An American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.An American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.An American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.
Ennio Girolami
- Department Store Manager
- (as Enio Girolami)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe impressive two and a half minute crane shot that encircles Tilda's house took three days to be completed. American distributors wanted the shot to be cut from the film for US release, but Argento refused.
- GoofsWhen Peter chases after the killer out to the street, the long shot shows him from the rear, looking to his left, but in the following close-up from the front, he's looking to his right.
- Quotes
Peter Neal: Let me ask you something? If someone is killed with a Smith & Wesson revolver... Do you go and interview the president of Smith & Wesson?
- Crazy creditsAnne's screams continue even as the ending credits roll.
- Alternate versionsThe U.S. Mill Creek Entertainment DVD release under the title "Unsane" is listed as the 110 minute version. However, the version on the disc is pan-and-scanned, heavily edited and runs a little over 90 minutes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in O erotas tou Odyssea (1984)
- SoundtracksTake Me Tonight
Performed by Kim Wilde
Featured review
One of Argento's best.
I first saw Tenebr(a)e under the moniker "Unsane" (which is supposedly missing ten minutes of gore and some extensive camera-work). 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 camera-work/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 film-making 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).
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 camera-work/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 film-making 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).
helpful•6015
- capkronos
- Jan 27, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Tenebre
- Filming locations
- Viale Perù, 40 00060 Le Rughe RM, Formello, Rome, Lazio, Italy(Christiano Berti's house)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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