Dario Argento and others thrillers/horror movies directors

[cthulhu]

Hey Silver Cloud,

are you from germany? And do you mean the Stephen King IT movie from the 80's with Tim Curry?

Since i had such a great rediscovering of the John Carpenter movies i've just ordered The Fog. This one i amost can't remember and i kind of thought that it would be too lame to watch. But now i'm really looking forward to it

[Tarsier]

Dragged Across Concrete, although rather overlong, is a bloody excellent film.   

That was a masterpiece! Dunno, I didn't find it too long, but that was probably due to my current mood when I saw it - you know, kind of meditative, slow, Sunday mood 

[cthulhu]

So after Christine, Starman and Escape from New York, i re-watched The Fog and this one didn't work forme like the others did.
I found it to be beautifully filmed, the score was fantastic and so good for the atmosphere again, this is something that Carpenter is really a unique master of, but the whole movie left me thinking that the times have changed so much since then and the whole movie, i felt it to be very naive. It just didn't work like it wanted to, but i enjoyed every minute of it watching.
Christine for example, though it is as old as The Fog, got me really involved and was working so well, i think even better than whe i watched it in those days.
I don't know what i want to watch next...Vampire, Ghosts of Mars or Village of the Damned...?

[Guillaume]

I don't know what i want to watch next...Vampire, Ghosts of Mars or Village of the Damned...?

I think that 'Vampires' ages well, like a good wine...first time i watched it in theaters in April 1998 i felt it was "pretty good but not great Carpenter" but 22 years later i've watched it many times on vhs, dvd then blu ray...again it's not major Carpenter, it's slightly repetitive, it has a few cheesy parts, the ending is rushed BUT it is still a solid B movie with cool characters and casting (James Woods, Sheryl Lee, Daniel Baldwin, Tim Guinee and Maximilian Schell) and it's also beautifully shot as usual with Carpenter, the New Mexico locations work well the Western vibe is pretty cool the cinematography is beautiful and i also like the bluesy rock soundtrack by Big John Himself...

at least i can say that i like "Vampires' more than "Ghosts of Mars"!

First time i watched "Ghosts of Mars" on the big screen i found it rather fun but it's a film i like less and less each time i watch it...it's a kind of lazy noisy B/Z movie  rehash of much better Carpenter movies, some of the action scenes, dialogues and characters aren't too good and the plot and pace are sloppy. Of course because it's Carpenter it has some good things (Natasha Henstridge is a pretty good lead, some of the Mars sets, make up and atmosphere are interesting) but overall...it's the Carpenter i like the least ex aequo with his poor "Masters of Horror" episodes, the anonymous "The ward" and the half failure of "Escape from L.A.".

"Village of the damned"...it doesn't have a good reputation but i like it. Again, i didn't think much of it in the theaters in 1995 but i liked it more on further viewings, vhs then laserdics then dvd!
It has an "old school" charm, it's beautifully shot with elegant pretty cinematography and i like its "has been" casting, Christophe Reeve really delivers a solid performance here.


By the way, about Carpenter, there's a book now available in stores...:




A 463 pages character study of Carpenter's works, with new interviews of the Master himself, his wife the producer Sandy King and the CHRISTINE actor Keith Gordon...a book to be put under the Christmas tree, maybe?

[cthulhu]

Thank you, Guillaume! If i hadn't already found a cool price blu of Vampires and decided to buy it, i would have done it after reading your recommendation. It sounds great how you described it and i'm looking forward to it!

And the book also seems a very interesting one. I would go for the coloured version, but it seems it costs about 60€, a bit too much for me at the moment...maybe this is more a job for the easter bunny to get me a copy;-)

[Guillaume]

As for Christine... I think I said that I regard it in the same way that I regard The Dead Zone... good film but the book was far better, got more into the characters and far more moving.  But hey, both books were proper door-stoppers, I guess you gotta sacrifice something just to squeeze it into a two hour movie!

