A talented and versatile journeyman, director Sergio Martino (The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) has lent his talents to multiple genres across his long and varied career, but it is undoubtedly his giallo thrillers from the early 70s for which he is best known. Among the most highly acclaimed of these, 1973’s Torso revels in the genre’s time-honored traditions while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the modern slasher movie.Â
A sex maniac is prowling the streets of Perugia, targeting picturesque university town’s female students. Alarmed at plummeting life expectancy of the student body, Jane (Suzy Kendall, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and her three friends elope to a secluded country villa – only to discover that, far from having left the terror behind, they’ve brought it with them!Â
Also known as Carnal Violence, Torso was released in Italy towards the end of the giallo boom before enjoying a second life on the American grindhouse circuit. Co-starring Tina Aumont (Salon Kitty) and Luc Merenda (The Violent Professionals), the film finds its director at the top of his game, delivering copious levels of violence, sleaze and one of the tensest cat-and-mouse games ever committed to celluloid!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:Â
• Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow FilmsÂ
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of both versions of the film: the 94-minute Italian and 90-minute English cutsÂ
• Original lossless Italian and English mono soundtracks*Â
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtrackÂ
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrackÂ
• New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colours of Sergio MartinoÂ
• New video interview with co-writer/director Sergio MartinoÂ
• New video interview with actor Luc MerendaÂ
• New video interview with co-writer Ernesto GastaldiÂ
• New video interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio MartinoÂ
• New video interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo FilmÂ
• 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival Q&A with Sergio MartinoÂ
• Italian and English theatrical trailersÂ
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam RabalaisÂ
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Howard Hughes * The English audio track on the original, longer cut has some portions of English audio missing. English audio for these sections was either never recorded or has been lost. As such, these sequences are presented with Italian audio, subtitled in English.
Director: Sergio Martino
Cast: Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, Luc Merenda
Genre: Horror/thriller
Duration: 94/90 mins
Language: Italian/ English
Subtitles: English/ English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: 1.0 Mono
Colour
Discs: 1
Cat No: AV171