Blu-Ray Review: The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971) by Riccardo Freda

Company: Arrow Video
Director: Riccardo Freda
Year: 1971
Country: Italy/France/West Germany/Ireland
Genre: Giallo
Discs: 1
Special Features:
Audio Commentary: Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
Interview: The Cutting Game (Editor Bruno Micheli)
Interview; The Red Queen of Hearts (Actress Dagmar Lassander)
Featurette: Of Chameleons and Iguanas
Featurette: Considering Cipriani
Trailer collection
Image Gallery

To read about the film itself: GO HERE.

As for the disc:

Picture: ****/5

The film is presented with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 after the original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2k resolution. Given all that, there's a lot to like about the work here. The detail is incredibly sharp and clear, with plenty of fine work throughout here of the background given plenty of fine depth and clarity. We get issues of grain at times here, but it's in several minor sequences and has no real bearing on the film, for the most part, rendering this a highly competent viewing experience, especially over the original bootleg versions of which this new print almost makes the film seem like new.

Sound: ***1/2/5

As a whole, this is perfectly serviceable for this kind of film. Heavy on the dialog and not much in the way of speaker-shattering action mean that this doesn't really need much in the way of room to provide anything more than what's on offer here. The English dub has the laughably ludicrous-sounding Irish or Swiss accents on most of the characters as befits their standing in the storyline, and the original Italian version displayed here is at pretty much the same level sonically. With the lush score by Stelvio Cipriani allowed to gracefully sweep throughout the scenes featured here, for the most part, this is a fine if not exactly standout track.

Special Features: ****/5

As is to be expected here, there's plenty of fine goodies on-tap for these kinds of efforts. First up is a fine commentary by scholars Adrian J. Smith and David Flint, regulars of Arrow's gialli titles. This allows the loquacious duo to develop a fine chemistry with each other as they poke fun at the film's missteps, provide biographical information on the performers and crew and generally have a fun time together as they make the film more tolerable than it really is.

As well, the interviews here are quite impressive and help to sell the disc. The Cutting Game allows editor Bruno Micheli an opportunity to talk about the film and his career overall, and The Red Queen of Hearts gives genre legend Dagmar Lassander a chance to reflect on the film and her experiences in general. Two bonus featurettes, Of Chameleons and Iguanas features a talk about its history and legacy by critic Richard Dyer, Considering Cipriani, a newly-filmed filmed appreciation of the composer by Lovely Jon and a trailer and image gallery round-up provide the final pieces to this collection.

A booklet containing other writings on the film is included on the full release but was not available for review.

Overview: ****/5
It's almost at the point where Arrow should just be handed the rights to every non-Argento/Bava/Fulci giallo ever made as they provide a stellar rendition of a less-than-impressive film. This disc makes the disc look a lot better than it really is and has the kind of technical aspects to make it worthwhile for those interested in the genre or intrigued by the film, but for those looking only for the film itself will find the supplements more impressive than the movie proper.

To order the film: LINK.