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A Momentary Lapse of Reason: When Dario Argento Interviewed Pink Floyd in 1987 


Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and director Dario Argento.
 
Let’s get a few fun facts out of the way before we take a look at the eight or so awkward minutes shared between Pink Floyd vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason and Italian horror master, Dario Argento. For Pink Floyd, 1987 was a new beginning without bassist Roger Waters—a founding member of the Floyd along with Nick Mason. After years of legal hassles, the Waterless version of Pink Floyd released A Momentary Lapse of Reason. The subsequent tour (which started before the album was completed), was full of challenges, legal and otherwise. When it was all said and done, the tour in support of A Momentary Lapse of Reason would be the most successful U.S. rock tour of 1987. And that’s saying something, as David Bowie’s Glass Spider tour played 44 U.S. dates that same year. When it comes to Dario Argento and his relationship with Pink Floyd, we go back to 1975 when Italy’s version of Alfred Hitchcock tried, unsuccessfully, to engage the band to record the soundtrack for Profondo Rosso (aka, Deep Red, and The Hatchet Murders) as they were deep in work on their ninth album, Wish You Were Here. This, of course, didn’t turn out to be a bad thing. It gave us all the gift that is Italian prog-rock pioneers, Goblin, who were engaged to rewrite the score composed by Giorgio Gaslini, who had previously composed the score for Argento’s 1973 film The Five Days. It would also leave room for Argento’s collaboration with Keith Emerson of ELP, who composed the insanely good soundtrack for Argento’s 1980 film Inferno

Now, let’s get back to the eight minutes of international time-delayed satellite video connection which had to be translated live in Italy and New York City. You might want to sit down because the combination of Dario Argento and members of Pink Floyd can make one quite dizzy. 

Dario Argento was perpetually busy in the 1970s and 1980s. But he still somehow found time to do a self-hosted television show in Italy called Gli incubi di Dario Argento (The Nightmares of Dario Argento). Only nine episodes of The Nightmares of Dario Argento were filmed as part of the television series Giallo. He was often joined by Italian actress Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni dolled up like Siouxsie Sioux. You may recall, Cataldi-Tassoni was the star of Argento’s 1987 film, Opera. Though it’s a little unclear exactly when this segment aired, Pink Floyd was noted to be in New York City at the time. Since the video shows both Gilmore and Mason staying at the Ritz Carlton’s Central Park location, that would probably put the filming of this magic mushroom moment sometime during their three-night stint at Madison Square Garden. At the beginning of the “interview” Argento praises A Momentary Lapse of Reason, calling the album “stupendous.” Then, Argento’s complex, esoteric questions seem to mystify both Gilmour and Mason—and the live translation, which at times is not accurate, does not help matters one bit. I don’t want to reveal any more of what goes down in this very strange video, but had Roger Waters seen it back in the day, it would have pissed off his already very pissed off self.
 

Dario Argento interviewing David Gilmour and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd in 1987 via satellite. What a world.
 

Another segment of ‘The Nightmares of Dario Argento.’

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Can’t look away: Go behind the scenes of films by Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper & more
Dario Argento’s horror classic ‘Suspiria’ and the most vicious murder scene ever filmed, 1977
First look at Waxwork’s expanded soundtracks for three Dario Argento classics
Stunning fluorescent stills from Dario Argento’s horror masterpiece ‘Suspiria’
The creeptastic ‘mad puppet’ in Dario Argento’s shocker ‘Deep Red’ will haunt your dreams
Watch Keith Emerson and Dario Argento work on the soundtrack to ‘Inferno’ in 1980
The original ending for Dario Argento’s 1971 thriller, ‘The Cat O’ Nine Tails’ (a DM premiere)
Illustrations of films by Dario Argento, David Cronenberg, Ridley Scott & more from Cinefantastique

Posted by Cherrybomb
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08.30.2021
11:41 am
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Dangerous Toys: Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, and other Giallo film legends are now action figures


Dario Argento action figure by Luca Bartole.

