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look, made from marble and stone façades, shiny metallic sculptures, with
steel, water and glass surfaces. Some of the homes – specifically those of the
lesbian couple and the first killer – are "cold, austere, brutalist" slabs of
granite, [31] and many of the interior shots feature plain white backgrounds,
with characters' wearing pale-coloured clothes against them – better, Newman
felt, to contrast the blood once the violence started. [46] The studio-set
scenes were filmed at Elios Studios in Rome, unlike Argento's previous films
in the city, which he had filmed at Incir De Paolis. [57] He was not able to
use Elios, as the director Michelangelo Antonioni , of whom he was a huge fan,
was using the studio to film Identification of a Woman (1982) at the time.
[12] The design and creation of Tenebrae ' s special effects were supervised
by Giovanni Corridori, who – with his brother Tonino – had a near-monopoly on
special effects in the Italian film industry at the time. [48] The scene in
which Jane is hacked to death after having her arm cut off was filmed about
eight times. Argento was not satisfied with any of the takes he had, [58]
which used a type of bicycle pump to spray fake blood from the "wound" across
the white wall, [53] so the director had Corridori place an explosive squib in
the prosthetic arm – a solution which apparently satisfied Argento. [58] Much
of Tenebrae takes place during daytime, or in harshly over-lit interiors.
Except for the finale and some night scenes, the entire movie is shot with
clear, cold light permeating the surroundings. [59] The lighting and
camerawork used in Andrzej Żuławski 's Possession (1981) was an influence on
the film's look. [60] Although tenebr(a)e means "darkness" or "shadows" in
Latin , Argento ordered cinematographer Luciano Tovoli to use as much bright
light as possible. The director intended that the film be set in the near
future and wanted the lighting to help create a "cold, stark and semi-
futuristic look". [61] Argento explained that this approach was also an
attempt to imitate what he saw as the "realistic manner of lighting" used in
television police shows. The director explained that he was adopting "a modern
style of photography, deliberately breaking with the legacy of German
Expressionism . Today's light is the light of neon, headlights, and
omnipresent flashes ... Caring about shadows seemed ridiculous to me and, more
than that, reassuring." [59] Argento filmed half-empty streets and shops where
he could, in an attempt to reflect a futuristic setting where a disaster had
diminished significantly the population of his imaginary city. [34] Tovoli
used Kodak 5247 film stock (125 ASA speed rating) for daylight scenes, and
Kodak 5293 (250 ASA) for night shoots. Tovoli rated both at 300 ASA to ensure
controlled overexposure of the negative during filming, for the benefit of
under-developing in the lab and less colour loss. The ultimate aim was for the
images to be "crystal clear", and the night scenes to be awash with light.
[36] Film scholar Richard Dyer highlights several intelligent devices used by
Argento in the editing of the film, noting that interpolated sequences are
sometimes punctuated by "shots of pills and the sound of running water." [62]
Steffen Hantke believes that the shock cuts in the latter part of the film are
among cinema's "most brutal and stylized", and exhibit a degree of abstract
expressionism. [63] Film scholar Leon Hunt argues that the devices and themes
utilized by Argento in the making of Tenebrae make it as much an example of
art cinema as anything else. [19] The initial murders are shot in a "clipped
montage style", [16] which is later revealed to be reflecting the use of a
camera by the first killer to record the scene. [64] Giuliano Gemma later said
that Argento fostered an improvisational atmosphere on set. One example he
gave was the scene where his character bends to pick up some evidence from the
floor, only to reveal Neal behind him having perfectly matched his position
relative to the camera. This moment was not scripted but resulted from
Argento's noticing the actors' similar build while they were stood, one behind
the other in front of him. [22] Crane shot [ edit ] "The crane shot ... should
be one of the most memorable moments in cinema ... The shot begins outside the
lower apartment window, moves up to the second floor window, up and over the
roof of the building, down the other side and to a window on the opposite side
of the building. The shot lasts two and a half minutes without a pause, jerk
or cut. If I was to be stuck on a desert island, I'd want Tenebrae just so I
could watch this single shot .. The shot stands out even more with the fact
that the Luma [sic] camera used was new to the industry at the time, and was
bulky and not as easy to use as it is now." —Patrick McAllister, 2004 [65]
Gracey refers to the film's cinematography as "nothing short of astounding",
and cites a particular example as highlighting Argento's "passion for
technical prowess and breathtaking visuals". [61] Influenced by the
penultimate shot in Antonioni's The Passenger (1975), on which Tovoli had also
been the cinematographer, [6] one of Tenebrae ' s main setpieces is the murder
of the lesbian couple. To introduce the scene, Argento and Tovoli employed the
use of a Louma crane to film a several minutes-long tracking shot . Owing to
its extreme length, the tracking shot ended up being the most difficult and
complex part of the production to complete. [66] It required a maze of
scaffolding to be built around the outside of the home. Argento captured all
the footage he needed in two takes, but insisted on filming ten more. [64] The
scene, which lasts for two-and-a-half minutes on-screen, took three days to
shoot. [65] It marked the first time the Louma crane had been used in an
Italian production; the crane itself had to be imported from France. [61]
According to Gracey, the camera performs "aerial gymnastics", scaling the
victims' house in "one seamless take, navigating walls, roofs, and peering in
through windows, in a set piece that effortlessly exposes the penetrability of
a seemingly secure home". [61] Newman and Jones said that although this type
of crane shot became commonplace later, at the time it was "truly ground-
breaking" in the way the camera seemingly crawled over the walls and up the
building – not quite from the killer's viewpoint. [50] Patrick McAllister of
Scifilm said the sequence should be considered "one of the most memorable
moments in cinema". According to McAllister, Tenebrae ' s distributor begged
Argento to cut the shot down because it was "meaningless". [65] Newman and
Jones agreed that the shot added nothing to the film's plot, but called it
"meaninglessly brilliant". [50] Title [ edit ] Some European publicity
materials for the film, including posters and lobby card sets, advertised the
film as Tenebre , and the 1999 Anchor Bay DVD release uses that same title.
[67] However, on the print itself, during the opening credits, the title is
clearly Tenebrae . In addition, the title of Neal's latest book in the film is
shown in closeup as being Tenebrae . In a lengthy interview with Argento
conducted by Martin Coxhead that appeared in two issues of Fangoria in 1983
and 1984, the title was always referred to as "Tenebrae". [68] [69] Early on
in production, the film was referred to as Under the Eyes of the Assassin ,
which was later used as one of the poster taglines. In Japan, the film was
released as Shadows , [47] and in the United States it was titled Unsane in

