Jason (Cord), an American photographer/alcoholic/attempted marital rapist, arrives at the excavation site of a series of Etruscan tombs tagged for archaeological study. His appearance sparks a stormy reunion with his ex-wife, Myra (Eggar), who is now the romantic companion of a much older but equally temperamental conductor, Nikos Samarakis (Marley, most famous for waking up with a horse's head in The Godfather). The Etruscan dig is disrupted when two interloping teenagers are brutally clubbed to death (a scene highly reminiscent of Dario Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet, only bloodier), and the bodies are arranged in a strange fashion suggesting the ancient sacrificial rites of Tuchulcha, an Etruscan god whose face adorns the tomb's walls. The murders continue to pile up, accompanied all the while by startling bursts of loud choral music, as Jason scrambles to deal with his feelings toward Myra and unravel the mystery in the process. Meanwhile Nikos prepares for an elaborate musical show to celebrate the ancient Festival dei Due Mondi, whose timing coincides with another violent turn of events.

Though less explicit and outrageous than Autopsy, Crispino's second horror outing, this film shares with its successor a batch of dysfunctional and often unlikeable characters, a gimmicky supernatural conceit designed to divert suspicion from an all too human murderer, and a melancholy, poetic finale. Though hardly an outstanding entry in the giallo sweepstakes, the proceedings are enlivened by the unusual settings, some earnest performances (with Marley in particular leaving the scenery torn to shreds), and a beautiful score by Mondo Cane's Riz Ortolani that's inexplicably unavailable in any format. The murders are appropriately brutal for the time without resorting to explicit knifings, and for once in this genre, the male victims outdistance the female ones.

Complete with an unusually good American dialogue track with voices from most of the original actors, The Etruscan Rises Again was briefly released in the U.S. under its alternate title by National General Pictures, who also distributed the American edition of Argento's The Cat o' Nine Tails. The film has been infernally difficult to see ever since, with many European prints (particularly the one prepared for co-financier Germany) missing both violence and crucial plot points, including one of Marley's better tantrums. Even uncut prints (such as the Dutch video edition entitled Overtime) have been terribly cropped, destroying the orignial scope compositions. A scope 16mm print was transferred to video by Luminous Video Wurks under their Eurovista banner, but that version suffered from rampant print damage and a recurring tiny tear in the lower left corner throughout the entire film. The scope aspect ratio is also misframed, likely a flaw from the original source, with the top matte coming in far too low at times and covering up the upper half of people's heads. The picture is also squeezed out horizontally a bit too much, with the framing actually measuring out closer to 2.45:1. More inexplicably, the first few seconds of the opening shot are missing, and while trying this disc out on four different players, the film abruptly freezes and returns to the main menu just before the end credits kick in. To watch the credits, you must either fast forward for a moment past the final shot of the film or access them directly from the scene selection menu. Extras include a black and white "Terror Times" booklet reproducing the original U.S. press kit, a gallery of international lobby cards and video art, and some sketchy talent bios. exce

Much, much more satisfying is the later authorized DVD from Code Red, taken from a crisp, colorful, very fresh-looking print with far more accurate framing. It's really a night and day comparison against the old DVD (click on any of the screenshots here for a better idea) and easily blows away any other version on video. The climactic reel shot mostly in the dark still looks a bit muddy compared to the rest of the film, but for 90% of the running time, it's an impressive presentation with only fleeting, minor debris visible. The sound is also far better, with more intelligible dialogue and distortion-free music. Apart from a handful of other Code Red trailers like Horror High, there are no extras (hilariously, not even a menu), but the transfer is easily worth an upgrade or a plunge for first-timers.