“Is it right to be obsessed with looking at terrible things and sharing them with other people?”

—Dario Argento

I feel like these words of director Dario Argento are a part of my job description here at Dangerous Minds. Over the years pretty much every DM contributor has brought to light a vast array of car-crashy-can’t-look-away content. On more than several occasions, DM has highlighted the work of both Argento and the Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci. Today, the films of both directors collide with the strange, ever-expanding world of action figures. If you’re into collectibles and giallo, you know that a very creepy version of the deranged puppet from Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) exists. Sculpted by the very talented Charlie Lonewolf, only 25 of the officially licensed figures were made. You may also know that Argento opened the Profondo Rosso Horror store in Rome in 1989. It’s full of every kind of Argento-related memorabilia that you could shake your favorite razor-sharp stabbing knife at. According to a person who visited the museum, there were also Argento-centric “action figures” on display.

As I sadly haven’t yet been to what sounds like the happiest place on Earth (to me anyway), this mention of the existence of such action figures sent me on a quest to find them. And find them I did.

Artist Luca Bartole has made all of our nightmares come true by creating a line of custom, handmade action figures based on characters in films directed by Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. The collection includes 3.75-inch versions of Argento and Fulci as well as Fulci in character as Inspector Carter from the film Demonia (1990). Others include the hatchet-wielding Marta Manganiello (played by actress Clara Calamai) from Profondo Rosso, Jennifer Corvina (played by actress Jennifer Connelly) from Phenomena (1985), and the unfortunate Father William Thomas (played by actor Fabrizio Jovine) from Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (1980). Are these the same action figures displayed at Argento’s museum? Who knows? What I do know is if you’ve always wanted to have your own pocket-sized figure of Dario Argento, now you can.

All the figures retail for $65.59 and ship for free.
 

 

 

 

 
More bloody toys mayhem after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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05.18.2021
03:32 pm
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First look at Waxwork’s expanded soundtracks for three Dario Argento classics
09.05.2018
03:18 pm
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Waxwork
 
Why are Dario Argento’s films so compelling? It’s largely due to his knack for matching fantastic, terrifying imagery with amazing music that fully enhances the mood. The Italian writer/director works closely with composers, which has resulted in a number of highly effective horror movie scores. He’s frequently collaborated with the prog rock band Goblin, and soundtracks for two of those films, plus Argento’s team up with one of prog’s most famous and flamboyant figures, are about to be reissued on vinyl—and in lavishly packaged, expanded editions, to boot.

This Friday, Waxwork Records will release enhanced and complete soundtracks for three Dario Argento classics: Profondo Rosso (a/k/a Deep Red (1975), Inferno (1980), and Phenomena (1985). Profondo Rosso is the first Argento film Goblin scored, while the music for Phenomena was composed by Goblin band members, Claudio Simonetti and Fabio Pignatelli, and performed by the group. Inferno is the work of the late Keith Emerson. Waxwork has produced the definitive versions of these soundtracks, with lots of previously unreleased tracks. Each release includes stunning, newly commissioned artwork and cool colored vinyl, with high quality gatefold jackets.

We’ve got a sneak peak at what Waxwork is offering; the majority of these images are making their web premiere.

Profondo Rosso:
 
PF 1
 
PF back
 
Much more after the jump…

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Posted by Bart Bealmear
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09.05.2018
03:18 pm
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The creeptastic ‘mad puppet’ in Dario Argento’s shocker ‘Deep Red’ will haunt your dreams
03.23.2018
10:11 am
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Italian movie poster for ‘Profondo rosso’ for sale at Westgate Gallery
 
Dario Argento’s 1975 giallo film, Deep Red (Profondo rosso), stands as one of the auteur’s greatest works. It’s been given the 4K treatment, and the restoration is about to be released on Blu-ray in the US for the first time. We’ve got a preview in the form of a clip, and it’s one of the highlights of the picture. Creepy, scary and so sadistic it’s painful to watch. But in a good way!

