By the time 1982 rolled around, Italian Filmmaker Dario Argento had already left a pretty significant impact on the Horror genre with movies that included 1975’s Deep Red, and of course, 1977’s Suspiria. Films artfully executed with more emphasis on the atmosphere and mood rather than various other aspects, Argento contributes to Horror are almost universally appreciated. Riding a wave of acclaim from the aforementioned features, 1982’s Tenebrae came with a hopeful outlook for Argento; this is mostly due to the fact that it was released more widely theatrically than 1980’s Inferno, which was hampered by major distribution issues in North America. Rather unfortunate for Inferno, which was also a visually stunning motion picture, Tenebrae still performed modestly in theaters across Europe, but failed to attain the commercial success of Argento’s prior work.
Not at all a knock on Tenebrae, the film had been released to home media formats in many different versions in numerous territories in the decades to follow. That in mind, by the time DVDs arrived on the market, by and large all releases of the film were uncut. However, with the plethora of home video options out there for home viewing consumption, perhaps the most compelling release to date has to be Tenebrae in a 4K format. First released to 4K in July of 2022 by Synapse Films in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary, this edition was a strictly limited, three-disc (2 UHD/1 BD) 6000-piece boxed set. A treasure for dedicated fans, for those who missed it, or who do not want to shell out upwards of $80.00 for this set, on September 26, 2023 Synapse Films will release a 2-disc standard 4K Ultra HD set of Tenebrae.
Accessible, at a retail cost of currently around $49.95, this edition really has a slew to offer. For one, it includes a 4K restoration of Tenebrae making it more colorful, crisp, and visually beautiful than ever before. Second, it is complete with the uncut original release of the film both in Italian and English. Beyond these attributes, the hours of extra features trump most any other releases of Tenebrae offered to date. This also includes a lovely slip cover and reversible cover art; with beautiful new art on one side, plus the original poster art on the other side. And if you are curious, disc two is pretty much identical to disc one, only it is not in 4K. So, all in all, this is a must have edition of Tenebrae for those who did not have the opportunity to get their hands on the limited edition release from 2022.
All these factors in mind, it is not outlandish to assume that you have already seen Tenebrae if you are looking to invest in this set. In the off chance you have not seen it, and are just curious to learn more about Dario Argento and his films, this is still a perfect way to consume Tenebrae and broaden your horizons, glimpsing into the curious world of the giallo genre. For all these reasons, Cryptic Rock gives Synapse Films’ Tenebrae 4K Ultra HD set 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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