About Stephen King, here's a cool new documentary, with interviews of the King himself through the decades, clips of the movies from his novels, etc. Shown at the end of the week on the cool German/French tv Arte, and directed by a french movie journalist, but already available on Youtube:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCBycQIPrKU&ab_channel=ARTE

Thank you, Guillaume! If i hadn't already found a cool price blu of Vampires and decided to buy it, i would have done it after reading your recommendation. It sounds great how you described it and i'm looking forward to it!

Yes let us know what you think of VAMPIRES! 

About the book...yes the coloured version is a bit expensive but because i'm a huge fan of Carpenter i'd be interested to own it sooner or later...the writer Troy Howarth has also wrote a book about Dario Argento, in stores soon. 

[cthulhu]

Stephen King: " I admire John Carpenters Christine and i loughed through it. But not because i think it's funny, the laughter you have when you discover that somebody knows what you meant"

Cool, just shuttled through the documentary about Stephen King, thanks for that link, and directly came to that scene about 17:20 in...

Well Vampire...i like it very much! It was pretty much exactly how you described it, and i loved the ending, didn't feel it was rushed. I could think about some "there could have been" and "i missed that and that" but i won't, because i had great fun and entertainment. It's nowhere near They Live or The Thing or Assault...but  it's a pretty good genre movie (vampirewesternaction;)
It would be perfect for a triple feature of Near Dark, Tremors and Vampire...;-)
And i liked that Baldwin Guy! They are all clones, aren't they!? Kind of spooky..Carpenter should make a movie about the Baldwin Hollywood Clones...;-)

And it's not very long agao that i saw the Twin Peaks Series from beginning to end and to see Sheryl again was great!!

[Master Ray]

Stephen King: " I admire John Carpenters Christine and i loughed through it. But not because i think it's funny, the laughter you have when you discover that somebody knows what you meant"

Cool, just shuttled through the documentary about Stephen King, thanks for that link, and directly came to that scene about 17:20 in...

Well Vampire...i like it very much! It was pretty much exactly how you described it, and i loved the ending, didn't feel it was rushed. I could think about some "there could have been" and "i missed that and that" but i won't, because i had great fun and entertainment. It's nowhere near They Live or The Thing or Assault...but  it's a pretty good genre movie (vampirewesternaction;)
It would be perfect for a triple feature of Near Dark, Tremors and Vampire...;-)
And i liked that Baldwin Guy! They are all clones, aren't they!? Kind of spooky..Carpenter should make a movie about the Baldwin Hollywood Clones...;-)

And it's not very long agao that i saw the Twin Peaks Series from beginning to end and to see Sheryl again was great!!

It was wonderful. wasn't it?  I was dreading it somewhat, seeing as the original 90's show was one of my fave shows ever, but my expectations were met and exceeded!

Getting back to Dario Argento, I just noticed that a bunch of his movies are available, full and uncut and in very good quality prints, on Youtube.  Well worth checking out!

[Guillaume]

Well Vampire...i loved the ending, didn't feel it was rushed.

SPOILERS!!!

I LOVE the very last scene between the three characters especially the blunt crual last dialogue between Baldwin and Woods, something like "You have two days to escape but i'm going to find you and sorry i'll have to kill you..."...the farewell small bit between the two friends is bitter and quite moving i must say!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gczFR-Y00_g&ab_channel=c0l0s022

when i'm writing "rushed ending" i'm thinking of the scene before, the slaying of the vampires happening very fast very quickly in a few shots/fade out shots?, like if the budget wasn't enough at the end of the shooting for showing a bigger final showdown between the team and the vampires...or maybe Carpenter just wasn't so interested by that scene because we already saw lots of killing in the rest of the movie and also because the real "goals" of the finale was the sad end of the friendship between Woods and Baldwin.

And i liked that Baldwin Guy!

