 One of the film 's most excessively violent scenes features the death of Neal 's ex @-@ wife , Jane ( played by Veronica Lario ) . This scene was one which suffered the most from cuts when the film was first released in Italy . The original scene featured Jane 's arm being cut off at the elbow ; blood sprays from the wound onto white walls until the character falls to the floor . After a back @-@ and @-@ forth between Argento and Italian censors ( at the time a panel of judges ) , the scene was first trimmed from showing an " immense " spray to a small one , then a smaller one still . The scene was cut to almost nothing in the 1990s , when Lario married future Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi . According to Alan Jones , Berlusconi " did not want the public seeing [ Lario ] so explicitly murdered , even if it was in a film by his country 's premier horror expert " . For a few years , it was impossible to see the film in Italy legally , as prints were withdrawn altogether . A later DVD release did become available , with the scene restored . 
