the best Giallo out there, but nevertheless a captivating and gorgeous film with a final twist that is unexpected but makes sense. I love the cinematography and art direction and was particularly intrigued with how the final part of the film was edited and pulled together. It felt like a very edgy Western. Only later did i learn that the director is a spaghetti western veteran. It then made a lot of sense to me.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2021Like most genre-centric filmmakers, giallo directors can be broken down into tiers. At the top, you have the innovators – your Mario Bavas, Dario Argentos, and Lucio Fulcis. Next, you have the stalwarts – directors with a wide breadth of work in the genre, like Umberto Lenzi, Sergio Martino, and Antonio Margheriti. Then, you have your ‘one hit wonders’ – filmmakers that didn’t exactly thrive in the confines of the category, but still managed to make at least one brilliant contribution to the giallo pantheon, like Massimo Dallamano, Giulio Questi, and Pupi Avati. At the bottom, you have your shlock artists and Johnny-come-latelys – guys that jumped on the bandwagon, cashed their checks, and moved on to the next big thing.
Duccio Tessari lies somewhere between tiers two and three. He made three solid genre entries – A Death Occurred Last Night (Italian: La morte risale a ieri sera, 1970), The Bloodstained Butterfly (Italian: Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate, 1971), and Puzzle (Italian: L’uomo senza memoria; aka: Man Without a Memory, 1974), but was better known for his work in other genres – spaghetti westerns, poliziottescho, comedies, war films, and even a Hollywood-styled blaxploitation flick (Three Tough Guys, 1974). A Death Occurred Last Night is his most obscure giallo (and one of the best) and isn’t particularly concerned with the new genre customs as set by Argento’s Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Italian: L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo, 1970). It tends to be remembered for its particularly downbeat atmosphere. Puzzle is his most entertaining giallo, but its gonzo moments (including a wouldbe victim defending herself with a chainsaw) aren’t quite enough to overcome the bland characters and plot. Bloodstained Butterfly (not to be confused with Antonio Bido’s The Bloodstained Shadow; Italian: Solamente nero, 1978) is arguably his best work in the field or, at the very least, the most well-balanced expression of his strengths and more typical genre expectations.
The eclectic nature of Ressari’s “giallo trilogy” is a testament to the director’s ability to assimilate trends without completely disappearing into generic, bland mimicry. In fact, he didn’t seem to specialize in any one thing, aside from perhaps his proficiency in comedic variations of popular genre output – specifically comedy westerns (Sundance and the Kid, 1969, and Long Live Your Death, 1971) and adventure-comedies (The Heroes, 1973, and Safari Express, 1976). Bloodstained Butterfly follows most of the basic giallo tropes – a shocking murder, a trench-coated killer, unreliable witnesses, red herrings, threateningly whispered phone calls from the killer to the police, suspiciously convoluted circumstances and motives, and long-winded (sort of boring) discussions about the social structures of a then-modern Italy. However, it also distinguishes itself from more interchangeable ‘70s gialli by acknowledging the classic detective story traditions that inspired the Italian-made genre in the first place.
Ressari sets the stage with a series of seemingly unrelated events, all occurring without dialogue and set to titles that designate the different players in the conspiracy by name and relation. The wordless montage fits the giallo tradition like a black leather glove, while the titles evoke an older stage tradition and ties the film to the Agatha Christie stories, drawing room plays, and silent era thrillers that helped define the gialli. The casually melancholic tone and impressionistic editing processes (memories and imagined events are regularly interspliced with current events without warning, leaving to audience to discern the meaning) disguise the utilitarian nature of Ressari and Gianfranco Clerici’s screenplay, which focuses on giving the audience as much information as possible in as many ways as possible (newsreel footage, forensic collection, police interrogation, hypothetical flashbacks). This can make the story – especially the first act – feel a bit overloaded, dry, and thin in the character development department. But the mystery at the heart of the narrative is worth the wait, especially given the more grounded tone of the film. Instead of concentrating on the dangerous adventures of amateur sleuths (as became the norm following The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), Bloodstained Butterfly is a police and courtroom procedural, sort of like the chic-’70s Italian equivalent to Law & Order. In addition, the comparatively underdeveloped characters eventually resemble more realistic people than the average giallo lead. This mix & match of conventions might not be as flashy or exciting as some of the genre’s more salacious entries (including Puzzle), but Bloodstained Butterfly manages to feel more contemporary than most of its early ‘70s counterparts.
Video:
This Blu-ray debut (which was released almost simultaneously in the US and UK) is sourced from a 4K scan of the original 2-perf Techniscope camera negative that was made in Bologna, Italy (pin-registered Arriscan, for the tech-heads in the audience). Arrow then did their own digital restoration and grading. This 1080p, 2.35:1 transfer doesn’t quite rank among the studio’s best efforts, because the original material is a bit murkier than what was supplied for their very best releases. But there’s also no reason to complain, because Tessari and cinematographer Carlo Carlini clearly intended this film to appear dark. Sharpness is sometimes limited by said darkness or by shallow focus, yet remain tight and neatly separated wherever important details are concerned. The expansive shots of city locations are especially impressive. Grain texture appears accurate and only slightly clumped during those particularly dark shots, where it can create minor discolouration effects. The largely neutral palette is consistent, greens are lush, and the red highlights pop without bleeding. Black levels are mostly strong, excepting a handful of darker shots, where they appear slightly grey. Print damage artefacts are limited to a few scratches and occasional pulsing. Perhaps best of all, there is no sign of the telecine noise effects that plague so many Italian genre releases on Blu-ray.