Yes he is good! The good clever thing in the screenplay is that Baldwin's chracter becomes somewhat the real hero, he is more nuanced, layered than the blunt rude character played by James Woods. The fact that Baldwin's character is bitten by Sheryl Lee's character and hides this to Woods's character until the end is an involving bit in the screenplay. I also like another crual idea the fact that Sheryl Lee is a "living camera" and sees all the murders that Valek is doing.
Overall i think that the characters in the film are interesting...Montoya, Jack Crow, the young priest/padre, the old priest.  and that the performances are fine...Carpenter said when interviewed during the french theatrical release of the film in les Cahiers du Cinéma, that what he liked the most in the screenplay were the characters, he especially liked the old priest character, his dilemna, the fact that he betrays the Church because he has the fear of death...Carpenter adds that he understands perfectly why the old priest has this fear of death and so wants eternal endless life...a challenging idea!

It would be perfect for a triple feature of Near Dark, Tremors and Vampire...;-)

Indeed!
The soundtrack is cool too...the opening scene with the music is great, i remember thinking in theaters 1998 that the film would be fantastic just because of the opening scene, with that camera flying over the cool landscape, with this great track playing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrnLleT6Pr0&ab_channel=Coruna21

(Notice Carpenter's musical nod to the "Suspiria" main theme, between 0;30 and 0:45 during this opening scene!!)


I also love the "Crual highway" track and the scene with this track playing (just after the car crash when Sheryl, Daniel and James are walking on this "crual highway", looking for a new car...it's the kind of scene and track i never tire of playing! thrilling!): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF5iqyXGPBI&ab_channel=NK-89

Getting back to Dario Argento, I just noticed that a bunch of his movies are available, full and uncut and in very good quality prints, on Youtube.  Well worth checking out!

THE CARD PLAYER/IL CARTAIO...that one is underrated i think, it's fun and i like the lead characters, the lead actress Stefania Rocca is great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R39slORgMWE&ab_channel=JAYVS.HORROR

INFERNO...incredible surreal movie with incredible visuals and direction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BEB9cGW2uA&ab_channel=nuuroUwU

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME...Dario's last masterpiece...Asia Argento is great, again fantastic Dario direction and an INCREDIBLE Ennio Morricon's soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro8BF51_tnI&ab_channel=HGC

TRAUMA...underrated with a young already talented Asia Argento and the fantastic Pino Donaggio track "Ruby rain":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7g-VTq7g0A&ab_channel=Ouine01

SLEEPLESS/NON HO SONNO...with a cool warm Max Von Sydow lead performance, a great Goblin come back and the famous creepy tense great opening train sequence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk7pBHwmmvU&ab_channel=Ouine01

THE CAT'O"NINE TAILS...second Argento movie and a huge success at the italien box office in 1970/71...far from my favourite but still a pretty good thriller:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZSm8pcP4_c&ab_channel=FlogodCinema


DEMONS...produced but not DIRECTED by Dario! It's silly but...great fun!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE3xNWzsYpg&ab_channel=SelectorBrow


Tell me if i missed some Dario Argento films on Youtube!!
German/French tv Arte is screening next week for Halloween the stunning and beautiful OPERA.

Viva Argento! 

[cthulhu]

@Master Ray
I found the new, 3rd season of Twin Peaks the best, and one of the very best ever shows produced for Television. Unbelievable good and exciting.

@Guillaume
Exactly what i felt with this ending. This moment was very moving, almost unexpectedly and so very cool to have it. kind of a reason d'etre for the movie in my opinion.
I found the old priest also a very interesting character, but here i felt that it was not used to the fullest. Maximilloan Shell is good, but he could have been so much better used. I felt his role was too small in that movie, and that came to my mind after his revelation of his motive. But i'm not complaining, just thinking..

The music/score was very good but i would be curious about the effect of a pure synthie carpenter soundtrack in this setting.
I didn't notice the Suspiria hommage, thanks for pointing that out. Really cool!

