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Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980) – 35mm Scan opportunity (WIP) - Help Wanted

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Dario Argento’s Inferno. The weird semi-sequel to Suspiria that opted for a more pastel, painterly palette over the overt, neon-drenched look. It’s certainly an interesting movie to watch through—though a bit slow in some places. Personally, and this may be considered blaspheme to some, but I actually kind of enjoy this movie over Suspiria for being more atmospheric with its stronger emphasis on the mystery of witchcraft (it’s not perfect by any means, but I have a soft spot for it).

But here’s the schpiel about it: None of the home releases in the past some years have ever managed to really figure out what is the proper color scheme. DVD Exotica sort of best lays it all out where each release seems to have its own altered color grade.

(Anchor Bay | Blue Underground | Camera Obscura)


There was an online article delving a bit into these color differences and how apparently some people say that the movie theatrically looked more saturated and bluer and whatnot than the DP supervised Camera Obscura release. Here’s a quote from it that I find notably relevant.

Danish Argento expert Thomas Rostock said:
Having plowed through several VHS, Laserdisc and film-print incarnations of this the director’s most accomplished visual achievement (seeing this on the big screen by way of the excellent UK print in circulation around 1995 was truly an astonishing experience for me. Totally blew me away in a way SUSPIRIA couldn’t even begin to match), I must say that look of the Anchor Bay DVD of 2000 actually fares much closer to Romano Albani’s intended look than the new MGM/FOX. Romano Albani along with Argento worked hard to achieve a fuller, more lush look than SUSPIRIA using in particular the two new lighting color gels named Rose and Deep Blue introduced into the market in 1979.

[…]

In short, Rose and Deep Blue are the governing colors of INFERNO. However, the MGM/FOX transfer suppresses exactly these two colors to the point oblivion (Rose) and to a dull, faded hue (Deep Blue) […] If one is aware of literally the hours it can take to light with different color-gels on a film-set, it is especially disheartening to witness MGM/FOX’s negligent attitude towards the intended color-specific look of INFERNO. But perhaps even worse is the fact that this is the only transfer making its rounds to all corners of the world commercially through MGM’s cost-efficent licensing and will stand as a misrepresentation of the real beautiful and haunting color-scheme that is at the very heart and soul of INFERNO. One can voice many a fault about William Lustig’s AB/BU releases, but on the visual, color-correctional side of things, he has yet to make mistake.

Since the VHS day apparently, companies kept taking liberties with the movie’s color grading for some reason, and the fact that it’s 2021 and this is all still so up in the air is just absolutely ridiculous! I have my own suspicions on how it’d likely look (with it being akin to this German trailer scan: https://youtu.be/TO4PX8VZ09I ), but that’s just my personal guesswork which is no better than anyone else’s.

As such, I’ve been digging for a while to see if I can get my hands on an actual print of the movie to scan. Thankfully that day has come because I have managed to negotiate for a 35mm Italian print!

Now, here’s the deal. I have been told the print is slightly faded but still has decent color, and given past results I have seen with my go-to scanner, I am sure there will be no problems in fixing it later down the line. Furtherly, given the movie came out smack-dab in the middle of that accursed transition period between the 70s and 80s, finding a print that isn’t red is kind of a miracle.

On a further note of bonuses, I have been told that this print is also in stereo which is nice given the Italian track has only been released in mono previously. I also have strong suspicions that the Italian theatrical cut is actually different from the Director’s cut we all know today (got it on good word from someone who’s seen a print back in the day), so I’d love to confirm this concretely if this is the case.

Anyways, in terms of pricing, I already have enough money pledged to me to cover for some of the baseline fees involving the print ($370~), and at this point, I only need further funding to actually pay for the 4K scan itself ($530~) and possibly for a hard drive later down the line ($150~).

I’m only taking pledges at the moment, but once I can get in at least an extra $100 pledged, I’ll see if I can get the process started and get previews made for donors in that reel-by-reel delivery like I usually do.

So, are there any Italo-horror / Argento fans here willing to help out? I’m also curious to hear what some of y’all’s opinions are of this movie in general since I’m wondering if I’m the only one who really dug this movie—even with all of its flaws.

