informazioni

This page attempts to list Argento related information that doesn't really fit anywhere else on the site. If you think of something that could be added, please let me know.

il cartaio
All the latest information on Dario's latest project can be read by clicking here
dark dreams top 5 films
Recently on the forum, Antoine asked fellow members for their top 5 films. The results are as follows:

ranking film votes %

1. DEEP RED 108 29.4%

2. SUSPIRIA 101 27.4%

3. TENEBRAE 64 17.4%

4. INFERNO 59 16%

5. OPERA 36 9.8%

total votes 368

levana and our ladies of sorrow
The text on which the legend of the three mothers was based can be read by clicking here.

on-line retailers
Here is a list of the best places to buy Argento dvds on-line. I take no responsibility for the service supplied by any of these outlets.
united states & canada

www.amazon.com (worldwide delivery)
www.dvdboxoffice.com - Canada (free worldwide delivery)
www.shockingimages.com (worldwide delivery)
www.rottencotton.com t-shirt company (worldwide delivery)

united kingdom

www.bensonsworld.co.uk (worldwide free delivery)
www.blackstar.co.uk (worldwide delivery)
www.play.com (free worldwide delivery)
www.dc-dvd.net (european delivery only)
www.sexgoremutants.co.uk (worldwide delivery)

europe

www.alapage.com (france - worldwide delivery)
www.proxis.be (holland - worldwide delivery)
www.nonsolodvd.it (italy - worldwide delivery)
www.dvdonline.it (italy - worldwide delivery)
www.dvdgo.com (spain - worldwide delivery)
www.sazuma.com (austria - worldwide delivery)
www.absurd-online.dk (denmark - worldwide delivery)
www.thrauma.com (italy - film memorabilia store, worldwide delivery)

Goran Bregovic (first choice composer for nonhosonno. Replaced by goblin)
Goran Bregovic, a Serb from Bosnia, was the leader of the most popular rock group in Yugoslavia of all times. The groups name was "Bijelo dugme"("White Button") and during the 70's and 80's they had a countless number of hit records and songs.

When the war in Bosnia started he left his hometown (Sarajevo) and went to Western Europe to live and work. Among other things he started working on film music. He did music for the films like the Cannes winner "Underground" (directed by Gorans old friend from Sarajevo, Emir Kusturica - Goran wrote music for almost all Kusturica's films) or "La reine Margot" (A French epic inspired by Alexandre Dumas book) in which Asia Argento appeared.(unfortunately her character gets killed by poisoned lipstick in the middle of the plot!). Maybe she recomended Goran to her father.

Bregovic's music is mostly a mixture of ethno and modern sounds. Sometimes he repeats himself and could be a bit dull but most of the time his music is exciting and fresh. One thing is certain, Bregovic's music is nothing like that of "Goblin". His music (at least so far) is much more serene and outgoing but he can get a little bit sinister when necessary!

George Bajic

contact details for the profondo rosso shop in roma
profondo rosso store
via dei gracchi 260
00192 roma
italia
tel. int code + 06 3211395

They now have a web site at: www.profondorossoshop.com

ever been totally confused by aspect ratio's and runtime issues? Well, this is the best explanation site I have found
how film is transferred to video

want an easy way of finding out who is selling those argento dvds cheapest? Try dvd price search:
dvd price search

this is the current state of play regarding UK Argento films and their certification as of 15/11/02:
the bird with the crystal plumage - the last vhs version to be certified was the same as the US PG rated (missing the face slashing and panty ripping scenes). The dvd from impact is a cut Italian print with burnt in subtitles.

cat o'nine tails - uncut, full screen vhs from warner brothers. A recent dvd has been released.

deep red - Italian version from redemption is missing 11 seconds of animal cruelty (lizard pinned to the ground and the fighting dogs). The dvd version released by impact is cut and widescreen with burnt-in subtitles.

suspiria - uncut in vhs and dvd version from nouveaux pictures. dvd is shocking quality though. Re-released on dvd in a far better uncut print by anchor bay in 2002.

inferno - cut by around 20 seconds (the cat eating a mouse scene). Released on video by 20th century fox.

tenebrae - cut by about 4 seconds (arm chopping). Also from nouveaux who have managed to crop this to a 1.66:1 picture. Recently passed uncut after re-submission by anchor bay UK for a 2003 dvd release.

phenomena - released as creepers by palace pictures and was only 83 minutes long and cut. Has just been re-submitted as phenomena by divid 2000 and passed uncut.

opera - released as terror at the opera on virgin video and is missing 47 seconds. Cinema release not cut quite as much (35 seconds). Released on dvd by arrow films in 2003 totally uncut for the first time.

two evil eyes - uncut.

trauma - cut. Re-released by tartan video as part of the 'tartan terror' range in 1999. All previous cuts waived for 2002 dvd release.

the stendhal syndrome - the dvd from guild has been pre-cut by the distributors by nearly 3m! The original release of this dvd was mistakenly uncut.

sleepless - released on vhs and dvd in 2002 by mia completely uncut.

this is the information about the Argento documentary for film four and C4 in the UK and american movie classics in the US that Alan Jones worked on
It's called AN EYE FOR HORROR and is directed by Paul Watson from an amazing amount of interviews, film clips, behind the scenes footage, rare television interviews, informal home movies, and all of Alan's archive material. The DVD rights are currently owned by Image in the US and a DVD is due September 2001. The documentary was released on DVD in the UK as part of the SLEEPLESS release.