[Guillaume]

@Guillaume
Exactly what i felt with this ending. This moment was very moving, almost unexpectedly and so very cool to have it. kind of a reason d'etre for the movie in my opinion.

Yes it was a very nice ending, you feel very sorry for Baldwin's character, his curse his tragic fate...these guys are tough but hey they are human beings with feelings too! Even a blunt rude tough guy like Jack Crow can only embrace his "brother" at the end!

I found the old priest also a very interesting character, but here i felt that it was not used to the fullest. Maximilloan Shell is good, but he could have been so much better used. I felt his role was too small in that movie, and that came to my mind after his revelation of his motive. But i'm not complaining, just thinking..

Yes he is a bit under used...the young priest is more at the heart of the screenplay, he is also changing through the movie, like Baldwin's character. The only ones characters not changing through the story are Jack Crow and the Master Vampire Valek!

I didn't notice the Suspiria hommage, thanks for pointing that out. Really cool!

Carpenter said in the Cahiers du Cinéma interview for "Vampires"'s release that he changed slightly a few notes of the "Suspiria"s main theme to not make a simple obvious rip off of it, but some people noticed his tribute with this musical intro!

Carpenter is a HUGE fan of Dario Argento, he is a fan of "Suspiria", "Inferno", "Phenomena", "Opera", "The Stendhal Syndrome"...in the Cahiers du Cinéma interview he said that "Phenomena" was a very disturbing movie that put him really ill at ease ("i will never show "Phenomena" to my children" !) and that "Suspiria" was "the best and most beautiful horror movie ever made", "Inferno" is also a big favourite film for him. He said "You know i've stole/stolen so many shots and even scenes from Dario's films!"

Here are the two Masters of Horror last year in Cannes!:

 

[Guillaume]

I t seems that the french have their special relationship and love for cinema going well in corona times. Very good move to show good old films.

Maybe it won't last because the virus is spreading more and more in the whole country  so there are more and more restrictions BUT at least we have here next week for the "Halloween" season an old movie re-released in theaters...an old movie, a TIMELESS CLASSIC that i have never watched on the big screen...until next week!!

[Master Ray]

Ah, sad news, RIP Daria Nicolodi, at the age of 70.  A fine actress and often Dario's muse (through good and bad times).   

[Guillaume]

She was Dario's muse indeed from 1974 to 1985, she (co) wrote SUSPIRIA, INFERNO and maybe a bit PHENOMENA; she was more in the fantasy/occult/witch tales world than Dario obviously so thanks to her we have these masterpieces SUSPIRIA and INFERNO.
Daria Nicolodi's best performance by far in a Dario Argento movie was in DEEP RED, she was very good in it and her duo with the late David Hemmings was compelling. It seems that she also chose Goblin to make the soundtrack so thanks to her to ask Dario to give a chance to this new band, they created a fantastic music for that film and then SUSPIRIA!

RIP Daria and my thoughts are with the Argento family... 

[Guillaume]

Joe Dante's GREMLINS!!!

Also, Phoebe Cates speech about her fathers death... surely one of the most bizarre and disturbing moments in popular 80's cinema?

Indeed!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueVPUsyrT0s&ab_channel=theartofmancraft

Rewatching again the film on blu ray, i was thinking too about a CGI remake...it would be a disaster!!
the special effects team did wonderful impressive inventive work in 1983 on "Gremlins"!!  the close ups especially on Gizmo and the Gremlins"s faces are expressive, beautifully done.
Lots of cult scenes here:

the opening in Chinatown, the kitchen and Christmas tree fight scenes, the bar, the swimming pool at night, Mrs Deagle, the hand in the letter box, the theater, the death of 'Stripe' the leader of the Gremlins, Phoebe Cates's Christmas speech , etc

I think it's a timeless horror fairy tales for the whole family, at least when i was a kid i think my love of cinema and horror/fantasy movies came from watching GREMLINS on the big screen...and two days ago it was still a pleasure to rewatch it after all these years!
So thank you Mister Dante!