If I seem inactive, check me on FanRes: https://forum.fanres.com/user-1389.html

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This is my favorite movie ever made. I am in! I have seen it on 35mm twice. It was VERY clean with no fading and was closest to the Blue Underground Bluray (the blacks are deep and the whites are stark and shiny and sleek) It was in English so maybe it was struck in the late 80s for the Fox release? Not sure but it was definitely LPP. I can’t imagine what a faded print of this would look like though. Even if slightly faded, I just don’t see how those blues could come out unharmed. But would be interested to see!
And btw, the movie isn’t about witchcraft, its about alchemy. 😉 The film gets labeled as plotless and dream logic, but after several viewings, reading the de Quincy Three Mothers source material, and studying countless reviews and essays online, you realize it has a somewhat straightforward story that makes sense. Its not just random pretty images. Whats brilliant is the film is about an esoteric subject, and as such, feels esoteric. Could talk about this movie for days! I too prefer it to Suspiria. Its not as “in your face” bombastic, but it casts such a hypnotic, insidious spell that you can just melt into.

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Finally got around to making a money pool as the total tallied-up pledges have reached past $450 point, so I hope I can garner further interest from others sometime in the future with preview incentives. Furtherly I am aware of some individuals willing to increase their donations in the future hopefully as well as me paying out-of-pocket in the worst-case scenario.

Those of you who are interested in chipping in, please shoot me a PM! Thank you all in advance!

If I seem inactive, check me on FanRes: https://forum.fanres.com/user-1389.html

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Just wanted to inform everyone that I’ve been able to have a peek at the scan preview.

The colors look quite nicely recovered (apparently the print was originally red), though unfortunately, the 4-track mix is not capturable as the scanner sold off the necessary equipment to do so some time ago much to my dismay. Thankfully the mono optical is still a step up from the blu-rays though it could use a bit of cleaning. The print is also the director’s cut it seems, so although that alternate cut is lost to history, at least it means this’ll be a more complete Argento experience.

I would like to note though that I still require $225 to cover the rest of the scan though so any donations would be greatly appreciated to help me complete this preservation endeavor.

If I seem inactive, check me on FanRes: https://forum.fanres.com/user-1389.html

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LucasGodzilla said:

Just wanted to inform everyone that I’ve been able to have a peek at the scan preview.

The colors look quite nicely recovered (apparently the print was originally red), though unfortunately, the 4-track mix is not capturable as the scanner sold off the necessary equipment to do so some time ago much to my dismay. Thankfully the mono optical is still a step up from the blu-rays though it could use a bit of cleaning. The print is also the director’s cut it seems, so although that alternate cut is lost to history, at least it means this’ll be a more complete Argento experience.

I would like to note though that I still require $225 to cover the rest of the scan though so any donations would be greatly appreciated to help me complete this preservation endeavor.

Looks great!
Damn shame about the 4 track mix. Out of curiosity would it be possible to send it to another scanner and have the audio captured, possibly for a lot cheaper since the video has already been scanned?

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Can’t wait! By director’s cut do you just mean the uncut version thats been on the DVD and Bluray releases? Or is their new footage in there?

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stwd4nder2 said:

Looks great!
Damn shame about the 4 track mix. Out of curiosity would it be possible to send it to another scanner and have the audio captured, possibly for a lot cheaper since the video has already been scanned?

Yes, it is possible. Issue is though, it would mean over $450 would have to re-collected to re-rent the print and send it to someone for just that audio alone. Apparently, the current scanner does still have some of the necessary equipment to transfer the sound, but it’s defunct a motor.

3Maters said:

Can’t wait! By director’s cut do you just mean the uncut version thats been on the DVD and Bluray releases? Or is their new footage in there?

Yeah, that’s what I meant, it’s the uncut version. A bit splicey at times so a little bit of footage is lost but it’s certainly the full cut.

If I seem inactive, check me on FanRes: https://forum.fanres.com/user-1389.html

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I did a quick run through and its such a treat to see this film “on celluloid”. The timing is a bit warmer than the print I saw, the whites were not so yellow, but this really shows how the film is just as stunning visually as Suspiria. Its a lusher look to the sharp look off Suspiria.

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The warmer look is probably a result of the fade correction attempt done by the scanner. I would love to hear some feedback later down the road in regards to color balancing when I get the RAW files to work with.

If I seem inactive, check me on FanRes: https://forum.fanres.com/user-1389.html

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Are y’all still taking donations for this? I have to see it and want to contribute!

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would be very interested to see if the audio can be captured at some point in the future. willing to help out if others are interested

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Still taking donations for this? I would gladly contribute some for a nice 4K transfer of this!

John Carpenter/David Lynch/Stanley Kubrick lover.

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^The above is a very carefully-produced release. Kudos to LucasGodzilla. The print scanned was faded but has been corrected to match an unfaded 35mm print. Not to mention a plethora of audio tracks from VHS to LD to DVD!

Ignore the color of the previous DVDs and BDs. This is HOW INFERNO LOOKS


If anyone is interested in a scan of SUSPIRIA too, PM me for an unfaded opportunity 😉