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Tenebre (1982)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
February 1987 (USA) moreTagline:
Terror Beyond Belief morePlot:
An American writer in Rome is stalked by a serial killer bent on harassing him while killing all people associated with his work on his latest book. full summary | full synopsisNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Trailer Park: Vampires and Aliens and Slashers (Oh My!) (From Cinematical. 11 July 2009, 1:03 PM, PDT)
Giallo trailer
(From JoBlo. 7 July 2009, 4:21 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
One of Argento's best. moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Anthony Franciosa | ... | Peter Neal | |
| Christian Borromeo | ... | Gianni | |
| Mirella D'Angelo | ... | Tilde | |
| Veronica Lario | ... | Jane McKerrow | |
| Ania Pieroni | ... | Elsa Manni | |
| Eva Robin's | ... | Girl on Beach (as Eva Robins) | |
| Carola Stagnaro | ... | Detective Altieri | |
| John Steiner | ... | Christiano Berti | |
| Lara Wendel | ... | Maria Alboretto | |
| John Saxon | ... | Bullmer | |
| Daria Nicolodi | ... | Anne | |
| Giuliano Gemma | ... | Detective Germani | |
| Isabella Amadeo | ... | Bullmer's secretary | |
| Mirella Banti | ... | Marion | |
| Ennio Girolami | ... | Department Store Manager (as Enio Girolami) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Sotto gli occhi dell'assassinoTenebrae
Under the Eyes of the Assassin
Unsane (USA)
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Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
110 min | USA:101 min (director's cut) | USA:91 min (edited version) | Italy:96 min (Director's Cut)Country:
ItalyLanguage:
ItalianColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Australia:M | New Zealand:R16 | West Germany:18 (cut) | Sweden:(Banned) | Italy:T (cut DVD version) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Australia:R | Canada:R | France:-16 | Germany:16 (cut version: 2002) | Italy:VM18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | West Germany:(Banned) | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Iceland:(Banned) | Finland:K-18 (2005) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1988) (cut) | Germany:BPjM RestrictedFun Stuff
Trivia:
Unused 'muzak' from Goblin's Dawn of the Dead (1978) score in background of scene where Tilda and her girlfriend argue before said girlfriend leaves with a man (right before scene with Argento's famed crane shot). moreGoofs:
Factual errors: 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. moreQuotes:
[first lines, read from Peter Neal's "Tenebrae"]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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Soundtrack:
Take Me Tonight moreFAQ
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I first saw Tenebr(a)e under the moniker "Unsane" (which is supposedly missing ten minutes of gore and some extensive camerawork). I really enjoyed the film, so I bought the rerelease print from Anchor Bay, and I must say, the restored, uncut, letterboxed print looks and sounds wonderful.
There's no need to go into the plot other than to say Anthony Franciosa stars as American horror novelist Peter Neal and, while he's in Rome on a book tour, murders are being committed by one of his crazed fans. I read somewhere that Argento is king of stringing together a plot and cheating audiences just so they can't guess the identity of the killer, and with this as evidence, I agree 100%. It's nearly impossible to figure out this plot before it's fully explained.
Luciano Tovoli's camerawork/cinematography is brilliant, especially the luma crane shot (which goes up one side of a building, over the roof and down the other side in one unbroken taken). There's also an extremely well-photographed and directed sequence featuring a girl being pursued by a rabid Doberman. Now they would do those two scenes with computers, and I think that obliterates the charm of the hands-on filmmaking process.
In short, this film puts Hollywood thrillers like "Copycat" "The Bone Collector," and "Se7en" to shame, and it's apparent all three films stole ideas from this one (and from other films in Argento's oeuvre).
Score: 9 out of 10.