Way too gory
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zarch-3 — 16 years ago(August 16, 2009 05:15 AM)
In the Bird with Crystal Plumage there's an artist who breeds cats, and then feeds them to his guest for lunchbut haha he only tells him about it after the meal.
Not all Argento films are full of gore but the erotic moments are even better -
Simian_Jack — 16 years ago(August 16, 2009 01:08 PM)
"Horror is not bloodshed and violence."
That's a problematic assertion to make. Turn it around - are bloodshed and violence not horrific?
I do take your meaning, though, that by themselves they do not constitute a horror film. However I take exception to the idea that there is no place for violence or bloodshed as elements
in
horror films. I'm no gorehound and have no love for things like Saw or Hostel, but I would ask you to look at the tradition of the Grand Guignol theater or Un Chien Andalou - the art of the disturbing, a necessary and respectable part of the horror genre.
Horror is our reaction to bloodshed and violence.
"His movies are gory but they aren't actually frightening."
What you define as frightening may differ from what frightens another. You're talking about personal responses (thus highly subjective), for one thing, and for another you're talking about different levels of response (quick jump-scares, dread that seeps in slowly, etc.). I for one find Suspiria frighening because of it's pervasive, unsettling atmosphere. The gore involved is quite effective in establishing the threat facing Suzy Banyon as well as leaving the audience (me, at least) shaken.
The first time I saw Suspiria, I was less impressed by it as a horror film than I am now. Later, I realized that it had gotten under my skin. After reaing about Argento on the net, I discovered that that's a common reaction. (Being highloy interexted in dreams and the dream experience, I loved Inferno right away - another highly impressionistic film laced with intentionally jarring and brutal moments of violence). If Argento's films aren't sitting right with you, give them a rest for a year or so then see if anything about them draws you back to reassess them. -
Eumenides_0 — 15 years ago(April 23, 2010 10:59 AM)
I'm trying to watch Dario Argento's movies chronologically and the impression I have is that with time he's becoming gorier.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
is pretty tame, but by the time of
Tenebre
he was showing severed arms gushing pints of blood, etc.
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel. -
sillyspaghetti — 14 years ago(May 25, 2011 09:54 AM)
I've seen a few of his films. I like The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Sleepless, Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), Tenebrae, Phenomena and Cat O'Nine Tails. Don't like Terror at the Opera, Suspiria and Phantom of the Opera. I think the scariest film he's been involved with is Demons - that really s**t me up!
"Hey! Ladies! That was fun!" -
iscream22 — 14 years ago(September 12, 2011 01:16 PM)
My favorite flicks of his are Suspiria, Phenomena, Deep Red, Bird With The Crystal Plummage, Demons (yeah i know he only produced it), Tenebrae, and Inferno (very underrated film in my opinion, although the last scene is a bit cheesy)
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PoppyTransfusion — 14 years ago(September 22, 2011 08:43 AM)
The gore and the blood allow him to indulge his love of the colour red and its contrast to blues and whites, as well as his fetishism for beautiful women being slashed in all sorts of ways.
I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl -
franzkabuki — 13 years ago(May 14, 2012 08:19 AM)
Yeah, its films like his thatre indeed a good illustrative example that gore does not equal horror - just saw Tenebre and it was more like a comedy in effect. Funny stuff, funny stuff But kinda sad, too, because there are passages in each of his films Ive seen that indicate he can be a fairly competent, even masterful director if only he could resist taking the lazy & low road of mindless splatter and keep his storytelling focused for more than just a few minutes at a time. Wouldnt hurt to have thought of something to say as well, to give his work at least some sort of intellectual/thematic relevance instead of churning out this hokey schlock which is to say, he should have very urgently required someone else to write his screenplays as he seems to be trapped in eternal emotional adolescence himself.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
simon-bain — 13 years ago(May 16, 2012 12:13 AM)
I find your post fascinating, especially as a British person. Believe it or not, his films do not seem to have had much impact "across the pond". I once wondered if this was because of some kind of bias between Brits and Italians, but I only wondered for about five minutes, then gave up.
Ultimately, who cares?
Because I agree with your post completely: Argentus is CLEARLY a genius, and very underrated.
Thank you for your post! -
franzkabuki — 12 years ago(February 07, 2014 06:44 AM)
"Argentus is CLEARLY a genius".
Geniuses are, as a rule, at least competent at what they do. No such luck with this "Argentus" here, who is a total clueless hack in several key areas of filmmaking. His generally stupid films are overrated beyond belief; somebody should really install an operational brain in his skull.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
franzkabuki — 10 years ago(June 03, 2015 06:50 PM)
Hypothetically speaking, even if you did correctly locate MY head, it'd still be preferrable to having sh-t for brains which appears to be the situation you're stuck with.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan