Sergio Martino’s Torso gets a new 4K Restoration and 4K UHD upgrade from Arrow Video.
The Film
For all the lauding and being able to stake the claim as one of the first true Slasher films that follow the conventions of the subgenre “To a Tee”, Sergio Martino’s Torso is still a slow meandering ultimately lacking film. Martino’s baser instincts as a filmmaker take more precedence than his storytelling acumen. However one must accept Torso‘s place in the pantheon of the Slasher genre being the one that created the book on that particular subgenre’s storytelling cliches.
Torso follows a group of young women as they are stalked and killed by a masked killer. The reasons for this mask killer’s rampage? A possible slight at the hands of one of these women. Possibly a disturbed childhood. Possibly a lust for killing. Probably all. The killer methodically and perversely kills them in the same way, with a scarf.
One only needs to know this film was directed a full year before Black Christmas and predates Halloween by about five years. Many can point to other instances but none of them are as clearly defined as Slasher films as Torso. Unlike Black Christmas which is a truly great horror film, Torso is not. Part of the issue is Martino is allowed to revel in his own perversity and the sexual exploitation aspects of Torso. If sexuality has a greater component within the story beyond an excuse to make a softcore film on par with a Laura Antonelli starter, one could forgive these moments. Unfortunately, these moments are treated with the sensitivity of a softcore movie you’d see on Late Night Cinemax.
Ultimately Torso is buried under the weight of. That grimy softcore sex is such a distraction it pulls you out of the film every time Martino goes there, which is as much as the movie kills characters.
NOTE: Reviewed is the hybrid version of the film.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the 94-minute Italian and 90-minute English-language export versions of the film is truly a masterful version of both versions of the film. The Dolby Vision and HDR10+ encoding give the transfer a lush layer of color, contrast, black levels, and all-around detail that even the 2018 Blu-Ray could never produce. We have gotten to a point in Home Video where the transfers feel as good as watching the film on the big screen. In the case of Torso, this disc far exceeds any of the other various home video versions of the film by a huge margin and is the highlight of this disc. It cannot be restated enough that Arrow’s work with Giallo films and their upgrade to 4K UHD have been nothing short of spectacular examples of what can be done in this format.
The Extras
They include the following:
- Audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colours of Sergio Martino
- Video interview with co-writer/director Sergio Martino
- Video interview with actor Luc Merenda
- Video interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi
- Video interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio Martino
- Video interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
- 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival Q&A with Sergio Martino
- Italian and English theatrical trailers
The archival audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colours of Sergio Martino opens with that she considers Torso one of her favorite of Martino’s films. Some of the details include the opening moment that is in opposition to the film’s very cynical nature; where Martino was in his career when he made Torso – which leads to a larger discussion of the varied career of the director; the two different true crime events that inspired the film; the various crew/collaborators that worked with Martino – some of which became directors; the what-if film that would have teamed Martino with Star Bruce Lee; the history of the Martino family – which was the quite accomplished family of filmmakers and actors; a discussion of the evolution of Martino’s style both before and after this film; the way Martino uses sex and sexuality – which leads to themes and the cynicism about sex in all of Martino’s Giallos; a larger discussion of the cast that appears in the film – including histories/bios, other films, et. al.; a larger discussion of the Italian cultural and politics at the time and how that affected films at the time; and much more. Ellinger provides a commentary track that elevates anyone’s opinion of the film and Martino’s directing career as a whole.
Colors of Terror (34:01) – is an archival interview with director Sergio Martino in which he discusses the development of Torso. He was inspired by the MIA Farrow starer See No Evil. How the film’s release through success was in the shadow of Last Tango in Paris. He discusses all aspects of the film from casting (he almost got Max Von Sydow), the production itself, post-production, and the release and reputation. In Italian with English Subtitles.
The Discreet Charm of the Genre (34:52) – is an archival interview with actor Luc Merenda. The actor discusses his career at the time and how he took Torso to get a change of pace (he was primarily in Poliziotteschi), working with Martino on various films, and more. In Italian with English Subtitles.
Dial S for Suspense (29:15) – is an archival interview with Co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi, and begins with a great Audrey Hepburn story. Gastaldi a jovial man discusses with a lot of honesty the times and how Martino and he became colleagues and friends, how Torso was made, and a host of other topics. In Italian with English Subtitles.
Women in Blood (24:58) – is an archival interview with Fredrica Martino actress/director daughter of Sergio. She discusses Torso‘s legacy, watching her father’s films, and very interestingly discusses how she’d remake the film, and much more. In Italian with English Subtitles.
Saturating the Screen (25:03) – is an archival interview with film scholar Mikel J Koven that discusses Giallo as a whole and specifically the films of Martino and Torso. Koven discusses how it relates to the coming of the slasher film, their similarities, their differences, the heights of both subgenres and much more. Koven discusses with detailed examples from both and how they relate to Martino’s work and specifically Torso.
Martino Live (46:59) – is an archival Q&A done at the Abertoir Horror Film Festival in November of 2017. Both Martino and his daughter are present, his daughter doing translating for the Q&A. It’s a lively discussion about the film, his family’s history with film and filmmaking, his career as a whole, and much more.
Alternate Torso Titles (4:02) – pulled from various sources (VHS, and archival prints) this alternate opening is very different than the opening of the theatrical release.
Italian Theatrical Trailer (3:07)
English Theatrical Trailer (3:05)
The Final Thought
Torso though a groundbreaking film isn’t a very good one. Arrow has done a marvelous job with the transfer and the extras give us some historical context for the film. Recommended for Fans only.