Four Flies on Grey Velvet will be released on Blu-ray December 5, 2011 (1 Viewer)

[Winston T. Boogie]

Marking the 40th anniversary of the film and remastered in HD, from the original negative. ---------------------------------- It’s all a-buzz at Shameless! After two years of behind the scene negotiations via their “Italian connection”, Shameless Screen Entrainment is proud to announce that they will soon release the missing Argento opus: Four Flies on Grey Velvet – or, fact fans, what more accurately should be called Four Flies of Grey Velvet – as per the literal translation of Quattro Mosche Di Velluto Grigio. It doesn’t stop there, Shameless have put their investigative caps on and – pending the availability of the original filmmaking team – they intend to discover for their fans what really happened to Dario Argento’s “lost” film… --------------------------------

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Thought there may be some people here interested in this and did not see any info about it here.

 

[TravisR]

It's a cliche but I really enjoy almost all of Argento's movies from the 1970's and not much of his later work but I'd be interested in picking this up.

 

[Charles Smith]

Great! I went to it when it first played and have always remembered it (though not in detail) and always wanted to see it again. Excellent news, thanks.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I am a fan of his films from The Bird with the Crystal Plumage through Tenebre. Not that big on Inferno and I thought Phenomena was ok. I have the blu-ray versions of Bird, Cat, and Deep Red and will add Four Flies to the collection. During that period he really earned his "Italian Hitchcock" moniker and I think his giallo work is where he really shines.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

No problem, Chas. The current DVD, or at least the one I have has a problem with the sound being slightly slowed down but I believe the Blu-ray will correct this issue.

 

[Kriztoffer Swank]

I hope this is the end all, be all home video version of this flick. I own it twice already (German and US DVDs—the former has a REAL cool VHS-esque bubble case) but there's definitely room for improvement—not just with the video but, as mentioned, the sound as well. The English audio on the US DVD is the incorrect pitch, and while the correct-speed Italian track is included, there are no English subtitles to accompany. Hoping for a fine HD transfer with appropriate film grain and color timing, and completely uncut also (I believe the US DVD is fully uncut) with corrected audio and all that good stuff. Argento's '70s and '80s output is too good to be mucked around with, and sadly we've already seen a few stinkers on the Blu-ray format (The Cat o' Nine Tails striking me as a rather sub-par release, and then there's the plethora of crummy Suspiria BDs).

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Just thought I'd post an update, this is now out on an all region Blu and my copy of it should be arriving soon. Will post some thoughts once I have watched it.

 

[Richard--W]

Let us know how the transfer is when you see it. Argento's early films really frightened me when I was a kid and I've always been impressed with his craftsmanship, but Four Flies On Grey Velvet is the one film I've never been able to connect with. I didn't see it in a theater, but I've watched it on two different DVDs. Maybe the Blu-ray will open up the story for me.

.... Argento's '70s and '80s output is too good to be mucked around with, and sadly we've already seen a few stinkers on the Blu-ray format (The Cat o' Nine Tails striking me as a rather sub-par release, and then there's the plethora of crummy Suspiria BDs).

What's wrong with Blue Underground's edition of The Cat O'Nine Tails ?

 

[Chuck Pennington]

The Blu has some major issues - color timing is incorrect for one scene transition from day to night, about a minute of soft 16mm-sourced standard definition inserts, and some VERY loud audio distortion near the end. But even so, the transfer is by and large wonderful. The subtitle for the title appears as a literal translation - FOUR FLIES OF GREY VELVET - instead of the correct English title. Here are excerpts of the audio distortion, along with a corrected version I made using the Italian audio track also on the disc:

 

[Chuck Pennington]

Hoping for a fine HD transfer with appropriate film grain and color timing, and completely uncut also (I believe the US DVD is fully uncut)

The US DVD was famously NOT uncut. It was missing around 50 seconds of footage due to damage.

 

[bgart13]

It's the best it's ever looked on home video. Still a bit problematic, imperfect, but I suppose it's your best option. The sound at the end gets really bad, screechy and cranked up too loud. The fix for the slow-mo shots really may not have been a good idea after all. The inserts are lesser than the rest, but you don't have to watch it with those bits. There are many moments where it looks really impressive too (mainly daytime scenes).

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Well, I had some issues getting my hands on the disc, my first order was lost in the mail and never showed up but Amazon UK came through and shipped out another copy. Of course it arrived at a time when I was tremendously busy and could not watch it but now that I have I am happy to give this a big recommendation. I will not dispute the items Chuck brings up but what I have to say is that in comparison to the MYA dvd this flat out blows it out of the water. I have never seen a presentation of Four Flies that tops this blu-ray and for the most part and I think Chuck will agree with me, this is as good as this has ever looked in a home presentation. I pretty much felt as if I was seeing the film for the first time watching it on blu. Combine this presentation with the best package of special features I have ever encountered in connection with this film and as far as I'm concerned Shameless has done anybody with an interest in this film a huge service. My feeling is if you have any interest in Argento and this film you can purchase this one with confidence. I doubt another company will put the effort in to try to top what Shameless has given us. I would put this in the same catagory as the Obsession blu-ray from Arrow, if you enjoy this film what are you waiting for?