THE NEW YORK RIPPER (1982) (Blue Underground 4K UHD Review)

THE NEW YORK RIPPER (1982) 

Label: Blue Underground
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 93 Minutes
Video: 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD MA 7.1 Surround, English DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono, Italian DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Lucio Fulci
Cast: Jack Hedley, Almanta Keller, Howard Ross, Andrea Occhipinti, Alexandra Delli Colli, Paolo Malco, Cinzia de Ponti, Cosimo Cinieri, Daniela Doria, Zora Kerova

In Lucio Fulci's notorious and pot-stirring 80's slasher flick The New York Ripper (1982) a misogynist killer on the loose in The Big Apple, viciously slashing young women to ribbons with a razor-knife. The killer has a strange vocal affectation, sounding a lot like a sadistic Daffy Duck, which comes off as a bit ridiculous but also offering a sickly tinge of humor to contrast to the graphic killings of women throughout the film. The film opens with a man playing fetch with his dog under a city bridge, a horrified look washes over his face when the dog returns from the nearby brush not with a stick but with the decaying severed hand of a woman in it's mouth. 

Investigating the case is a conflicted NYPD Lieutenant Fred Williams (Jack Hedley, Witchcraft) whom the killer taunts via telephone, which is taken to the next level later in the film when the killer dedicates a murder to the detective, and is forced to overhear the murder of his prostitute lover Kitty (Daniela Doria, Black Cat) from a payphone. The cop teams-up with psychology professor Dr. Paul Davis (Paolo Malco, The House By The Cemetery) who helps him create a psychological profile of the sicko serial killer, but it seems to do little good as the bloodied corpses of women continue to pile up.

As the film plugs along the killer continues slicing and dicing young women, including a bicyclist (Cinzia De Ponti, Manhattan Baby) who the killer corners her while she's vandalizing a car on the Staten Island Ferry, and a sex-performer (Zora Kerova, Cannibal Ferox) gets a impromptu hysterectomy with the jagged edge of a broken wine bottle in her green-lit dressing room at a sex club! Then there's a bored housewife type (Alexandra Delli Colli, Zombie Holocaust) who has an open marriage with her impotent doctor husband, she ends up slashed in the hallway of an apartment building after a night of rough-sex with a three-fingered stranger, who is also our main murder suspect. All this happens after she's already been seduced by a trio of men in a seedy bar, a seduction involving the use of a bulbous big-toe. This toe-fucking scene is far and away the most disturbing part of the film. If she had not been later slashed to ribbons she definitely would have been been suffering from a very painful yeast infection at the very least.

Fulci's 80's output were prone to offend, and I sort of love his punk rock nihilism of it all, his apparent glee at pushing buttons and getting under viewer's skin with the profane, but I don't think that this sickie slasher is as misogynist as some would have argue. The killings are certainly vicious and painful to watch with these women meeting a violent and bloody end, but the women themselves are actually quite likable, independent and free-thinking. The killer on the other hand is the true misogynist, and when his motivation for the killings, and why he employs the duck-voice, are revealed in the final frames it does comes off as a bit silly, but there's a lot to love about this nasty slasher, it's got a great cast, cool set-pieces, and some absolutely horrific violent kills that still hold up.  

Audio/Video: The New York Ripper (1982) arrives on 4K UHD from Blue Underground with a new Dolby Vision + HDR10 color-grading utilizing the same 4K restoration sourced from the uncut original camera negative that they used for their limited edition three-disc edition last year. The film source is in impeccable shape with a thin layer of finely resolved grain that never looks less than filmic. The boost in resolution exudes a good amount of fine detail in close-ups of flesh, which is seen amply throughout, as well as in buts of clothing textures and dirty toenail cuticles. This is a film that has always looked and felt seedy and gross, and the UHD presentation only serves to make it look grosser and seedier. The Dolby Vision + HDR10 color-grading colors sets off the primaries, particularly the colored lighting backstage at the sex club which is drenched in overpowering green and red,  and we get deeper blacks while at the same time the shadow details are more defined. 

