Howl

One of the more obscure items in Tinto Brass' filmography (at least in the United States), The Howl (aka L'Urlo) has finally been given a North American DVD release in this edition from Cult Epics. The Howl has been transferred to disc in widescreen format, letterboxed on conventional televisions at the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and enhanced for anamorphic play on 16:9 monitors. According to the liner notes, The Howl was transferred from Brass' own personal print, which doesn't appear to have been especially well cared for; there are plenty of scratches and visible splices, and while the color balance is generally good, the image often appears a bit soft and grainy, suggesting this may have come from a 16 mm reduction print. The dialogue is in Italian (with a few passages in English), with optional English subtitles but no multiple language options. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo retaining the original monophonic sound mix, and the quality is on a par with the images -- not bad, but showing some obvious flaws. As a bonus, this release includes an alternate audio commentary track, in which Brass talks at length (in English) about his cast, his collaborators, and the ideas behind the film. The disc also features trailers for two other Tinto Brass titles released by Cult Epics. This release of The Howl is a long way from perfect, but it's certainly watchable, and given its rarity U.S. fans of stylish Eurotrash will probably want to check it out.