{"id":30198,"date":"2024-11-30T15:49:34","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T23:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=30198"},"modified":"2024-11-30T15:49:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T23:49:34","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-dario-argentos-deep-cuts-1973-and-1988","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=30198","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: DARIO ARGENTO\u2019S DEEP CUTS (1973 and 1987-1988)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This 4-disc Blu-ray set from Severin Films is currently\navailable for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ever since my teenage years, I have been an enthusiast of\nthe films of Dario Argento. After watching so many American horror movies of\nthe 1980s with similar elements, Argento\u2019s unique, sometimes surreal Italian\npictures really made an impression (and helped turn my attention to\ninternational cinema as well). The Bird with the Crystal Plumage<\/em> (1970)\npopularized the \u201cgiallo\u201d film and Deep Red<\/em> (1975) is, in my opinion, the\nbest title ever in the subgenre. Suspiria <\/em>(1977) is another masterpiece,\nTenebrae<\/em> (1982) is impressive and Phenomena<\/em> (1985) is a whole lot\nof crazy fun. And while I haven\u2019t seen his most recent outing yet, I will also\nvehemently stand up for the likes of Sleepless<\/em> (2001) and Do You Like\nHitchcock?<\/em> (2005) as excellent titles in his catalog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, upon hearing of Severin Films release of Dario\nArgento\u2019s Deep Cuts<\/em>, I was a little skeptical about how \u201cdeep\u201d it could\npossibly go. The discs contain his 4-episode anthology series Door into\nDarkness<\/em> (1973) aka The Door to Darkness<\/em> and that\u2019s wonderful, since\nthose episodes have been hard to come by. The set also contains Dario\nArgento\u2019s World of Horror<\/em> (1985), a solid documentary covering his career\nup through the production of Phenomena<\/em>. But if those titles were already\nfamiliar to me, what else could there possibly be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer is, quite a lot. I have discovered that I\ncertainly do not know everything about the filmmaker and his work. Now, the\nfine people at Severin are filling me in with this release. In the late 1980s,\nArgento actually co-hosted a Friday night horror-themed television variety\nprogram that featured shorts and spots produced and occasionally made by the\nfilmmaker. A lot of that material is present here on this set, and frankly, I\u2019m\nblown away by it. I never knew this material existed and was thrilled to see\nit. Any Argento completist needs to pick up this set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The previously noted Door into Darkness<\/em> makes up the\nfirst two Blu-ray discs. These are four hour-long television anthology episodes\nwith intros from Argento himself. The Neighbor<\/em> involves a couple with a\nbaby who suspect that the person living upstairs might be up to something\nnasty. Luigi Cozzo (Starcrash, Hercules<\/em>) directed the segment and it\u2019s a\ncreepy, fun and effective thriller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argento\u2019s episode, The Tram<\/em>, is the best of the\nseries. When the body of a young woman is discovered on a tram, a detective\n(Enzo Cerusico) must figure out how it could have happened on such a busy line.\nWhile this is a TV episode, there is evidence of Argento\u2019s stylistic flourishes\npresent with clever camera angles, and a unique story. The cop tries to reenact\nthe crime on a train, which is a well-executed sequence. Additionally, the\nfinale set in a rail yard is remarkably suspenseful. It\u2019s an excellent episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Doll<\/em> is perhaps the weakest of the bunch, even\nthough the story has promise. The plot involves a cop and psychiatrist hunting\ndown a murderous asylum escapee, but it doesn\u2019t come together as effectively as\nthe others. The last spot, Eyewitness<\/em>, gets things back on the right\ntrack. This tense effort is about a woman driving at night being hunted by a\nkiller after discovering a wounded lady. The episode doesn\u2019t start off\nparticularly strongly, but the second half is quite effective and exciting.\nReports suggest that Argento stepped in to reshoot significant portions\n(including the climax) of this solid tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Viewers shouldn\u2019t expect reference quality material here.\nThe image is perfectly acceptable, if somewhat grainy. While shot on film, this\nrare project was made for broadcast on TV and shot with that in mind. Thus, the\npicture isn\u2019t as stunning as an Argento feature. Still, this is<\/em> the best\nthat the material can possibly look and will do the trick for fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as extras go, the first disc contains a film\nhistorian commentary on The Tram<\/em>, which is very informative. It goes\ninto the program, how it was all put together and provides plenty of trivia\nabout the episode and series in general. Dario Argento: My Cinema Parts 1\nand 2<\/em> (1999) are also included. This is a 2-hour documentary on the\nfilmmaker that details his career from The Bird with the Crystal Plumage<\/em>\nall the way to The Phantom of the Opera<\/em> (1998). Luigi Cozzi helmed this\neffort and it has plenty of great interview footage with its subject, as well\nas Cozzi himself, members of Goblin, and composer Pino Donaggio. It\u2019s an\neffective doc on Argento.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The second disc contains a film historian commentary on Eyewitness<\/em>.