Argento's 'Suspiria' Getting New Transfer and Blu-ray This Spring?

A lot of American horror fans were jealous last month when European viewers got a spiffy new Blu-ray version of Dario Argento's Suspiria. I was one of them. If ever there was a film that screamed to be seen in the Blu-ray format, it's Suspiria--those colors, those scene compositions...they'd be absolutely gorgeous.

The good news is, it looks as though we're about to have our wish fulfilled. FEARnet posted a story last night, with a link to a fascinating article in American Cinematographer talking with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli about the process of coming up with the film's striking visual look. The lengthy piece alone would be newsworthy, but as FEARnet points out, there's an exciting tidbit buried in the middle of the piece that hints at a brand spanking new Blu-ray version of what is arguably Argento's greatest film.

"Tovoli recently revisited Suspiria at Technicolor Rome to supervise a new HD transfer, which will result in a Blu-ray release this spring."

The cinematographer assures us that every effort has been made to maintain the visual look of the original film, but warns that even the best digitally mastered film will never compare to the original.

I can live with that, personally, because Suspiria on Blu-ray should still look better than any other version of the film currently available. There's no official word on this new version coming out in America, but c'mon--if there's a Blu-ray of Suspiria with a completely re-mastered digital transfer, it's almost assuredly going to make its way to the States at some point. Maybe this will be the disc that finally convinces me to break down and buy a Blu-ray player...