Well-known British actor David Hemmings plays Marcus Davy, a professional pianist, who witnesses a brutal murder. Daria Nicolodi is journalist Gianna Brezzi, who, like Marcus, wants to know who committed the murder. As Marcus learns more and more about the case, the body count mounts.
 
First death
 
This is the first Argento movie for Nicolodi, who went on to be a regular in his films. Argento and Nicolodi also became a couple, with their daughter, Asia Argento, arriving a year after they met.
 
Daria
 
For his co-writer, Argento chose Bernardino Zapponi, a frequent cohort of Federico Fellini. It was Zapponi who came up with the idea of incorporating relatable injuries, like begin scalded by hot water, and banging your head.
 
Face
 
Argento fans might notice that the theme of faulty human memory, a concept first explored in his debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, is also the central motif of Deep Red.
 
Spanish lobby card
 
Alfred Hitchcock was an early influence on Argento, and Psycho most certainly comes to mind here, while the original Italian poster recalls Saul Bass’s artwork for Vertigo.
 
Poster
 
Argento was disappointed with the Giorgio Gaslini’s score for Deep Red, so he asked Pink Floyd if they’d come aboard; they declined. The director was subsequently given a demo tape of an Italian group called Cherry Five, and was so impressed he hired them. The band would soon change their name to Goblin. The jazz rock score the unit composed and performed for the film is fantastic, and went on to sell millions of copies on vinyl. Argento and Goblin would work together on other pictures, including the director’s follow-up, Suspiria, which resulted in one of the scariest (and most stylish) movies ever made.
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Bart Bealmear
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03.23.2018
10:11 am
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The original ending for Dario Argento’s 1971 thriller, ‘The Cat O’ Nine Tails’ (a DM premiere)
01.31.2018
10:16 am
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Poster
 
The Cat O’ Nine Tails (1971) is the second motion picture directed by the maestro of the Italian giallo film, Dario Argento. Cat originally had an ending that was cut before it made it to the big screen, and though the footage is now lost, Dangerous Minds has the script pages, which haven’t been seen publicly before.

Argento’s debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), was such a big hit in the U.S. and elsewhere (though not in Italy), that there was demand for a follow-up, posthaste. The Cat O’ Nine Tails was the result, and in addition to being film #2 for Argento, it’s the second in his “animal trilogy” (Four Flies on Grey Velvet was the third). As was the case with Bird, Cat demonstrates the influence Alfred Hitchcock had on Argento early in his career.
 
Argento
The director sizing things up on the set of ‘The Cat O’ Nine Tails.’

The story was adapted from the director’s original screenplay, with a title borrowed from an existing novel. Karl Malden, an American character actor familiar to stateside audiences, was a cast as a blind man who has insight into a recent death. He teams up with a reporter to investigate, and then the bodies start to mount. 
 
Karl Malden and James Franciscus
 
The film’s thrilling climax takes place on a rooftop (shades of Vertigo here). The original cut of Cat concluded with an epilogue, which was subsequently deemed “too American.” So, Argento went back to the editing room, trimmed up the rooftop scene and got rid of the coda altogether. Here, transcribed into English for the very first time, are the script pages for the original ending (click to enlarge):
 
Page 1
 
Page 2
 
Page 3
 
The only surviving image from the epilogue is this German lobby card:
 
German lobby card
 
The script pages and the lobby card are part of the extras included with Arrow Video’s pending Blu-ray/DVD combo of The Cat O’ Nine Tails. This limited edition set will be released on February 20th. You can pre-order it on Amazon or by way of MVD.
 
Much more after the jump…

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Posted by Bart Bealmear
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01.31.2018
10:16 am
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‘Suspiria’: Dario Argento’s masterpiece on Blu-ray for the first time in North America
12.08.2017
03:58 pm
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‘Suspiria’ 2017 39x55 Italian re-release poster

No less than three years in the making, Synapse Films’ deluxe edition of Suspiria—available on Blu-Ray in North America for the first time ever—is hitting the streets on December 31 in a lavish steelbook edition featuring an exclusive 4K restoration of the original uncut 35mm camera negative, with color correction by cinematographer Luciano Tovoli.  The 3-disc set (with two 50GB Blu-Rays and a remastered CD soundtrack by Goblin, with additional tracks not included on the previous US release) is crammed with a huge amount of extras and promises to be the definitive home video version of Dario Argento’s most celebrated film.  Significantly, it features the original 4.0 LCRS English-language sound mix (in DTS-HD Master Audio) not heard since its theatrical release in 1977.

Those of us who experienced it on the big screen back then—released by 20th Century-Fox’s International Classics in a slightly trimmed R-rated version—will never forget its eye-popping, ear-blasting, brain-frying impact.  This very dark fairytale, the last film to be shot on classic 3-perf Technicolor film-stock a la Hollywood’s Golden Age, follows the terrifying adventures of aspiring American ballerina Suzy Banyon (cult queen Jessica Harper) who arrives at Bavaria’s most prestigious dance academy on a dark and stormy night, only to discover it’s the home of a diabolical coven of witches… and a surreal, nightmarish funhouse of grotesque shocks.  It had the same impact on fans of ultraviolent splatter, the luridly macabre and the gleefully fucked-up as the same year’s Star Wars did on normal people.

When the Synapse release, coming hot on the heels of their other Argento steelbook editions for Phenomena and Tenebrae, showed up for preorder on Amazon for a steep $89.95, the blogosphere ignited with the indignation of those who’d neglected to pre-purchase a copy through synapse-films.com for under $50 late this summer.  As of today, Synapse has announced a near sell-out of their introductory-priced stock, but orders for the few remaining steelbooks may still be placeable by calling them at (734) 494-3502.  Peerless online DVD and Blu-ray store diabolikdvd.com has it for $52.99.

All posters available for 30% off now at WestgateGallery.com

 

‘Suspiria’ 1989 23x40 Original US VHS release poster
 

‘Suspiria’ 1977 27x41 Original US 1-sheet poster
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Christian McLaughlin
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12.08.2017
03:58 pm
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Deep Red: Blood-drenched movie posters & artwork used for the films of Dario Argento
10.12.2017
08:15 am
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An Italian poster for Dario Argento’s 1975 film ‘Profondo Rosso’ aka ‘Deep Red.’
 
This October two versions of Dario Argento’s Suspiria have been making the rounds at independent movie theaters across the country following the discovery of an Italian-language 35MM cut in an abandoned theater in Italy. In addition to that Synapse films finally finished their 4K restoration of Suspira (which took nearly four years) and released it as a gorgeously packaged Blu-ray which is also screening in selected theaters through the end of 2017. So, in light of it being a very Argento October this year—to say nothing of his courageous daughter’s stand against Harvey Weinstein—let’s take a look at some of the artwork that has been used on movie posters, DVD releases, a few lobby cards, and even a vintage VHS tape for Argento’s goretastic films.

Some of the artwork and photography that follows is graphic especially when it comes to the covers created for various re-releases of Argento’s films put out by Arrow Video. But since we’re talking about a director who has been affectionately referred to as the “The Italian Hitchcock,” you should know to expect lots of blood, gore, and massive head trauma by way of sharp objects. YAY!
 

A Dutch VHS cover for ‘Suspiria.’
 

A Spanish lobby card for 1982’s ‘Tenebre.’
 

An Italian poster for ‘Tenebre.’
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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10.12.2017
08:15 am
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Mondo mayhem: Sex, blood and horror, the art of Enzo Sciotti
07.18.2017
10:14 am
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An arresting image by artist Enzo Sciotti for the 1984 film ‘Heavenly Bodies’ (billed in Italy as ‘Scratch Dance’).
 
During the 1970s and 1980s, Italian artist Enzo Sciotti created hand-painted artwork associated with the films of many influential directors who hailed from his home country, such as Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Lamberto Bava, the son of the great Mario Bava. 

Born in Rome in 1944, Sciotti got started drawing professionally at a very young age—fifteen according to his online biography. Sciotti’s bio also states that he has been responsible for over three thousand movies posters. Sciotti has lent his talent to album artwork as well—specifically the cover of the stellar soundtrack for Phenomena, Dario Argento’s 1985 film starring Donald Pleasence and a fifteen-year-old Jennifer Connelly.

Most of what follows showcase blood and nudity, which means it’s NSFW.
 

The artwork for the 1986 film by Lamberto Bava, ‘Midnight Killer’ by Enzo Sciotti.
 

The album artwork for the soundtrack to ‘Phenomena.’
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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07.18.2017
10:14 am
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Uncut 35MM version of ‘Suspiria’ found stored in an old cinema in Italy—U.S. screenings planned
06.22.2017
09:31 am
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Finally, a perfect example of truth in advertising.
 
A couple of days ago, The Chicago Cinema Society released the news that they had recovered a nearly pristine 35MM uncut Italian-language print of Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpiece, Suspiria. According to the TCCS, the print was discovered in a storage area in an old cinema in Italy that was no longer in business. Now, these are the kind of treasure hunting results I can really get behind.

The beloved film has been in the news lately—specifically due to the modern remake by director Luca Guadagnino starring Tilda Swinton that has lots of people preemptively shaking their heads. There is also a highly anticipated Blu-ray restoration of Suspiria set to be released by Synapse Films. Synapse worked with Suspiria‘s visionary cinematographer, Luciano Tovoli who oversaw every last detail of the restoration which is due out sometime this summer.

While the discovery of the 35MM print in Italy is spectacular in its own right, the folks at The Chicago Cinema Society were not prepared to find that the 98-minute, six-reel print was completely uncut meaning it included scenes that had been previously removed for various U.S. and international releases.

Some clips after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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06.22.2017
09:31 am
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‘The Bird with the Crystal Plumage’: New trailer for 4K restoration of Dario Argento’s dark debut
06.12.2017
03:25 pm
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Dario Argento’s impressive directorial debut, the 1970 Italian giallo, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, has just been given the 4K restoration treatment by Arrow Video, and on June 20th, Arrow’s limited edition Blu-ray/DVD set will be released. The package is well on its way to being sold out, but more on that in a moment.

In addition to this being his first time behind the camera, Argento also wrote The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Inspired by the 1949 pulp novel, The Screaming Mimi, the film concerns an American writer working in Italy who randomly witnesses a woman being stabbed by a mysterious figure clad in black—but is that really what he saw?
 
Bleeding
 
At this early stage, Argento was very much influenced by the films of Alfred Hitchcock, particularly Psycho (1960), though Hitch’s The Birds (1963) gets a few nods here, too. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a mystery thriller/crime drama, with elements common in later slasher films—all characteristics of the giallo genre. The idea of being trapped, like a bird in a cage, is a frequent theme, resulting in a claustrophobic, tense atmosphere.
 
Knife
 
Some Argento trademarks are already on display here, like the framing of brutal murders at the hand of a mysterious killer, and the use of vivid colors—especially red. He’d really come into his own with Deep Red (1975) and Suspiria (1977), but The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a praiseworthy first outing for the director and very much worthy of your film library.

Continues after the jump…

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Posted by Bart Bealmear
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06.12.2017
03:25 pm
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Illustrations of films by Dario Argento, David Cronenberg, Ridley Scott & more from Cinefantastique


The cover of Cinefantastique magazine featuring an image of Asia Argento, a bunch of blood and a razor blade with a job to do. The image is based on her father’s 1996 film ‘The Stendhal Syndrome.’ Illustration by David Voigt.
 
