Overview: From Lucio Fulci, the godfather of gore (The Psychic, The Beyond), comes one of the most powerful and unsettling giallo thrillers ever produced: his 1972 masterpiece Don’t Torture a Duckling.

When the sleepy rural village of Accendura is rocked by a series of murders of young boys, the superstitious locals are quick to apportion blame, with the suspects including the local “witch”, Maciara (Florinda Bolkan, A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin).

With the bodies piling up and the community gripped by panic and a thirst for bloody vengeance, two outsiders – city journalist Andrea (Tomas Milian, The Four of the Apocalypse) and spoiled rich girl Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) – team up to crack the case. But before the mystery is solved, more blood will have been spilled, and not all of it belonging to innocents.

Deemed shocking at the time for its brutal violence, depiction of the Catholic Church and themes of child murder and paedophilia, Don’t Torture a Duckling is widely regarded today as Fulci’s greatest film, rivaling the best of his close rival Dario Argento. Arrow Video is proud to present this uniquely chilling film in its North American high definition debut.

4K Blu-ray Verdict: My goodness! A wicked rural nightmare. A child killer death spree gialli of the most depressing nature, trading bright light cityscapes for small town paranoia complete with angry villagers, forensic journalists, witchcraft, a Donald Duck head, Barbara Bouchet, and the most brutal cemetery chain flogging ever as Fulci puts Italian traditionalism and the Catholic Church under a microscope!!

Simply put, this is TOP tier Fulci, as far as I’m concerned, expertly crafted and soundwaved by a perfect Riz Ortolani score. Gets bleaker (and better) every time I watch it! Funnily enough, Fulci has said in numerous interviews that he ranks this movie as his most personal favorite of all the movies he directed in his career!

And the fact that none of the main cast are actually Italian: Florinda Bolkan is Brazilian, Tomas Milian is Cuban-American, Barbara Bouchet is German-American, Irene Papas is Greek; and Marc Porel & Georges Wilson are both French, doesn’t even play into what we experience as each lead character is as compelling as the next.

I mean, the scene in which the vigilantes beat Florinda Bolkan to death (while pop music is playing from a car radio) is what makes this film a classic. I highly doubt that the Reservoir Dogs ear cutting scene would exist without this! And, of course, the reveal of the killer [** NO SPOILERS **] is great. Separates it from the pack and is quite brave too, especially given it was 1972 back then!

And for Barbara Bouchet fans, well, she’s quite scantily clad once again so you will all be very happy at now running out to buy this beautiful high definition debut from Arrow Films.

In closing, and whilst the English dubbing might be considered a bit stiff by some, I really don’t think it’s too bad. The cast is excellent and when you hear the film in English is not really any less true-to-the-ear than the Italian cut. And the story is the real treat here, and it might surprise you how much pathos Fulci is able to wring out of it.

Bonus Materials:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original mono Italian and English soundtracks (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)
English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
New audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
The Blood of Innocents, a new video discussion with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
Every (Wo)man Their Own Hell, a new video essay by critic Kat Ellinger
Interviews with co-writer/director Lucio Fulci, actor Florinda Bolkan, cinematographer Sergio D’Offizi, assistant editor Bruno Micheli and assistant makeup artist Maurizio Trani
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Timothy Pittides
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw and Howard Hughes

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