a major international success with his first film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, director Dario Argento 
quickly attempted a reprise by expanding that trendsetting giallo's formula of Americans in Italy rubbing shoulders with the criminal element and a psychopathic killer. The end result, The Cat o' Nine Tails, didn't initially capture the critical and commercial appeal of that first hit thanks to its abrasive insistence on refusing to conform to expectations as romantic subplots, whodunit elements, and standard three-act plotting are all tossed out the window with a glee bordering on the sadistic, allowing Argento instead to experiment with the template of a murder mystery in which form and style coexist most uneasily. After this film Argento returned one year later with the even more radical Four Flies on Grey Velvet before launching onto a different plane entirely with two masterpieces in a row, Deep Red and Suspiria. 
participant in the blackmail discussion, so Arno teams up with scrappy newsman Carlo Giordani (Franciscus), both of whom get more than they bargained for. Carlo gets close to Anna (Spaak), the mysterious daughter of the institute chairman, while Arno chases down several clues of his own. Meanwhile the garrote-wielding killer continues to strike again and again, determined to cover up a most deadly secret. 
punctuated by disturbing musical clicks, yowls, and thuds. Cat also finds Argento experimenting more with the possibilities of editing to layer his narrative, such as the obvious example of subliminal flashes used to indicate an upcoming scene or recap an important piece of information. He later expanded on this technique in Four Flies (particularly the memorable finale) and, most effectively, in the celebrated visual and verbal echoing of Deep Red. The murder sequences themselves are brutal though comparatively light on blood; in fact, the rough rooftop finale is the goriest sequence in the film, sort of a savage updating of the climax from To Catch a Thief. The strangulation of Rada Rassimov is probably the most memorably brutal moment though, a protracted bit of nastiness with touches which Argento would later repeat and embellish in Deep Red as well.
chase scenes); this wretched presentation is still available on bootleg DVD from several bargain labels. (Also like Bird, Cat was rated GP for its theatrical U.S. run, which just goes to show how out of whack the MPAA has gotten in the last few decades.) 
of the circumstances which led to the film's creation, complete with views of its successes and faults, though Argento seems a bit too hard on it in retrospect. The promotional material is at least as interesting; an immaculate international trailer features a delirious mixture of footage and tinted stills to create a genuinely appealing promotional piece, including a psychedelic rock instrumental borrowed from the film May Morning. This trailer was obviously reworked to lesser effect for the U.S. trailer and TV spots (in much more battered condition), which spoil the visuals with some unconvincing verbal hype. Finally you get some appreciative liner notes by Travis Crawford, a gallery of posters and stills, and two radio promos featuring some highly unorthodox soundbites from the two stars.
The Dutch DVD features a similar English-
language transfer with Dutch subtitles, while the French disc contains Italian and French tracks with optional French subtitles. One interesting alternative is the Medusa disc from Italy which offers a few twists of its own and is worth picking up for Argento die-hards. The Italian language version is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles; while the 5.1 track is an artificial-sounding wreck (though not as disastrous as Medusa's botched mix on Tenebrae), the 2.0 mix sounds fine and offers a somewhat different experience from the English language edition. The actors are voiced in a far more lively fashion which, surprisingly enough, gives the film a markedly energetic and engaging tone, while the murders feature far more dramatic screaming, gurgling, and other noises the voice artists conjured up probably after swilling a lot of vino. No extras to speak of. 
The House by the Cemetery, or much of the Raro catalog. Since its release this was often been cited as the most visually drab of Argento's classic films, but that view was finally put firmly to rest as it's now obvious that it was originally shot in rich, Technicolor hues that rival the most striking images in his other two "Animal Trilogy" thrillers. From Malden's book-lined apartment to the sleek, Tenebrae-style modernistic interiors of the Terzi Instititue, the film takes a significant step forward in aesthetic rewards here with better color and detail than earlier transfers, though it would be outdone as you'll see below. The image clarity is so fine you can also clearly see how they pulled off the fleeting but very nasty cheek-slashing effect with a scalpel, too. The English opening and closing titles are now in mint condition as well. The English, Italian, and French tracks are all present here along with the of subtitles in English, French, and Spanish; the one caveat is that the English subs are SDH, which means that sound effects and voice directions are included as well which might make it a bit awkward for anyone watching it in Italian. The featurette, trailers, TV and radio spots are all included; the only missing extra is the stills gallery, which is a shame as it included a glimpse of the film's deleted epilogue which concluded in a more traditional and romantic fashion. Incidentally, fans may also want to seek out the 1971 movie tie-in paperback, which features yet another resolution as well as numerous bits of additional character and plot information. A subsequent UK Blu-ray from Arrow the same year was taken from the same transfer but featured a vastly inferior presentation 
with some major sync issues throughout the English soundtrack. That said, the release may be of some interest to Argentophiles for its exclusive video interviews with Argento (10m31s), Luigi 
Cozzi (16m24s), and for some reason Sergio Martino (24m5s), plus liner notes by Alan Jones. 
ephemera. 
transfer from the original negative that results in a presentation similar to its 2017 work on Crystal Plumage; in other words it's definitely going to provoke strong reactions as it looks darker, richer, subtly graded, and with much more fine film grain versus the more digitized look of the older transfer. The compression is extremely attentive as well and doesn't result in any visible issues. Both the English and Italian tracks are included back in their original mono (DTS-HD MA), sounding excellent, with optional English or English SDH subtitles for whichever you choose (and title sequences and text inserts in English or Italian as well). An audio commentary with the reliable team of Alan Jones and Kim Newman is a major plus as well, covering Argento's newcomer status at the time as a director (and his stated disdain for this film years later), the prevalence of blindness-themed thrillers before and around this time, the state of the Italian film industry at the time, and plenty more. A new Argento interview, "Nine Lives" (15m57s), reiterates the "stereotypical American elements" that dissatisfied him (in contrast to the positive audience response), the Turin location scouting, an allusion to "terrible pranks" pulled by the crew in the cemetery scene, his fondness for Malden, and his own newspaper background. In "The Writer o' Many Tales" (34m46s), wildly productive and influential screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti covers his own passion for cinema that got him into the business, his first meeting with Argento, and the real-life inspiration for the aberrant chromosome plot device that plays a pivotal role in the story. A new interview with De Carolis, "Child Star" (11m2s), is worth checking out as the former child star talks about working with Malden (whose fame was unknown to her at the time), her mother's constant presence on 
location, and her more vague memories of the later Cannibal Apocalypse opposite John Saxon. In "Giallo in Turin" (15m11s), production manager Angelo Iacono goes into more detail about the city choice for the shoot and explains how the high-speed chase 
scene was achieved, plus his other work on the set including serving as the deputy for Argento's father/producer. The most in-depth look at the film's discarded original, greatly expanded ending is included here with an English translation of the original script along with copious illustrations showing how the story originally wrapped up all of the pivotal characters. The international, Italian, and American trailers are included, while the limited edition Blu-ray and DVD set also includes reversible sleeve options (original poster art or a striking new red-themed design by Candice Tripp), a double-sided fold-out poster, four reproduction lobby cards, and an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Argento and new liner notes by Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth and Howard Hughes.ARROW 2017 BLU-RAY
BLUE UNDERGROUND BLU-RAY
ARROW 2011 BLU-RAY
BONUS SCENES (GERMAN BLU-RAY)
Updated review on July 8, 2021.