Here's the complete list of people who were interviewed for it:

Anthony Timpone ('Fangoria' editor)
Maitland McDonagh (author of 'Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento)
Douglas E. Winter ('Video Watchdog' soundtrack expert and now best-selling author of the novel 'Run')
Udo Kier(Suspiria actor with very funny stories about working with Dario)
Lloyd Kaufman (Troma head and American distributor of The Stendhal Syndrome currently working on his next project Schlock and Schlockability)
Piper Laurie (Trauma star)
John Saxon (Tenebrae victim)
Jessica Harper (Suspiria star now married to Tom Rothman, the head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, and a best-selling author of children's books and a kiddie CD song-writer)
William Lustig (Maniac director and American co-ordinator on Inferno)
John Carpenter (Halloween was his homage to Suspiria)
Tom Savini(make-up man on Dawn of the Dead, Two Evil Eyes and Trauma, now outfitting a Pittsburgh nightclub with props from all his gore movies)
George Romero (director of Dawn of the Dead and co-director of Two Evil Eyes, now putting the finishing touches to his faceless Fantasy Bruiser)
Alice Cooper (a huge Argento fan with very interesting comments on his work)
Lemmy (Heavy Metal icon who wrote a track for The Church)
Ronnie Taylor (director of photography on Opera, Phantom of the Opera and Argento's new movie Io Non Ho Sonno/I Can't Sleep)
Michael Brandon (Four Flies on Grey Velvet star)
Keith Emerson (ELP founder and writer of the Inferno soundtrack who hasn't spoken to Argento since the director axed most of his score from The Church)
Luciano Tovoli (director of photography on Suspiria and Tenebrae)
Michele Soavi (actor in Demons, Phenomena and Opera and director of The Church and The Sect)
Dario Argento (the great man himself who talked candidly about everything)
Fiore Argento (Argento's daughter with his first wife Marisa who gave up acting after Lamberto Bava hit her during the making of Demons)
Lamberto Bava (friend and director of Demons and Demons 2)
Dardano Sacchetti (screenwriter of Cat O'Nine Tails and acerbic critic of Argento's recent work)
Claudio Simonetti (Goblin founder currently working on an Argento tribute album re-orchestrating key soundtrack themes)
Asia Argento (Italian megastar, the daughter of Argento and Daria Nicolodi and currently considering an offer by Abel Ferrara to direct a remake of Driller Killer set in Rome)
Claudio Argento (Argento's brother and producer of all his best loved hit films)
Sergio Stivaletti (Argento's make-up man since Phenomena and director of Wax Mask. He recently directed a rock video for the Simonetti tribute album starring Argento as the murderer in a mini-remake of Deep Red)
Luigi Cozzi (Argento's close friend, co-owner of the shop Profondo Rosso, co-writer of Four Flies on Grey Velvet and The Five Days of Milan and director of television's La Porta Sul Buio/The Door into Darkness and Giallo. His revelation that Klute was a rip-off of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage actually holds water if you watch them together)
Gianni Romoli (screenwriter of The Sect and Trauma)
Franco Ferrini (the one screenwriter Argento has collaborated with the most and the person people call his one true friend. He calls I Can't Sleep an update of Cat O'Nine Tails)
Raffaele Mertes (director of photography on The Sect and Trauma)
Daria Nicolodi (Argento's Suspiria muse)

Some people couldn't be found like Suzy Kendall, Leigh McCloskey and Anthony Franciosa (allegedly now a recluse who never steps outside his front door). Others could not be interviewed for scheduling reasons like Jennifer Connelly. But I think you'll agree that line-up is a pretty impressive.

here is a story from dd contributor Akis
A couple of months ago, I read an article in the UK's magazine THE DARK SIDE concerning the UK DVD's of SUSPIRIA and TENEBRAE. Alan Bryce, the editor (whom I respect for what he's doing I must add) wrote that the "DVD's are excellent, taken from the same excellent quality transfers as the VHS releases".

I was so pissed off to read this that I sent an e-mail to Alan and while congratulating him for the quality of his mag I wrote:

"(....) And now the complaint (which is only one but a BIG one)!
The UK DVD's of SUSPIRIA and TENEBRAE are awful and I just can't believe that in issue 83 you stated that they are "taken from the same excellent quality tranfers as the VHS releases".
Well, they shouldn't have been! I mean, SUSPIRIA is mastered from a laserdisc for God's sake! So, OK, it happens to be your laserdisc, but again, it is still a very mediocre source for a DVD. They are not the same: A good DVD sends a good laserdisc to oblivion! In SUSPIRIA colours bleed all over the place... it's all so blurry! Even the Japanese DVD with it's white marks is better because it is mastered from the film print as a descent DVD should be. I have to admit though that it is far better than Nouveaux's TENEBRAE which is worse than the VHS! It is not even letterboxed and the picture SUCKS massively! Where was this one taken from - a 16mm print? And if this is excellent, then what is Anchor Bay's TENEBRE DVD? (...)"

In issue 85, Alan answered to my mail:

"Fair comment Akis. I messed up with my TENEBRAE and SUSPIRIA comments because I hadn't actually seen the DVD's in question at the time of writing. A person whose judgment I trusted told me he had seen advance copies and they were excellent quality. As it turns out, we all know now that they were crap! I guess my updated advice has got to be to stick with Anchor Bay! (...)"

Interesting story I think.

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