look, made from marble and stone façades, shiny metallic sculptures, with

steel, water and glass surfaces. Some of the homes – specifically those of the

lesbian couple and the first killer – are "cold, austere, brutalist" slabs of

granite, [31] and many of the interior shots feature plain white backgrounds,

with characters' wearing pale-coloured clothes against them – better, Newman

felt, to contrast the blood once the violence started. [46] The studio-set

scenes were filmed at Elios Studios in Rome, unlike Argento's previous films

in the city, which he had filmed at Incir De Paolis. [57] He was not able to

use Elios, as the director Michelangelo Antonioni , of whom he was a huge fan,

was using the studio to film Identification of a Woman (1982) at the time.

[12] The design and creation of Tenebrae ' s special effects were supervised

by Giovanni Corridori, who – with his brother Tonino – had a near-monopoly on

special effects in the Italian film industry at the time. [48] The scene in

which Jane is hacked to death after having her arm cut off was filmed about

eight times. Argento was not satisfied with any of the takes he had, [58]

which used a type of bicycle pump to spray fake blood from the "wound" across

the white wall, [53] so the director had Corridori place an explosive squib in

the prosthetic arm – a solution which apparently satisfied Argento. [58] Much

of Tenebrae takes place during daytime, or in harshly over-lit interiors.

Except for the finale and some night scenes, the entire movie is shot with

clear, cold light permeating the surroundings. [59] The lighting and

camerawork used in Andrzej Żuławski 's Possession (1981) was an influence on

the film's look. [60] Although tenebr(a)e means "darkness" or "shadows" in

Latin , Argento ordered cinematographer Luciano Tovoli to use as much bright

light as possible. The director intended that the film be set in the near

future and wanted the lighting to help create a "cold, stark and semi-

futuristic look". [61] Argento explained that this approach was also an

attempt to imitate what he saw as the "realistic manner of lighting" used in

television police shows. The director explained that he was adopting "a modern

style of photography, deliberately breaking with the legacy of German

Expressionism . Today's light is the light of neon, headlights, and

omnipresent flashes ... Caring about shadows seemed ridiculous to me and, more

than that, reassuring." [59] Argento filmed half-empty streets and shops where

he could, in an attempt to reflect a futuristic setting where a disaster had

diminished significantly the population of his imaginary city. [34] Tovoli

used Kodak 5247 film stock (125 ASA speed rating) for daylight scenes, and

Kodak 5293 (250 ASA) for night shoots. Tovoli rated both at 300 ASA to ensure

controlled overexposure of the negative during filming, for the benefit of

under-developing in the lab and less colour loss. The ultimate aim was for the

images to be "crystal clear", and the night scenes to be awash with light.

