Just bought LDV and 8 1/2 from Amazon.

Well after a bit of struggle I finally got my hands on a copy of Profondo rosso

I'm not to sure how to grade the movie at present. It a very destinctive style of movie to be sure but having never seen an Argento movie before I found it very jarring to say the least, I mean its not a "horror" movie per say, the overall story and style where quite impressive but I'll wait a few days before giving a definative verdict. It's a movie I need to sink in first it seems.

I don't know what you guys are talking about that Deep Red isn't bloody!

*spoilers*

Especially when the mom is decapitated by her own necklace at the end. Ugh.....

Ok, so I need to think about this movie, and I have alot to say about it stylisitically, but I want to clear up a few things first. Mainly, that haunted house of the screaming child is his friend's house from growing up, right? Where he saw his dad killed during Christmas, and that skeleton and hidden room were his dad and his bedroom?

I just want to get a few things cleared up. Like that he was "prtecting" his mom by eliminating everyone who may learn about his dad's death, and he needed to create the music and space in order to do it.

This was just as gory as Suspiria, by the way.

But Argento is a king of ambience. I was really scared out of my mind both times Marcus went to the haunted house. I liked the actual building (though the soundtrack for this particular film is a bit campy, and actually lessened the intensity of it for me). I liked the arts and crafts style iron work on all the windows, and how Argento plays with windows and iron bars and light throughout the entire scene to make the drab interior more gothic.

The weird drawings of the man getting knifed that the little girl copied from the archives and was found on the wall in the house was about as freaky as all the hung dolls. This was definately a movie where I was scared up until the end. Somehow Argento always has these weird campy endings though, that don't make me scared after the movie is done. usually its because they're not super-natural. There's a person behind it all, and I don't know that person, heh.

But I have one more question. Isn't Carlo himself killed at the end of the movie? Dragged behind that truck and hit by a car? Did his mom kill him, or was I confused during that scene?

So the exam went well, I'm assuming?

I can't wait to hear what you think Xia. Is this your "intro" to Fellini? LDV and 8 1/2 back-to-back? Excellent.

You could watch them in the order they were made. Scorsese jokes about it in My Voyage. Says, "Where can you go as a director once you've done something like La Dolce Vita? How could one possibly top that movie? Well.....8 1/2 was the only way to keep going 'up.'"

I think I won't need to take another one again.



Yep, this will be my first to Fellini. Can't wait to watch them.

Well, here is my take on Deep Red and who commits the murders.



SPOILERS

























I think that it was always the mother who killed. She was the one suffering mental problems when she kills her husband, she is the one the psychic at the beginning sees, she is obviously the one killing the psychic. Wth the other murders there is no way seeing the picture to know if it was her or not, but her final words saying that her son only tried to cover for her and that he was innocent makes me believe he didn´t kill anyone.
Also, at the end the son is using a gun, unlike the killer that always uses sharp weapons (a fave theme of Argento). And the son is killed by some driver that cannot brake in time.

As Argento replaced the composer Gaslini with Goblin for the soundtrack, I don't know exactly 100% who composed what part, but the electronic music that uses a church organ is 100% Goblin and I think it suits the movie perfectly. It's the 'normal' music in some scenes that I found just adequate.

As for the syle I love the 2.35:1 image and how the scenes are set up in long shots, with an emphasis on certain objects. That scene in the beginning where we see the stabbing, the knife falling on the floor, and the legs of the boy I find marvelous (it was also featured in round 2 of id the screenshot ).
It's also interesting to see how Argento gives us some disconnected scenes of the puzzle in the beginning and it's up to the viewer together with the main character to find out about those scenes and how they affect the main plot.

And not every director has the balls to show us the killer, but making it in a way that THE FIRST TIME that you see the movie you don't even notice it. If you pause and rewind you can clearly see that the face of the killer is already shown when the murder happens, and not only when Hemmings try to remember it at the end.
And it's not the first time Argento has played with the spectator in such a way. In a previous movie that I won't reveal here to avoid spoiling it, he did something very similar.
Robert Rodriguez tried to do a similar thing in THE FACULTY, but when rewinding you can clearly see that he cheats when he does the repetition of the scene.

Do you agree that there are certain similarities between this movie and BLOW UP? In the latter Hemmings believes he has seen a murder and he has a physical item (photo) to prove his idea, in this one he has seen the murderer, but the way to prove it is thru a mental item (memory). So both movies explore the way we perceive things, what's reality and what's an illusion.

END SPOILERS

I loved it! It was beautiful. Almost every frame int he film could stand on its own as a great piece of art. I can think of few movies that are made with such passion. So many great scenes it's hard to pick out a favorite one. I'd probably say the first scene with La Saraghina.

It seems to be both a meditation and a celbration on life. And a wonderful one. I also absolutely fell in love with Barbara Steele.

A

Aside from the Saraghina scenes, my next favorite is the continuous shot that introduces us to the springs.

Rod! You are getting such a range for your Italian film viewing in these two weeks. De Sica, Fellini, Wertmuller! Wow. I am so glad you liked 8 1/2. I'm guessing its one of the most influential (and certainly one of the most written about) films ever.

I see another future Fellini fan!

My favorite character was Sandra Milo. I just really liked all her scenes and tactics. For some reason I felt alot of sympathy for her. Well, for everyone, but her in particular. Because she's affected being shallow to get attention, but she really isn't (or, not any more so than anyone else in the film).

I know it seems odd now, since so many movies have imitated 8 1/2 since, but the way Fellini blends "reality" with Guido's dreams, always only letting the audience know in retrospect (if even) was a first.

And I agree with you about the beuaty. Every single one of Fellini's movies feels like an entire staged and choreographed ballet to me. He is my absolute favorite. He actually really wanted to control everything on stage, right down to the sets. It made him a little dry in certain movies where the accident of unexpected objects and landscapes didn't provide him with a challenge of integration, but this is only rarely. Most of his work is just gold to me. Such rythm and glamour and sheer visual poetry.

Of all the films I have watched in the past couple of weeks 8/12 is the first one that I'm already looking forward to viewing again.

I liked all of Guido's women (so the closing scene was another one that was a complete joy to watch) and my reason for singling out Gloria has little to do with her character....she's just gorgeous! lol

Actually trying to watch this movie was quite a journey of its own. I've been trying to do so for the past couple of weeks. I would play like half an hour and realize I didn't have the time to watch the entire thing so I would stop. The start from the beginning again and come to the same realization. At one point I was a bit annoyed because I felt the subtitles kept me from concentrating on what was going on on screen, so I turned them off and tried watching part of it without them. Though I could understand maybe 10% of what was being said...it wasn't really enough. So it was only yesterday that I managed to watch it from beginning to end, with subtitles...but with my senses not fully intact. So there are probably at least a couple of things I missed, but I'd still like to watch the movie and be able to concentrate on the visual aspects of it without the distraction of subtitles at some point. It's times like these I really wish I knew more languages!

I can already tell this will be a movie I will love more and more the more I think back on it though.


Oh and while on the subject of subtitles I'd just like to say that I find it pretty annoying when certain measurements in the metric system for American audiences. I almost feel like they're dumbing it down in a way. They did so in this movie when they converted 40C 104F but they do that with almost every foreign film. It of course in no way affects the quality of the film since it's somewhat unrelated to it...but I thought it worth mentioning.

Ouch! :-P

Speaking of which, Christian, you still never told me what you thought about Seven Beauties aside from the opneing. Itys ok, you don't have to like it. I specifically chose something I thought would be interesting and have people on both sides of it, not a Fellini, which is too easy, and everyone should love.

Well, that's what confused me. When she said she her son was trying to protect her, I thought it meant he was killing the people that might uncover her original act against her husband/his father. So I'm still not sure, but I think there were two different murderers. Unless it was more that the son knew about it, wasn't telling anyone, and thats why he was drinking so much and getting ill. But still why would she kill him then. I might have missed something while covering my eyes (oopsies) but didn't he end up tied to the end of the truck and getting hit by the car? Who tied him to the truck? Or was it suicide?



I noted that part, right away. And yes, I really do think Argento's movies are good looking when I can stomach them, especially the synthetic colors. But it never ceases to amaze me how attracted he is to these hypercolorful and symbolic bloody death scenes were people get hacked apart and there's always alot of broken glass everywhere and cutting into people's skins. It makes me squeamish, so I end up covering my eyes and missing half of it, but I do still get the high stylization and especially the colors and camerawork from the little bit when I peak through my fingers.



Huh? Which scenes were out of order? I didn't notce anything like that. It felt fairly chronologically straight foreward to me.



I missed it the first time. I probably should have gone back and checked for it as you menioned. So yes, he did a really good job sneaking it in there. Pretty much announcing the murderer, and still knowing no one will catch it.




A little, I guess, but the big difference to me anyways is that one was entirely about perception to the point where the crime stops being an issue (Blow-Up) unlike here, where there really is a mass killer and its more of an ambient rich who-dunnit. Those are very different for me. Most of Deep Red is not about illusion/reality, it is just that one distinction between mirror and painting. The rest is quite "real" and isn't really meant to be challenged as just in the eye of the beholder. Its actually less convoluted, if one can call Argento that, even. I do see your point though.

Dolce you're so pushy!

Anyway, at first (don't judge a book by its cover lol) I thought this was some "Casanova" type movie with a boorish man as a guy who fancies himself as the coolest guy in town (the English title is Seven Beauties anyway so that's my first impression).

But from the montage, I thought, wow, this is taking quite a different turn - for the good. Pasqualino's antics could've gone annoying, but Gianini gave his character the type of soul and charm that I felt that he grew a lot (LOT) more after being thrust (as a prisoner and as a seducer of a tough, tough, bitch) into some horrible, heartbreaking, and at the same time hilarious situations. He kind of reminds me of what's his face from A Confederacy of Dunces, only in a confined and bleak space. Cinematography and editing are wonderful, and so is Wertmuller's refreshing direction into the anti-war genre - biting, stark, and oftentimes funny. I'd give this an A-.

It's interesting, I saw Running With Scissors and the characters in the movie go into a theatre that's playing a "Lina Wertmuller Festival." I LOLed in the theatre.

Dolce or anyone: seen the Best of Youth?

I was reading through this thread before I left to see RwS and noticed it, too. I double glanced and wondered if it was the same. What was it Burroughs said about Lina? It was really funny, even though I haven't seen any of her (?) work.

Y'know, dolce, I'm almost afraid to step into this thread, seeing KJ's brightest stars in here passionately discussing Fellini. I'm jealous and afraid at the same time. If the festival ends after this weekend and I have the chance to see just one Italian film, what would it be? 8 1/2? Cabiria? Seven Beauties?

When he is fleeing from the police, he doesn't see the truck coming and gets hit by it. The truck carries a hook attached to a rope and that's where he gets stuck. It's not the mother who kills him.

I have a solution here to avoid covering your eyes:

By the way, that's from another Argento movie, Opera.

Uh, I'm doing purchasing for Argento and Bava right now. Geesh, how many of their DVDs aren't available in Region 1 format. Do you have suggestions for whom to go to in order to purchase Italian horror DVDs that are playable on USA players?

Ah, and I missed the accident part. I did see him running from the police though, which is odd, because I was wondering what all the running was about in the first place?



What a mean question! That's like asking "Should I see the one that is most well reknown and influential, your personal sentimental favorite, or the one you've been plugging as a controversial first and a crowning moment in international female directed cinema?"

I'm not answering this question.

By the way, what terrible luck. I reserved a copy of The Leopard by Visconti way back on the 19th. It arrived in my branch yesterday and when I went to pick it up today, it was the totally wrong movie. Now I'm back in line again, and don't know if I'll get it in time to view before the end of the weekend. I really wanted to do a review for a (non-horror) movie I haven't seen before, too. Oh yes, so now that I'm waiting, again, for Leopard, I put Best of Youth on reserve as well.

Psst Lennier, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned


Re: Best of Youth: Italians can really make (melo)drama without being manipulative/corny.

Well, today I just finished placing the order forms for 60 titles/160 items of Italian Cinema for the library! About 45 titles were completely new to the system.

Our collection is neither deep nor broad, but three months from now some patron who is looking up some movies is gonna say to him/herself "Damn, where'd all these Italian movies suddenly come from? They're practically 50% of the library's world cinema holdings!"