Originally the long-running film magazine Cinefantastique was just a little fanzine that was compiled with the help of a mimeograph machine in 1967. A few years later it became a highly regarded proper magazine known for its use of lustrous photos and exhaustive critical analysis of films by a team of writers that included the founder of Video Watchdog Tim Lucas along with future Stephen King collaborator, writer, and director Mick Garris. The vision of Cinefantastique publisher and editor Frederick S. Clarke was to ensure that the magazine was a category killer when it came to its approach in the treatment of cinema, taking the art of scrutinizing a film to a new level by providing expansive articles that expertly dissected every aspect of a movie instead of churning out fluff pieces like their competitors.

Another aspect that set Cinefantastique apart was the indulgent use of color photography in its layouts and covers. In addition to the use eye-popping photos, the magazine often featured creative illustrations on the cover done by various artists such as Roger Stine, sci-fi illustrator Barclay Shaw, John Carl Schoenherr (who created the iconic cover illustration for the dust jacket art of Dune), and Andrew Probert who is best known for his colorful contributions to the 1985 film Back to the Future and 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Some of the magazine’s more memorable illustrations were done by Stine and his cover for Cinefantastique that featured a surreal image of Sissy Spacek dripping in blood in 1977 (Volume six, Number one) won the artist critical acclaim. Cinefantastique still maintains an online presence as well as offering access to their extensive back-catalog of interviews and retrospectives. Physical copies of the magazine are also pretty easy to come by. Some of the images that follow are slightly NSFW.
 

Cover by Roger Stine, 1982.
 

1981.
 

The infamous “Carrie” cover by Roger Stine, 1977.
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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05.24.2017
11:58 am
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Can’t look away: Go behind the scenes of films by Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper & more
04.27.2016
10:29 am
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Dennis Hopper and Tobe Hooper on the set of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Dennis Hopper (dressed as his character ‘Lt. Boude “Lefty” Enright’) and director Tobe Hooper on the set of the 1986 film, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2’.
 
As I know many of our Dangerous Minds readers are also fans of movies that curdle even the blackest of blood-types, I’m sure that you will enjoy ogling these “behind the scenes” shots from some of my favorite horror films like Dario Argento’s Suspiria, the second installment of Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw franchise, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (that features a chainsaw-wielding Dennis Hopper, pictured above), and the films of the great John Carpenter, among others.
 
Dario Argento goofing around on the set of his 1977 film, Suspiria
Dario Argento goofing around on the set of his 1977 film, ‘Suspiria.’
 
Images of Dario Argento not being laser-serious for a change on set (pictured above), to candid photos of actors hanging out during their downtime still dressed like their gory characters, as well as amusing shots of FX master, Tom Savini in action happily creating fiends that have frequented your nightmares for the last few decades, follow. That said, some of what you’re about to see should be considered NSFW. But you knew that the minute I said “chainsaw massacre,” right?
 
Director John Carpenter with P.J. Soles and John Michael Graham on the set of Halloween, 1978
Director John Carpenter with P.J. Soles and John Michael Graham on the set of ‘Halloween,’ 1978.
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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04.27.2016
10:29 am
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Watch Keith Emerson and Dario Argento work on the soundtrack to ‘Inferno’ in 1980
03.15.2016
02:38 pm
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Keith Emerson and Dario Argento
Keith Emerson and Dario Argento
 
In light of the loss of yet another rock legend last week, prog-rock pioneer, keyboardist and composer Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer or ELP, I thought I’d share this video of Emerson in the studio with director Dario Argento working on the soundtrack to Argento’s 1980 film, Inferno.
 
The cover for the soundtrack to Inferno
 
The critical reception to Emerson’s Inferno soundtrack didn’t see it receive the same accolades as the Goblin-composed Suspiria‘s music did, which is understandable on many levels, but the fact is that Argento specifically requested that Emerson create something far different than Suspiria‘s much loved score.

