Writings > DVD Image Comparisons > Tenebre/Tenebrae

Tenebre/Tenebrae

Region 0 (USA) - Anchor Bay
vs. Region 2 (UK) - Anchor Bay
vs. Region 2 (Italy) - Medusa
vs. Region 2 (Japan) - Cinefil Imagica
vs. Region 2 (Netherlands) - A-Film

Details

Bit Rate

R0 USA

R2 UK

R2 Italy

R2 Japan

R2 Netherlands

Screen Captures

Example 1

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 2

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 3

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 4

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 5

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 6

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 7

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 8

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Example 9

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R0 USA | R2 UK | R2 Italy | R2 Japan | R2 Netherlands

Comments

Every time I come across a new version of Tenebre, more issues arise regarding the various transfers. To date, a definitive version has not surfaced, because each new transfer seems to create as many problems as it fixes. Of the five versions I own, there appear to have been three different sources. The first, used for the UK, US and Italian discs, is the old Roan Group master, prepared for laserdisc from a variety of different prints and as a result unsurprisingly low in quality. The UK and Italian transfers were actually culled from the US DVD, rather than going back to the original master, and as a result are very poor in quality, despite the addition of anamorphic enhancement. They are also interlaced, although they have been properly time-corrected. Furthermore, all three releases contain five cuts: material was removed due to a combination of negative damage and slip-ups on the part of the people who prepared the master. The two most recent releases, the Japanese and Dutch discs, appear to be sourced from high quality Italian and English prints respectively (I doubt they went back to the negative, but at least they appear to be new digital transfers, unlike the other three releases). They are also completely uncut - a significant bonus in my eyes.

Lining up the transfers side to side, we can see a sliding scale of sharpness. From best to worst: R2 Japan -> R2 Netherlands -> R0 USA -> R2 Italy -> R2 UK. It's touch and go for the latter two, but overall the UK disc seems to be the blurriest on most occasions.

There is also the slight matter of colour timing. Since the US, UK and Italian transfers are all derivative of the same source, they share the same colours throughout, and most experts generally take this as the correct colour timing. Discrepancies arise on the other two transfers, though. The Japanese transfer has a slightly blue-green tint throughout, and in the second half of the film, the values go haywire. Tenebre was intentionally shot to be very bright, even during the night scenes, but the night scenes on the Japanese release are far too dark and often look very green. This is especially true of the final few minutes of the film (from the moment Giuliano Gemma takes Daria Nicolodi to his car onwards), where the colours look almost psychedelic. The Dutch release has colour problems of its own, showing rather magenta skin tones during the night scenes which, as with the Japanese disc, are too dark. There is also a bizarre colour grading problem present on both releases that was first spotted in the French DVD release (not compared here): during a flashback showing the stabbing of Eva Robbins, the whole image looks very blue, as if someone applied a day-for-night filter. The Roan-sourced transfers show the correct daytime grading.

This is a very tough one overall. Some people may prefer to stick with the US DVD since, although non-anamorphic, it maintains the correct colour values and is the sharpest of the Roan-sourced transfers. I myself prefer the Dutch release overall, but the Japanese transfer is definitely the sharpest, and I tend to crave sharpness above all else. At least one thing can be agreed on: the first 45 minutes or so look absolutely great on the two newer releases, then everything goes haywire colour-wise.

Shot in English and post-dubbed, the Dutch release represents the highest quality English audio track I have heard for the film, preserving the film's original mono audio. Other releases are scratchy and variable in quality, but the Dutch audio mix has been cleaned up to the extent that the dips in quality are less noticeable, and overall the dialogue sounds very crisp. The music is also much clearer than on any other release, save the Italian 5.1 remix on the Italian disc, which is overall a poor track due to some extremely ham-handed surround channel additions and overbearing music. Viewers who want English subtitles and a choice of English and Italian audio tracks may prefer the Italian release, however, since to date it is the only disc with English subs, and the only disc with the option of hearing the original mono mixes of both the Italian and English dubs.

Summary