Almost too sentimental and too nostalgic. But it's warm, sweet, beautiful, well acted. The score is beautiful as is the montage at the end. I liked some of the smaller themes explored such as moving ahead with life and looking back on what you left behind. I watched the original 1989 version and the only problem I had with is that it seemed to leave a few questions about what happened with certain events unanswered. I'm not sure is any of them are answered in the director's cut. In spite of that I really really liked it.

A-

Apparently, the original is far sweeter than the Nuevo, which ends with bitter wonderment at a waisted life. I tend to agree with you about the sort of nastalgia that invaded Italian cinema in the late eighties and nineties. Same thing happens in Meditterano, Il Postino, etc. The reel of kisses made me cry, though, so I guess I fell for the sap the first time I saw it too. The directors cut has Salvatore kind of wallowing in what has become of his mun dane existence. That he was so energetic when he was young chasing love and loving film, having these incredibly close relationships, even though he turned out to be a dried up, tired middle ages business man. There was more of an element of a mid-life crisis, I guess you could call it that. Very well done film, not my favorite, though.

Wow, Rod, you really ate up Italian cinema this year!

Xia, Zennier, Baumer, Christian, anyone of you guys got any final thoughts/films for the weekend?

I'd like to thank Mr. Price for being the best Italian Cinema co-host ever, too.

Rod ate everything up this year! He has been fairly active in the Spanish area as well - though he is an expert...

dolce, I am watching Seven Beauties as we speak. I will post some initial thoughts at the very least before the festival officially ends.

So, I didn't get a chance to come back after I finished Seven Beauties, but I must say... wow. Fantastic performance from Giancarlo Giannini and an amazing soundtrack. Perhaps my favorite aspect was the wonderful scenery! Great stuff- ranging from funny to quite touching. I saw the dubbed version which *was* very, very irritating. I'm placing an order for the original version on Amazon - I can't wait to see it without the dubbing (distracting!). Best film of the festival - a great way to close things out. One last comment - I just loved the scene (about a quarter of the way into the film) where Pasqualino is walking around the town. Talk about a true character! His interactions with the women of the town and his sort of nonchalant walk around was charming... Giancarlo did a great job with this role.

A

I'm not sure what else to say, except that Lisa Wertmuller is a fine director. What else has she done?

Tomorrow night is L' Avventura.... If I am able to finish it all (it is, after all, Boston Legal night) I'll also post a review here. I hope it is OK to keep using this thread, despite the festival being over?

She's done quite a bit, but her most well known is the original Swept Away, which I'm pretty sure is also the most controversial of her films. Not my favorite (Seven Beauties is) and quite a bit rougher to stomach (if that's possible) but very interesting, and there's a lot of literature written about it, of course. She's also done Love and Anarchy, The Seduction of Mimi, Ciao Professore, and Night of Full Rain (which I haven't seen). Almost all of them with Giannini, and she had a female muse as well, Mariangela Melato. They act opposite eachother in Swept Away.



That settles it, we have exactly the same taste! L'Avventura is excellent too. And see Blow-Up (for Antonioni's English work), and while you're at it, toss in some more Fellini and De Sica maybe I'll go so far as to recommend you Decameron and Gospel by Pasolini. Ohhh, I could keep going!

Thanks for watching it too Zac. I'm very happy three people checked this movie out, and all had insightful and very different things to say about it. Now whenever I mention people won't think I'm a loonie talking to the wall (or maybe they still will...)

I don't know, I tend to talk to walls....

Really, what a fantastic choice. I'm very enthused about it. If only I would have listened to you sooner! My queue is going to be slated Italian for quite some time. With the Janus Film Project (or whatever they call it) showing L'Avventura (and Umberto D. - any good? I noticed it was directed by De Sica, who you've brought up several times, and is the imdb top 250...), I'm quite excited!

I've heard for Swept Away (yes, the original, heh) and The Seduction of Mimi, so I guess Wertmuller is more of a fixture in cinema than I realized. Interesting.

Unfortunately I don't have as much free time as I want! Almost finished! Two months and grades are frozen.