Audio:
Bloodstained Butterfly includes both its original Italian and English language dubs. These were also culled from 35mm sources and are presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono (I’m not sure why Arrow chooses DTS-HD for some releases and LPCM for others, but, if I ever find out, I’ll let you know). As per usual, the film was shot without sound, like most Italian genre titles from the era. Both tracks are dub tracks and neither represent 100% of the on-set performance, since the international cast is speaking multiple languages and rarely dubbing themselves. So, language options come down to preference, rather than accuracy (note that Arrow has also offered the option to watch the film in either language with either English or Italian on-screen titles). Sound effects match almost perfectly on either track with the exception of some environmentally affected vocals. Specifically, the English dub has a consistent tone and volume, while the Italian dub, though a bit muffled, alters tone depending on location (including relatively natural echo effects). The original music is provided by Gianni Ferrio (who actually wrote music for all three of Tessari’s gialli). The composer weaves his jazzy melodies into the Tchaikovsky motifs that act as plot points. The score is crisp and nicely layered, despite the crowding within a single channel mix.
Extras:
Introduction from actor Helmut Berger (1:22, HD)
Commentary with critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman – This marks (I believe) the sixth pairing of these two genre experts, including fantastic tracks for Arrow’s What Have You Done to Solange?, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times, and Tenebrae Blu-rays. This is a typical giallo track for the team with Jones, the Italian horror expert, taking the lead and Newman, the more generalized horror expert, offering contextual support. The entire commentary is great and the participants rarely run out of steam, but the most interesting note comes early when Jones notes that this Blu-ray features the most complete cut of the film he has ever seen – specifically he says that the introductory sequence is missing from most releases.
Murder in B-Flat Minor (26:56. HD) – Troy Hayworth, the author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films and Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films, offers up a pleasant retrospective of the The Bloodstained Butterfly, beginning with a quick primer on the many gialli releases of 1971. This is followed by a rundown of Tessari’s career, including his other two gialli, a look at Bloodstained Butterfly’s genre subversions, and the larger careers of some of the cast and crew members.
A Butterfly Named Evelyn (54:40, HD) – Actress Ida Galli (aka: Evelyn Stewart) reflects on her career during this extensive interview. She begins speaking about her childhood and education, before graduating to more pertinent discussion about her work as an actress. This is more or less the closest we’re going to get to a full-on documentary about Galli, complete with stills, movie posters, and trailer/film clips.
Me and Duccio (8:21) – Actress Lorella de Luca talks about her career and the career of her late husband, director Duccio Tessari.
Mad Dog Helmut (17:31) – The final interview is with actor Helmut Berger, who does not seem to be a fan of Bloodstained Butterfly. Still, his politely veiled disdain is pretty amusing and he manages to unload quite a bit of behind-the-scenes info between grumpy memories of on-set mistreatment. He has fonder memories of working with smut artist Tinto Brass.
Promotional gallery
Italian and English trailers
- Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2017I have a confession to make. I'm not a fan of this period of movie making and movies with loud music are another thing I don't like. Plus, I watched it long ago and left the movie theater, it had a different name (Una Farfalla Con Le Ali Insanguinate) which is why I started watching it this time. I, also, don't care about melodramas. So don't go by my opinion, it is still around after 45 years, so some people will enjoy it as a period piece.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2020I felt compelled to write a quick review after seeing reviews on the product page claiming that 'BSB is not giallo,' or that BSB is 'tedious/boring' and 'not really a horror film' because of its narrative 'emphasis on forensics and litigation.' Apologies in advance for so casually(and openly), refuting/rebutting these objectively false claims, but I felt that such ill-informed critiquing of what is an excellent giallo murder mystery could inevitably lead to would-be first time viewers and giallo addicts shunning/ignoring one of the giallo horror's most important productions ever made.
Firstly, we need to fully understand what giallo horror is. "Giallo" is just the Italian word for "yellow," a nickname for a subgenre of horror that derives its origins from sleazy mass-produced Italian detective novellas, made iconic by their yellow dust-covers and paperback jackets--similar to the American "pulp" era of exploitative literature from the mid-century when noir and hard-boiled detectivism began to fuse with an oversexualized expression of violence and other nihilistic plot devices. Giallo stories all have similar tropes that make them more easily identifiable than other horror/mystery subgenres: the killer is always a repeat/serial offender, always preys on extremely attractive nubile women, always wears a trenchcoat of some kind (and usually accompanied by a fedora), always wears sleek black leather gloves (an attempt to fetishize and sexualize the violence) and always weilds a single-handed blade--usually a razor of some kind, or a hunting knife like a Buck knife.
