THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA (4K): Ginormous Giallo

THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA Limited Edition (4K + Blu-ray)

1971 / 98, 88 and 84 minutes (3 cuts)

Available exclusively at Celluloid Dreams

Review by Mr. Paws😺

Last year, I had the opportunity to review the Blu-ray of A Hyena in the Closet, a weird, obscure and campy Giallo film restored and released by the newish boutique label, Celluloid Dreams (who appear dedicated to preserving some of the genre’s lesser-known films). While it was a solid release, it pails in comparison to this one.

Not only is The Black Belly of the Tarantula a much better film, this beautifully packaged, four-disc set includes multiple versions, excellent supplemental material and some fun physical goodies. And as an added bonus, I learned the best way to smuggle cocaine into the country.

The movie’s twisted premise is pure Giallo. A mysterious figure is stalking and killing various beautiful women in a horrific manner…using an acupuncture needle to render them paralyzed, so they’re fully conscious while being carved up. As the murders continue, Inspector Tellini (the great Giancarlo Giannini) leads the investigation. What the victims have in common is that all were being subjected to blackmail by the purveyors of a local spa. Atypical of the genre, the narrative also establishes Tellini as a happily married man who’s uncertain he’s cut out to be a homicide cop (which is certainly put to the test here).

As the story unfolds, a few suspects are thrown our way, some who also meet unfortunate demise. Speaking of which, any Giallo worth its salt includes plenty of stylish, brutal death, and starting with the opening shocker, this one serves up some doozies. While seldom overly graphic, the nature of the murder sequences is inherently unnerving. One particular highlight has a store owner, Mirta, trying in vain to evade the killer in a roomful of mannequins, which is masterfully shot. 

"Uh...waiter?"

On an amusing sidenote, Mirta had a side gig trafficking cocaine. This leads Tellini to one of her acquaintances, an entomologist who’s been importing tarantulas…with cocaine taking the place of sand in their boxes. Tellini realizes out loud the genius of such a trick. After all, what customs agent is gonna try taking a venomous critter out of a container just to check the contents? And though it isn’t discussed in the film, I gotta wonder just how crazily wired a giant spider would be from scurrying around in a box of blow. Now that I think about it, if the producers of Cocaine Bear should ever decide to do a sequel, I suddenly have a great idea for one.

Suspenseful, stylish and sometimes surprisingly funny, The Black Belly of the Tarantula is one of the better ‘70s era Giallo obscurities, with a vivid aesthetic, good performances, a lotta former Band babes and another evocative score by Ennio Morricone. The movie doesn’t quite scale the heights of Argento or Bava at their best, but is certainly worth discovering (or rediscovering) for fans of the genre. 

This boxed set features a terrific 4K restoration. On both the 4K and Blu-ray discs, the overall video quality is excellent, nicely capturing the unique “look” that all of Italy’s Giallo and Poliziotteschi movies seem to have (which I’ve grown quite fond of over the years). The original Italian version also boasts a nicely remastered audio track, which is the best way to experience the film, especially since the included English cut runs 10 minutes shorter. Conversely, fans of celluloid sleaze will get a kick out of the “Grindhouse” cut, which is left intentionally aged, damaged and haphazardly edited for that 42nd Street experience. And for historical context, it's hard to beat the abundance of bonus features (outlined below). In terms of bang for your buck, this is one of the best boxed sets of the year.

EXTRA KIBBLES

3 VERSIONS OF THE FILM - Original Italian, English dub (which runs 10 minutes shorter) and the “Grindhouse” version (Blu-ray only).

2 ASPECT RATIO OPTIONS - The original 1.37:1 full frame version and the ‘modified’ 1.85:1 widescreen version.

2 VIDEO ESSAYS - What a Tangled Web We Weave is by Andy Marshall-Roberts who summarizes the history of giallo before focusing largely on Black Belly of the Tarantula; The Uncanny Peephole is by The Flying Maciste Brothers (mostly Howard S. Berger), which sums up director Paolo Cavara’s history before delving into an analysis of Black Belly of the Tarantula. Both are very interesting, bordering on 

INTERVIEWS - New individual interviews with Pietro Cavara (son of director Paolo Cavara), film score vocalist Edda Dell’Orso; Archival interviews with Pietro Cavara and Lorenzo Danon (son of producer/writer Marcello Danon).

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By critic Guido Henkel.

TRAILERS & CLIPS - English & German trailers; 2 English TV spots (including a hilarious ‘grindhouse’ version); ‘Censored’ Japanese VHS clip (which doesn’t appear to be too censored!).

IMAGE GALLERY - Posters, lobby cards, publicity photos, newspaper ads & articles.

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - While it features a couple of pretty good short essays, most of its 80 pages are photos of shooting locations then & now.

16 PUBLICITY PHOTO REPLICAS

6 FULL-SIZE LOBBY CARD REPLICAS