More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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03.15.2016
02:38 pm
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Stunning fluorescent stills from Dario Argento’s horror masterpiece ‘Suspiria’
03.07.2016
08:06 am
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A stunning still from the 1977 film, Suspiria
A stunning still from the 1977 film, ‘Suspiria’
 
This past week, the strongest rumors yet of a Hollywood remake of one of the most influential Italian films ever made, Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpiece Suspiria, came from a Tweet by writer Alex Heller-Nicholas, the author of the 2015 book, Suspiria: Devil’s Advocates.

According to Nicholas, director Luca Guadagnino has taken over the helm for the remake of Suspiria that will be set in the same year as the release of the original film (1977) but with the location shifted to Berlin. Nicholas’ Tweet also noted that the remake will include actress Tilda Swinton (and perhaps the rest of the cast of Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash—Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson). Squeee! While I generally shudder at the mere mention of the word “remake” (especially when it comes to horror films), it’s promising that this genre defining film would be reinterpreted by a director who doesn’t rub shoulders with Hollywood elite. The film is set for a tentative release in 2017, which will mark Suspiria’s 40th anniversary. But let’s get back to the eye-popping point of this post.

If you’ve never seen Suspiria (which, if you consider yourself a fan of horror films, I find hard to believe), I hope that the day-glow stills from this groundbreaking film I’ve put together for this post change that. Every camera set-up was a work of art. Argento himself has said that he was attempting to “reproduce the color” from Walt Disney’s animated technicolor film from 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . The prime colors were enhanced by the use of “imbibition” Technicolor prints. This process—also used for The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind—makes for much more vivid color reproduction. Historically, Suspiria was one of the last films to be processed in Technicolor.

Even if you have seen Dario Argento’s Suspiria I suggest that you put on some sunglasses, turn off the lights, and enjoy the following neon-colored, nightmarish stills from the film. If you need me, I’ll be under the bed (and as far away from barbed-wire as possible).
 
A still from Dario Argento's Suspiria
 
Suspiria movie poster by James Rheem Davis of Giant Sumo
“Suspiria” movie poster by James Rheem Davis of Giant Sumo
 
A still from Dario Argento's Suspiria
 
A still from Dario Argento's Suspiria
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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03.07.2016
08:06 am
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‘Neon’ movie posters of cult films by Quentin Tarantino, Dario Argento, Stanley Kubrick and more

The Shining neon movie poster by Van Orton Design
The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) neon movie poster
 
Using the art of “one point perspective” (an approach to art that began as early as the 15th century in Europe that utilizes a “vanishing point” on the horizon point of the image) two Italian twin brothers (working under the moniker Van Orton Design) took on the task of digitally reimagining movie posters based on cult films from directors like Dario Argento and Wes Anderson, in vivid electric neon color schemes.
 
Suspiria neon movie poster by Van Orton Design
Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)
 
Pulp Fiction neon movie poster by Van Orton Design
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
 
Although the twins used modern methods to obtain their striking results, there is a distinct old-school feel to their posters that homage some of cinema’s greatest achievements of the past 50 years. The brothers, who appear to prefer to remain nameless and obscure their faces with masks, have also managed to have the films be seen through fresh eyes due to their unique presentation and interpretation of different, unforgettable scenes in the films themselves. Such as the moment Marcellus Wallace unfortunately strolled in front of the beat up Honda that Butch Coolidge was driving in Pulp Fiction (pictured above) before everything goes to shit for both of them. Bonus? A few of the twins’ prints and other works are available for purchase, here. Many images that may require sunglasses (or an extra tab of LSD in your morning coffee if that’s how you roll) to maximize your enjoyment, follow.
 
h/t: Design Boom
 
The Grand Budapest Hotel neon poster by Van Orton Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
 
2001: A Space Odyssey neon movie poster by Van Orton Design
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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12.02.2015
10:20 am
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