Color, 1982, 107m.
Directed by Lamberto Bava
Starring Andrea Occhipinti, Lara Naszinsky, Anny Papa, Michele Soavi, Stanko Molnar, Fabiola Toledo
88 Films (Blu-ray) (UK RB HD) / WS (1.66:1) (16:9)
, Blue Underground / Anchor Bay (DVD) (US R0 NTSC) / WS (1.78:1) (16:9)
One of the more violent and stylish entries in the Italian slasher cycle of the early '80s, A Blade in the Dark attempts to outdo Dario Argento's Tenebrae with a similar stalk and slash mode that eventually escalates into a bloodbath that wipes out most of the cast. Son of legendary director Mario, Lamberto Bava's experience behind the camera as assistant director for both his father and for Argento shines through here; amazingly, Blade was only his second film following his promising debut, Macabre (Frozen Terror), and here he cultivates his skills for dealing with irrational fantasy and gore which erupted full force in the later Demons films. 
cut of the film slated for theatrical release, at least in its English language form, wound up at 96 minutes. Essentially the print seen on laserdisc from EC Entertainment and earlier on VHS by Lightning Video in the '80s was uncut in terms of being a final "director's cut" for international distribution; however, a somewhat longer version existed only in Italian for years and floated through some bootleg tape dealers. The first English-language longer version turned up on DVD from Anchor Bay in the early '00s, claiming 104 minutes on the packing but running 108m36s. The extra footage doesn't add much in the way of plot development or gore, but it does achieve a more layered, character-motived approach than the consumer friendly earlier cut. Some of the restored scenes include Bruno making a pay booth call to Julia's boss, more atmospheric night scenes of Bruno exploring the house, a longer build up to the second murder, and several extra red herring bits involving Stanko Molnar as the groundsman, fondling scissors and 
generally acting suspiciously. On the other hand, this material slows down the pace a bit, so owners of the old VHS version might want to still hang on to it. Despite the 16mm origins, Blade looked surprisingly good on DVD for the time, some inherent graininess in the original negative notwithstanding. The film itself has held up fairly well, thanks mainly to the shocking murder scenes (though the last killing is awfully gratuitous) and an appealing lead performance by Occhipinti, who also appeared in Lucio Fulci's New York Ripper and Conquest before achieving infamy as the bullfighter who slurps honey off of Bo Derek's navel in Bolero. Future horror director Michele Soavi makes a very amusing appearance here and even served as first unit director (hopefully out of costume at the time). The rest of the cast is somewhat less impressive, though this may be due to the ridiculous dubbing ("I love composers; so tell me, how are you in the feathers?" and "Is it possible you're a vacant nerd?" are two of the most oft-quoted offenders). As always, the De Angelis brothers deliver a top notch score, basically a repetitious electronic tune a la Halloween that weaves in and out of Bruno's keyboard performances and the murders themselves. Extras include a 20 minute "Behind the Blade" interview with Lamberto Bava and writer Dardano Sacchetti, in which they discuss the genesis of the film and the low budget shooting process, some appreciative liner notes by Tim Lucas, and the gory European theatrical trailer. The same disc was later reissued with an identical transfer and extras from Blue Underground.
horror releases alongside such titles as Anthropophagus and The Night Train Murders. The 16mm origins are still in evidence here but overall it's satisfying on the more modest end of the scale, vaulting way past the DVD in terms of clarity and preserving the more vertically spacious 1.66:1 aspect ratio compared to the slightly windowboxed 1.78: 1 version on the DVD. The extra room on the top and bottom helps quite a bit, restoring balance to compositions that previously bordered on the claustrophobic. (Here's a comparison frame grab from the DVD.) Interestingly, it also sports a completely different opening credits sequence featuring a freeze frame of the bloody tennis ball instead of the black background in past transfers. (This tennis ball opening is also seen in the Italian version.) This discrepancy may also account for the fact that this runs a minute shorter than the American DVD, as it otherwise appears to contain the added material from the Italian extended version. However, in addition to a more robust LPCM rendering of the English dub track, the biggest plus here is the inclusion (at last!) of the original Italian audio with English subtitles (which can be switched on or off via which option you choose from the menu). The actors were all speaking Italian for the production, and the translation here is far more natural and classy with all of that illogical, wince-inducing dialogue making quite a bit more sense. (For example, the awkward "Female, you're a female" at the beginning is now "Little girl.") 