I've read on more than one occasion that Edgar Allan Poe is credited as the author who created the modern mystery story. This raises the question, who created the mystery movie? I would have to assume that Alfred Hitchcock is a candidate, as his career in making whodunits stretches back to 1927. That question aside, I certainly know who deconstructed the mystery movie -- Dario Argento. Argento took the structure and logic of the murder-mystery and turned it on its ear. His first four feature films fell into this category and, Deep Red, which is arguably the most famous, has now come to Blu-ray Disc.

Deep Red is set in Rome, where we meet British-born jazz musician Marc Daly (David Hemmings). While walking towards his apartment building one night, he sees a woman in the building being murdered through her window. He rushes to the apartment, but the woman is dead. The woman, Helga Ulmann (Macha Meril), was a psychic who, earlier that evening, had felt the presence of a murderer. Marc becomes convinced that he'd seen some important clue in the apartment, but he can't think of what it is. Perky reporter Gianna Brezzi (Daria Nicolodi) arrives on the scene and agrees to help Marc investigate the murder. The two begin to search for clues, beginning with Helga's psychic experience. This leads them around Rome, but it seems that the killer is one step ahead of them, as those who could provide information turn up dead. As the clues get stranger and more cryptic, Marc tries to remember the one piece which is missing.

In the early 1970s, Dario Argento was the master of the giallo -- Italian murder mystery films which are distinguished by their use of black-gloved killers, violence, and sex. Argento's first three films, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Cat O'Nine Tails, and Four Flies on Grey Velvet, certainly fell into this category. With Deep Red, Argento goes more into horror territory, as the movie contains definite supernatural overtones (with the psychic) and some creepy, gothic stuff in the third act. While the overall structure matches that of a gialllo, the more horror-heavy stuff set it apart from its peers.

Having said that, Deep Red is definitely a giallo and an Italian film, which means that it's only going to appeal to certain tastes. Again, Deep Red is one of Argento's more popular films and it did (relatively) well when it opened in the U.S. As one would expect, the highlights of the film are the murders and each one is a memorable set-piece. Through either the method of the murder or the bizarre things which occur just before the murder, these scenes certainly stand out and it's easy to see that they were very influential to other filmmakers. (The recent Scream 4 has a victim shoved through a window just like the first murder in Deep Red.) While the violence seems somewhat tame by today's standards, the killings are still pretty gruesome and Argento shows that he doesn't mind torturing his victims. The mystery story is pretty average, but still interesting. Unlike something like, say Tenebre (my favorite Argento movie), there aren't any red herrings here. However, the discovery of the clues adds up and the revelation of the killer won't lead to any groans.

But, the things which make Italian giallos unique are what may drive away some viewers and make them question why some consider this a classic. While Argento was one of the best directors at composing shots, his movies weren't always well-edited and the movie has a jumbled feel at times. Note how Marc investigates the old house, walks outside for no reason, and then is suddenly back in the house. The acting is often over-the-top, especially Nicolodi, who is too exuberant for her own good. The mood and tone of the movie are quite uneven. The movie could have easily done without the slapstick involving Gianna's little car, and the odd relationship between Mary and Gianna (she basically begs him for sex) feels very out of place. Some of these glaring issues may have to do with the fact that the Blue Underground Blu-ray Disc contains the 126-minute Director's Cut of the film, which is presented in Italian. (The old Anchor Bay DVD also had a version this length, but it was pieced together from both English and Italian cuts.) This version, as opposed to the 105-mintue English language version (which is also included here), contains every subplot and nuance, some of which bog the film down. On the bright side, I can remember that before I ever saw Deep Red for the fist time, I read some reviews which claimed that the movie didn't make sense. In the Director's Cut, we get to see how all of the clues fit together, we just have to sit through some goofiness to do so.

So, Deep Red isn't a perfect movie, but if you remove the bits which slow it down or date it, the result is a fairly well-structured murder mystery which contains some fantastic visuals and memorable murders. (You'll want to go back and watch the first murder again, as you'll see that the movie doesn't cheat, which is a fun thing.) The interesting thing about the movie is to see how well certain aspects of it hold up today, and how we can see Argento's techniques reflected in modern films.

The Deep Red Blu-ray Disc contains only a few extras. It should be noted that the "Interviews with Co-Writer/Director Dario Argento, Co-Writer Bernardino Zapponi and Goblin (11 minutes) all take place separately, so we don't get any discussion between the artists. Argento talks about how the film was successful, but how he "doesn't get attached to his films". (Which he should, since he hasn't made a good one in decades.) Zapponi describes how he got involved with the movie and what it was like to work with Argento. The members of Goblin briefly describe their music from the movie. The U.S. Trailer is fairly standard stuff for the period, but the Italian Trailer is mostly a series of still shots and makes one wonder why anyone would go see a movie advertised in this way. "Goblin Music Video - 'Profondo Rosso' (2010)" (5 minutes) takes us into the studio to watch the group performs the film's main theme live. This footage is cut with scenes from the movie. "Daemonia Music Video - 'Profondo Rosso'" (9 minutes) is an odd work which shows this group covering Goblin's composition while all kinds of ghoulish things happen.