Happily we get a brand new English Dolby Atmos remix with some great depth and clarity to it, we also get some occasional use of the surround channels to build a sense of space, but it's the the score from Francesco De Masi (The Inglorious Bastards) that benefits the most from the audio upgrade. We also get the English DTS-HD MA 7.1 and DTS-HA MA 1.0 Mono mixes, in addition to Italian DTS-HD MA Mono 1.0 from the previous releases with optional English subtitles. As often happens I found myself gravitating towards the original mono mix after switching back and forth a bit, I just dig the more direct mono when it comes to older Italian films. 

The first disc is the UHD featuring the feature film as well the extras, and while there are no new extras Blue Underground do carry-over all the archival extras from past releases, with the exception of the CD soundtrack. Extras on the UHD disc include the audio commentary with author Troy Howarth, author of 'Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci And His Films' plus an extensive gallery of images including lobby cards, stills, movie posters and various home video releases, plus the theatrical trailer for the sleazy slasher film.

The Blu-ray in the set is the same disc of extras that accompanied the three-disc limited edition release right down to the identical artwork and serial number. On it we get archival interviews beginning with a 30-minute chat with screenwriter Darndano Sacchetti, the 13-minute interview with actor Howard Ross, an 18-minute conversation with legendary poster artists Enzo Sciotti, a 12-minute interview with actress Cinzia de Ponti, and 10-minute sit-down with Zora Kerova. Additionally we get a 23-minute appreciation by Stephen Thrower which was a definite highlight for me, he being one of my favorite taking heads when it comes to Lucio Fulci and Jess Franco. Thrower offers plenty of anecdotes about the making of the film, and placing it in context of Fulci's career, addressing claims of Fulci's misogyny, the controversy around the film and the ensuing censorship.  There is also a 10-minute archival interview with Zora Kerova plus a 4-minute then and now NYC location featurette, both of these having previously appeared on the 2009 Blue Underground Blu-ray. 

The two-disc UHD/Blu-ray release arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring a fantastic illustration of Enzio Sciotti's original movie poster. We also get an embossed slipcover with the same artwork with raised lettering on the front, back and both sides of the spine, plus each of the discs inside have artwork printed on them. If you already own the three-disc limited edition I would encourage you to hang onto it as it does have packaging extras you will not get with the UHD. For starters you won't get reversible sleeve of artwork, or the cool lenticular slipcase, nor the 20-page collector's booklet with writing on the film by Travis Crawford, and perhaps most importantly you will not get the 29-song CD soundtrack containing the Francesco De Masis score. I still highly recommend upgrading if you want this film in the absolutely best looking and sounding version of the film available, but if you're a packaging and extras whore like myself you're still gonna want to hang onto that sexy three-disc limited edition release. 

Special Features:
Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras
- Audio Commentary with Troy Howarth, Author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films
- Theatrical Trailer (3 min) HD 
Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Extras
- Audio Commentary with Troy Howarth, Author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films
- The Art Of Killing - Interview with Co-Writer Dardano Sacchetti (30 min) HD 
- Three Fingers Of Violence - Interview with Star Howard Ross (16 min) HD 
- The Second Victim - Interview with Co-Star Cinzia de Ponti (13 min) HD 
- The Broken Bottle Murder - Interview with Co-Star Zora Kerova (10 min) HD 
- "I'm an Actress!" – 2009 Interview with Co-Star Zora Kerova (10 min) HD 
- The Beauty Killer - Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci (23 min) HD 
- Paint Me Blood Red - Interview with Poster Artist Enzo Sciotti (18 min) HD 
- NYC Locations Then and Now (5 min) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (3 min) HD 
- Poster & Still Gallery (69 Image) HD 

Lucio Fulci's mean-spirited New York City set slasher shines in all it's seedy glory like never before with this stunning 4K UHD, the disturbing bits of nipple-slicing and toe-fucking sleaze are in your face (and other naughty places) like never before. I don't think Lucio Fulci got any more raw and visceral than he did with this and the visuals have never been more razor-sharp than on this UHD.