I'm giallo films, the audience usually bears point-of-view witness to the killer's slayings as opposed to the more common after-the-fact approach of other genres. However, a point-of-view perspective of the serial murders isn't always used in giallo films. Sometimes it's done in retrospect or flashback, and sometimes it's done in third person. What IS for certain in giallo films is that the audience is always witness to the bloodletting.
The third consistent trope in giallo is the overzealous detective or investigatory agent desperate to catch the killer by any means necessary, often giving giallo films a kind of noir or hard-boiled genre bent. The detectives in giallo films are either almost always rookie investigators, or seasoned investigators weathered by hardship who try to use the big serial murder case to advance and/or reinvigorate a stale career.
To top it all off, giallo films always have some sort of confrontation at the plot's Apex between the gritty detective and our resident serpentine slasher. Good usually triumphs over evil at the end of a giallo -- not always, but more often than not. This kind of positive conflict resolution also tends to transform a noir-based giallo into a hard-boiled giallo, so nihilism often prevalent early on in the story's machinations doesn't tend to have a lasting sting. Nihilism doesn't have the kind of emotional impact with Italian cinema like it does with German/Japanese/Korean Cinema.
Bloodstained Butterfly has every single one of those tropes -- some pronounced, others done with subtlety. Watch closely and pay attention and you will see why BSB is considered a giallo homage flick.
5/5, excellent picture restoration and considerable subtitle upgrade. A concise murder.myaterybwith an excellent eye for forensic process, fans of the movie-within-a-movie format where the means are more important the end (like in Coppola's 'The Conversation's with Gene Hackman or De Palma's 'Blow Out' with Travolta) will have their fill with Bloodstained Butterfly. A must watch for giallo and murder mystery fans.
Top reviews from other countries
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Amazon カスタマーReviewed in Japan on August 17, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars キャロル・アンドレが眩しいほど美しい極上のジャッロ映画。ぜひblu-rayソフト化を切に望みます。
1971年製作。ジュリアーノ・ジェンマとよく組むドゥチオ・テッサリ監督作品。ヘルムート・バーガー(ルートヴィヒ)、キャロル・アンドレ(白い牙)、ロレッラ・デ・ルーカ(続荒野の1ドル銀貨/テッサリ監督の奥様)、エブリン・スチュワート(荒野の1ドル銀貨、続さすらいの一匹狼、ザ・サイキック)出演の日本未公開作品。タイトルは「血の付いた羽を持つ蝶」(米題「血まみれの蝶」)。海外ではblu-ray化されているのに、日本ではDVDはおろか、VHSもテレビ放映もない幻の作品。なので、海外のblu-rayを購入しました。蝶の形を型どったタイトルバックとチャイコフスキーの音楽がリンクして印象深く、キャロル・アンドレの純情無垢で神々しい美しさが際立つ極上のジャッロ映画。筋はネタバレになりますので、言えませんが、真相が判明するラストの衝撃はものすごく、日本では到底受け入れられないインパクト大の真相でした。恐らくは、この辺が日本未公開の理由なのかなと感じました。非常にドラマチックで情熱的でしっかりとした展開で描かれる超一級のジャッロ映画です。ぜひ日本でもblu-ray化を切に望みます。業界の方、どうぞよろしくお願い致します。
- stephen fosterReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2018
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
great
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はるとReviewed in Japan on January 24, 2022
4.0 out of 5 stars DVDもRegionフリーの様です
ARROWのblu-ray.dvd ともに 手持ちのディーガで再生できました。
ミラノ・ベルガモを舞台にしたジャッロで、名所ロケも含めてよく撮れてると思います。音楽もチャイコフスキーから、テーマ曲へと変わっていき悪くない。少々「Homo eroticus」的です。
伊.英音声どちらも英字幕が選べて、スジもわかりやすい。シルヴァーノ・トランキッリが珍しく警部役、いつも容疑者のワキなのに。コーヒーの下りがコメディっぽいですね、最後までやってます。
キャロル・アンドレ、ウェンディ・ドリーブ、若い2人も見せ場あって、特にウェンディは味のある顔してて良いです。上白石萌音さんっぽいかな。あんまり本数は多くないけど、この頃のヘルムート・バーガーの相手役ですから、それなりです。
問題のヘルムートも、人気絶頂の頃なのに、日本に入ってきてない様な作品によ一出るな、とも思いますが、少々、アラン・ドロンっぽく、効果は出てます。2016年の姿もエキストラで入ってます。
デ・ルーカのわざとらしさが目につきますが、結局、この人の証言が何だったのかってとこでしょうね。日本に入ってこなかった原因もそこでしょう。でもラストはよく撮れてます。
- BAN LOUD ROCK METAL PUNK RAP NOISESReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT CLASSIC 1971 ITALIAN CULT GIALLO
The Bloodstained Butterfly Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD
EXCELLENT 1971 thrilling classic GIALLO from director Duccio Tessari stars Helmut Berger
and Evelyn Stewart ( Ida Galli ). A girl is murdered in a park and further killings occur soon.
- robReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2018
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting giallo. It has a different take on ...
An interesting giallo. It has a different take on the genre, but the fact that there is no main character is both it's strength and weakness.