Overview: When wealthy businessman John Alexander's (the legendary Klaus Kinski, giving an atypically restrained performance) unfaithful wife Helen (Margaret Lee, 'Circus of Fear') dies in a car crash, it initially looks like a freak accident.

However, the plot thickens when evidence arises suggesting that the car was tampered with prior to the crash.

And John's entire perception of reality is thrown into doubt when he discovers a recently-shot pornographic movie which appears to feature Helen suggesting that she is in fact alive and playing an elaborate mind game on him.

Blu-ray Verdict: In the post-war years, the proliferation of transnational European co-productions gave rise to a cross-pollination of genres, with the same films sold in different markets as belonging to different movements.

Among these, Riccardo Freda's ('I vampiri', 'The Horrible Dr. Hichock') 'Double Face' was marketed in West Germany as an Edgar Wallace krimi, while in Italy it was sold as a giallo in the tradition of Mario Bava's 'Blood and Black Lace', combining elements from both genres for a unique and unforgettable viewing experience.

All that said, it has to also be said that Riccardo Freda wasn't the greatest Italian director to ever live and, as such, his films don't tend to rank among the best of the genres he's worked in.

'Double Face' is not one of the best Giallo's ever made, though it's a hell of a lot better than Freda's later 'The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire', and it's a pretty decent genre entry in its own right.

As is the case with most Giallo films the central focus of the plot is on murder, but rather than following a string of murders as many of these films do this time the focus is on just one murder and the investigation into said crime.

The plot centers on John Alexander, a successful business man whose wife just happens to be a lesbian. She is, unfortunately, killed in a car crash towards the start of the film and John then encounters Christine; a sexy and uninhibited blonde seductress who seems to have a keen interest in him.

One thing leads to another, and John ends up seeing a blue movie starring Christine and, apparently, his wife! The mystery then builds as John comes to believe that his wife is still alive.

The stand out star of the film is definitely Klaus Kinski. It's quite odd seeing him in this role as I'm so used to seeing him play the bad/insane antagonist, whereas here he finds himself in the hapless victim role.

Kinski keeps it together well and while this performance isn't as great as the ones where he gets to go over the top it has to be said that he gives a solid performance in the lead role.

He is joined by fellow German Christiane Krüger, who takes up the role of sexy leading lady well and the central cast is rounded off by Margaret Lee, who appeared in a handful of Giallo's, including 'Slaughter Hotel' and 'The Killers Are Our Guests'.

The film is never overly exciting and sometimes it seems too content to just wallow in the plot, but there are some interesting scenes to help fill out the running time.

The film is set in London, although it wasn't shot on location and that fact clearly shows and the final ten minutes are the best of the film as the plot finally reveals itself and, well, sure, mostly makes sense.

Overall, and as aforementioned, I cant say that 'Double Face' is one of the best Giallo's ever made, but it's good enough and certainly worth seeing again now it's been remastered and issued for the first time ever as a Blu-ray edition by Arrow Films. This is a Full Screen Presentation (4:3) enhanced for 16x9 TVs via a brand new Blu-ray (1080p) HD presentation and comes with the Special Features of:

Brand new 2K restoration of the full-length Italian version of the film from the original 35mm camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Uncompressed mono 1.0 LPCM audio
Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits
Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
New audio commentary by author and critic Tim Lucas
New video interview with composer Nora Orlandi
The Many Faces of Nora Orlandi, a new appreciation of the varied career of the film's composer by musician and soundtrack collector Lovely Jon
The Terrifying Dr. Freda, a new video essay on Riccardo Freda's gialli by author and critic Amy Simmons
Extensive image gallery from the collection of Christian Ostermeier, including the original German pressbook and lobby cards, and the complete Italian cineromanzo adaptation
Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Neil Mitchell