\nThe speakers are certain that several sections were reworked and refilmed by\nArgento and point these shots and scenes out, while giving information about\nthe production. This disc also has the nearly 90-minute Dario Argento:\nMaster of Horror<\/em> doc that also provides another career overview, but\nfocuses primarily on the shooting of Phenomena<\/em>. Viewers will see how\nmany of the gooey and grotesque special effects for that film were created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there is an archival interview with Argento\nabout The Tram<\/em> and Door into Darkness<\/em> series, as well as an\ninterview with writer\/director Luigi Cozzi, who discusses the hectic schedule\nand other problems he faced working on the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The other two discs are where, for this reviewer, all of the new and incredible material begins. It seems that back in 1987, Argento took part in the RAI television variety show Giallo<\/em>, which he co-hosted with popular Italian presenter Enzo Tortora. Tortora has something of a tragic history in the country, being falsely accused and imprisoned on drug-running charges. Finally released by authorities (with an apology) and back on the air, the host befriended Argento and created a Friday night program with him. According to the extras, Tortora would host true crime segments that examined real-life mysteries, while Argento would appear to talk about horror-related subjects and present bits on special make-up effects and various other chilling subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disc three contains Night Shift<\/em> segments from Giallo<\/em>.\nThese were 15-minute mystery tales produced by Argento, in which a trio of cab\ndrivers (Matteo Gazzolo, Antonella Vitale and Franco Cerri) witnessed pieces of\na crime while on the job and would have to figure out who the culprit was.\nApparently, when the episodes aired, there would be a brief break and Argento\nwould go among the crowd to ask who they thought the guilty party was. All the\nsegments here are presented without the breaks.  Lamberto Bava (Demons,\nDemons 2<\/em>) directed the first handful of episodes while Luigi Cozzi took on\nthe remaining shorts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They are all enjoyably silly. There are all sorts of strange\nhappenings, and when one watches them back-to-back, you really get the\nimpression that all their fares are murderers. Based on these shorts, Rome\nmight be the most crime-infested city in the world. Some of the assumptions\nmade by the cabbies in solving the crimes are also ridiculous. Yet the spots\nare very enjoyable and entertaining, as the cabbies analyse the \u201cfacts\u201d and\nquickly identify the killers. There are even some familiar faces involved. A\nChristmas-themed mystery features Daria Nicolodi and a very young Asia and\nFiore Argento.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, the footage isn\u2019t in phenomenal condition, but\ndoes come from recently discovered film elements and is likely the only source\navailable. So, again, we\u2019re lucky to be seeing any of it at all and it is\nentertaining. Extras include an interview with Argento about how he met and\ncollaborated with Enzo Tortora. In separate interviews, Lamberto Bava and Luigi\nCozzi discuss the incredibly tight shooting schedules. They received their\nscripts the day after the previous broadcast and had to shoot nights and\ncomplete a 15-minute film for the following week. Lamberto was the first man\nhired, but when another job came along, Cozzi took over. The pair talk about\nsome of their favorite episodes and the people they worked with. Also included\nis a conversation with the screenwriter and an interview with the well-liked\nco-star Antonella Vitale, who talks about her experiences on set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disc 4 contains Nightmares<\/em>. These are shorts from the\nshow (sometimes less than 5 minutes) that involve Argento confessing about\nthings that frighten him. His admissions are followed by visual depictions of\nthese nightmares. Some are very intense and graphic for TV. There is a nasty\nbit involving a worm crawling out of a woman\u2019s eye, and, on a lighter note, the\nfilmmaker casts an actual fan and aspiring actor, putting him through his paces\nin a nightmarish audition scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These are wild spots that I didn\u2019t even know existed. Also included on the disc is a stylish Italian car advertisement directed by Argento that was broadcast on TV. Best of all is 100 minutes of extra footage included from the Giallo<\/em> program. It includes Argento interviewing actors on the variety show, including Anthony Perkins and band Pink Floyd. One of the more entertainingly bizarre moments briefly features Luigi Cozzi traveling to Scotland to Loch Ness, interviewing the head of the Operation Deepscan sonar exploration, and placing a microphone in the water so that host Argento can interview the monster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 80s were a wild time and it appears that, despite his\nreputation as a man presenting terrifying images to viewers, he was also\nwilling to have fun. Giallo<\/em> is an unexpected and crazy delight that I\nwas thrilled to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the 4-disc Blu-ray set Dario Argento\u2019s Deep Cuts<\/em>\nis exactly that. It presents some great hard-to-find material (like The Tram<\/em>),\nas well as rare Giallo <\/em>footage produced and sometimes directed by the\nfilmmaker that even his biggest fans won\u2019t know about. There are so many\noutlandish and memorably wild moments here, any Argento enthusiast will be\nimpressed. Thanks once again to Severin Films for locating and making this\nmaterial available on Blu-ray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This 4-disc Blu-ray set from Severin Films is currently available for purchase. Ever since my teenage years, I have been an enthusiast of the films of Dario Argento. After watching so many American horror movies of the 1980s with similar elements, Argento\u2019s unique, sometimes surreal Italian pictures really made an impression (and helped turn my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[104,120,121,1577,1774,2933,2939,3067,5202,5203,5624,5625,6146,8290,14870,14895,18083,22441,23375,23689],"class_list":["post-30198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-104","tag-120","tag-121","tag-anthology","tag-argento","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-2","tag-blu-ray","tag-dario-argentos-deep-cuts","tag-dario-argentos-deep-cuts-blu-ray-review","tag-deep-cuts","tag-deep-cuts-blu-ray-review","tag-door-into-darkness","tag-giallo","tag-night-shift","tag-nightmares","tag-severin-films","tag-the-tram","tag-tv","tag-variety"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30198\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}