- Director
- Dario Argento
- Year
- 1971
- Country
- France, Italy
- Runtime
- 103 min
Also released as
- 4 mosche di velluto grigio
- Négy légy a szürke bársonyon
- Vier Fliegen auf grauem Samt
- 4 mouches de velours gris
- Cuatro moscas de terciopelo gris
- Quatro Moscas Sobre Veludo Cinza
- Четири мухи върху сиво кадифе
- Fire fluer
- Neljä kärpästä harmaalla sametilla
- Τέσσερις Μύγες σε Πράσινο Βελούδο
- 4 légy a szürke bársonyon
- 4匹の蝿
- 4 moscas de terciopelo gris
- Het mysterie van de 4 vliegen
- Fire fluer på grå fløyel
- Cztery muchy na szarym aksamicie
- Quatro Moscas de Veludo
- Четыре мухи на сером бархате
- 4 Moscas sobre terciopelo gris
- Den djävulska fällan
- Fyra flugor på grått sammet
- Cetiri muhe na sivom barsunu
- Quattro mosche di velluto grigio
Filed under
Four Flies on Grey Velvet
The third of Argento's Animal Trilogy, and the least seen because it was legally locked away for decades.
A drummer accidentally kills a man who has been following him and is then blackmailed with photographs by someone in a creepy mask. The clue is an image supposedly retained on a dead retina.
Argento made it right after The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and The Cat o' Nine Tails, completing the trilogy, and it is looser and stranger than either, with a genuine sense of paranoia and a Morricone score.
The retinal-image plot device is pseudoscientific nonsense and Argento does not care.
It fell into a rights limbo for decades and was almost impossible to see in good quality until a restoration in the 2000s, which is why it is the forgotten one.
The slow-motion final crash, filmed with a camera on the car, is a genuine piece of technical bravado.
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Trailer
The sleeves
The same film, sold as a different film in each territory. Click any of them.
Where to watch
Australia
Finland
UK
Legal sources only. Availability data from JustWatch via TMDB.
Checked 10 Aug 2026
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