Four Flies on Grey Velvet 4K Restoration (1971)

 

The third in writer-director Dario Argento's celebrated 'Animals' trilogy is getting a new 4K restoration from Shameless, in both Blu-ray and limited edition UHD releases.

Roberto (Michael Brandon) is a drummer with a successful prog jazz band. He's happily married, lives in a glossy modern early 1970s house, and has a circle of arty friends. But someone is following him. One night, when Roberto gives chase and finds himself in an abandoned theatre, he ends up killing the mysterious man - or so he thinks. 

What's more worrying (aside from the fact that he's in an Argento film) is the weirdly-masked individual who photographs him in the act and then leaves  the photos lying around, that is when they're not whispering to him or leaving a dead cat on one of his shelves. Then the killings start, with the final one providing a clue as to who the killer is.

We're firmly in Italian giallo-land with FOUR FLIES. The concept of the final image a victim sees being imprinted on the retina is at once ingenious and ridiculous - giallo in a nutshell, if you like. No spoilers here, though - you'll have to watch the film to find out what I'm talking about.

And, as with so much of this sort of cinema, who cares? FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET is so stylish, with endearing characters (Jean-Pierre Marielle's private investigator channels Eddi Arent from the Rialto Edgar Wallace mysteries) and a style that's still impressive over fifty years later. 

Shameless' new transfer is a big improvement over their previous Blu-ray release, and  there are some excellent new extras as well. Foremost amongst these is a 41 minute interview with Michael Brandon who remembers everything about the production and his time in Rome, including tea with Fellini (although how could one ever forget that?). There's a new 31 minute interview with Argento where he talks not just about the film but his three animals trilogy and his life leading up to them being made. 

An archival 41 minute interview with co-writer and assistant director Luigi Cozzi has been ported over and you get introductions to the film from both Brandon (new) and Cozzi (archival). You also get English opening and closing credits, trailers, a TV spot and an image gallery. Finally, the limited edition UHD disc includes a booklet by Alan Jones, two art cards, and a poster all inside a slipcase.

Dario Argento's FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET is out in a 4K Restoration in both limited UHD and regular Blu-ray editions on Monday 28th April 2025