Tenebre

Year:

1984

Duration:

110 min | USA:91 min (edited version) | 101 min (director's cut)

Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

IMDB rate:

7.2

Director:

Dario Argento

Details

Country: Italy

Release Date: 1984-02-17

Filming Locations: Viale Perù, 40 00060 Le Rughe RM, Formello, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Cast

Actor

Character

Giuliano Gemma

Anthony Franciosa

Peter Neal

Christian Borromeo

Gianni

Mirella D'Angelo

Tilde

Veronica Lario

Jane McKerrow

Ania Pieroni

Elsa Manni

Eva Robins

Girl on Beach

Carola Stagnaro

Detective Altieri

John Steiner

Christiano Berti

Lara Wendel

Maria Alboretto

John Saxon

Bullmer

Daria Nicolodi

Anne

Isabella Amadeo

Bullmer's secretary

Mirella Banti

Marion

Ennio Girolami

Department Store Manager (as Enio Girolami)

Monica Maisani

Marino Masé

John

Fulvio Mingozzi

Alboretto, the porter

Gianpaolo Saccarola

Coroner

Ippolita Santarelli

Prostitute

Francesca Viscardi

Dario Argento

Narrator (Italian version) / Murderer's Hands (voice) (uncredited)

Lamberto Bava

Elevator Repairman #1 (uncredited)

Michele Soavi

Maria's Boyfriend / Man Walking with Girl on Beach (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

The films poster shows an image of a woman with her throat cut. The UK release attempted to censor the violent image by placing a red bow around the neck in the image!

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A "George Kemp" is credited as sole screenwriter on U.S. posters and as co-screenwriter with Argento on some prints of the film.

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Reportedly inspired after director Dario Argento was stalked by a fan.

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Goofs

On the telephone, the killer tells Peter Neal that "you wrote those words, page 46," but in fact the words quoted would have had to be on an odd-numbered page of the book TENEBRAE, given the placement of the text we see in the opening sequence.

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When the female victim has her hand cut off with the axe, the arm is much longer than before.

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When Peter Neal is confronted by Detective Germani after killing the female detective (Altieri), her "dead" body is lying on the floor in front of him and her eyes blink. We then cut to Germani who is holding his gun on Peter. When we cut back, the corpse's head has changed position. Then again, after a couple more cuts back and forth, her head has reverted to it's original placement.

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Quotes

Peter Neal: I've been charged, I've tried building a plot the same way you have. I've tried to figure it out; but, I just have this hunch that something is missing, a tiny piece of the jigsaw. Somebody who should be dead is alive, or somebody who should be alive is already dead.

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Peter Neal: Let me ask you something? If someone is killed with a Smith&Wesson revolver... Do you go and interview the president of Smith & Wesson?

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Narrator: "The impulse had become irresistible. There was only one answer to the fury that tortured him. And so he committed his first act of murder. He had broken the most deep-rooted taboo, and found not guilt, not anxiety or fear, but freedom. Any humiliation which stood in his way could be swept aside by the simple act of annihilation: Murder."

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Faq

Q

Is this available on DVD?

A

Yes, it's available on Anchor Bay's 1999 DVD release Tenebre and their 2001 release Tenbre / Deep Red. Both contain the 101-minute uncut version.Note that this film (or at least the edited, English-dubbed version called Unsane) seems to be in the public domain, which means any distributor can legally sell copies without paying royalties. Beware. Some small distributors market copies of public domain films with poor picture and sound. Others are more reputable and deliver good transfers of the best available prints. Shop around.

Q

What are the differences between the old British BBFC 18 Version and the Uncensored Version?

A

Dario Argento's "Tenebre" was released by several labels in a slightly shortened version on VHS and DVD as well. Two violent scenes needed to be removed while three more shots/scenes were also removed but these scenes are missing in other countries as well. The reason is the bad quality of the available master. The old tape by Videomedia only lacks one violent scene (arm amputation). Subsequently the tape was listed as a video nasty. The uncut version has been released by Anchor Bay and Arrow in the UK, on both DVD and Blu-ray. A detailed comparison between the old VHS by Noveaux Pictures and the uncensored version with pictures can be found here. A comparison between the pre-cert VHS by Videomedia and the Uncensored Version can be found here.

Q

Does an alternate cut exist?

A

The very rare Israeli tape contains several scenes with, compared to many other releases, different footage. Whether this version has also been released in other countries couldn't be determined. No clues that point into that direction could be found. Book texts and letters, written in Italian in the familiar versions, have been replaced by English texts on the Israeli VHS. Among other scenes, the scene with Maria discovering the killer's archive in the basement contains alternate footage. Furthermore, the VHS lacks scene parts, probable due to jumpcuts and wear and tear. A detailed comparison between both versions with pictures can be found here.

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