[36] Film scholar Richard Dyer highlights several intelligent devices used by

Argento in the editing of the film, noting that interpolated sequences are

sometimes punctuated by "shots of pills and the sound of running water." [62]

Steffen Hantke believes that the shock cuts in the latter part of the film are

among cinema's "most brutal and stylized", and exhibit a degree of abstract

expressionism. [63] Film scholar Leon Hunt argues that the devices and themes

utilized by Argento in the making of Tenebrae make it as much an example of

art cinema as anything else. [19] The initial murders are shot in a "clipped

montage style", [16] which is later revealed to be reflecting the use of a

camera by the first killer to record the scene. [64] Giuliano Gemma later said

that Argento fostered an improvisational atmosphere on set. One example he

gave was the scene where his character bends to pick up some evidence from the

floor, only to reveal Neal behind him having perfectly matched his position

relative to the camera. This moment was not scripted but resulted from

Argento's noticing the actors' similar build while they were stood, one behind

the other in front of him. [22] Crane shot [ edit ] "The crane shot ... should

be one of the most memorable moments in cinema ... The shot begins outside the

lower apartment window, moves up to the second floor window, up and over the

roof of the building, down the other side and to a window on the opposite side

of the building. The shot lasts two and a half minutes without a pause, jerk

or cut. If I was to be stuck on a desert island, I'd want Tenebrae just so I

could watch this single shot .. The shot stands out even more with the fact

that the Luma [sic] camera used was new to the industry at the time, and was

bulky and not as easy to use as it is now." —Patrick McAllister, 2004 [65]

Gracey refers to the film's cinematography as "nothing short of astounding",

and cites a particular example as highlighting Argento's "passion for

technical prowess and breathtaking visuals". [61] Influenced by the

penultimate shot in Antonioni's The Passenger (1975), on which Tovoli had also

been the cinematographer, [6] one of Tenebrae ' s main setpieces is the murder

of the lesbian couple. To introduce the scene, Argento and Tovoli employed the

use of a Louma crane to film a several minutes-long tracking shot . Owing to

its extreme length, the tracking shot ended up being the most difficult and

complex part of the production to complete. [66] It required a maze of

scaffolding to be built around the outside of the home. Argento captured all

the footage he needed in two takes, but insisted on filming ten more. [64] The

scene, which lasts for two-and-a-half minutes on-screen, took three days to

shoot. [65] It marked the first time the Louma crane had been used in an

Italian production; the crane itself had to be imported from France. [61]

According to Gracey, the camera performs "aerial gymnastics", scaling the

victims' house in "one seamless take, navigating walls, roofs, and peering in

through windows, in a set piece that effortlessly exposes the penetrability of

a seemingly secure home". [61] Newman and Jones said that although this type

of crane shot became commonplace later, at the time it was "truly ground-

breaking" in the way the camera seemingly crawled over the walls and up the

building – not quite from the killer's viewpoint. [50] Patrick McAllister of

Scifilm said the sequence should be considered "one of the most memorable

moments in cinema". According to McAllister, Tenebrae ' s distributor begged

Argento to cut the shot down because it was "meaningless". [65] Newman and

Jones agreed that the shot added nothing to the film's plot, but called it

"meaninglessly brilliant". [50] Title [ edit ] Some European publicity

materials for the film, including posters and lobby card sets, advertised the

film as Tenebre , and the 1999 Anchor Bay DVD release uses that same title.

[67] However, on the print itself, during the opening credits, the title is

clearly Tenebrae . In addition, the title of Neal's latest book in the film is

shown in closeup as being Tenebrae . In a lengthy interview with Argento

conducted by Martin Coxhead that appeared in two issues of Fangoria in 1983

and 1984, the title was always referred to as "Tenebrae". [68] [69] Early on

in production, the film was referred to as Under the Eyes of the Assassin ,

which was later used as one of the poster taglines. In Japan, the film was

released as Shadows , [47] and in the United States it was titled Unsane in