Dario Argento's Deep Red

Deep Red, or Profondo rosso (as it is known in Italian on Imdb), is a great movie, and one of the finer examples of Dario Argento's giallo work. I received the film through netflix, which delivers an interesting version of the film. There were three versions made 126 minute Italian version, 105 minute international version, and a 100 minute U.S. version. Netflix seems to somehow have a 126 minute Italian/English version, where the extra 26 minutes are included but dubbed in Italian. So yes, the English speaking lead actor has dubbed Italian over him for a number of scenes. This is a weird thing to experience while watching a movie, and led me to question if it was intentional. The good thing is that pretty much all of the dubbed Italian scenes were unnecesary, and not crucial to the plot. I used the remote at times to fast forward since these scenes really dragged. The consensus online is that the 105 European version is the best, but I am not sure where to get that aside from ordering it online.

The movie is a great expression of image, emotion, and suspense. There are a number of scenes in the movie that are just brilliant. The story of the film begins with a psychic who feels the presence of a killer. The clairvoyant discovers the identity of this person who then viciously murders her with a meat cleaver. An English pianist witnesses the murder, and during the rest of the movie, attempts to solve the crime himself. And his "snooping" then leads to more people dying, of course. The film has a good surprise ending and wraps up quite nicely.

The films has a lot of cool camera movement, including interpreting the POV of the killer. There is a lot of dollying, hand held, and zooming movement that works to both isolate the characters, as well as to bring you dangerously close to them. The effect is an incredibly peeping tom-esque feel that creates a lot of suspense. Music is also quite an experiment within this movie. The film has one of the most creepy songs ever to precede a gruesome murder (played by the killer themself). The film also makes effective use of bass/guitar rock music to play over the murders as they occur. The music initially feels out of place, but effectively captures the emotion and the panic of the on screen characters. This type of loud jarring music actually raises your heart rate.

And of course, one cannot forget to mention the extended death scenes. This is what makes Argento great. you certainly do not need to be a dark individual to enjoy Deep Red (or any of Argento's work) but you certainly need to be prepared. He does an amazingly beautiful job and crafting beautifully grotesque death scenes. Plenty of gore to please the most ardent Saw fan, but done so beautifully and with so much art to please the most up tight film snob. In fact, the most famous scene in the movie is one I had to watch 3 or 4 times over just because of how amazing it was. In fact, the main problem with the film are the scenes in between the murders, that lack the urgency and tone to successfully tie it all together. But don't get me wrong, the scenes still work, and do provide an important break from the intensity of the muder scenes.

This is only my second Argento film. The other one I saw was Susupiria, which is probably his best (and Best known) work. I am a huge fan of his, and plan to netflix more of his films. Additionally, there is just something about the quality of film in the '70s that was just so good for slasher films. I find it hard to decide a rating for this film since the particular version I had did take away from the film.

But I will give it a fat 7.5 out of 10.

Dario Argento is one of the greatest auteur filmmakers of all time. I highly recommend checking out his work. The trailer for Deep Red can be viewed below.

Film Stuff for Christmas

This Christmas I was able to gain some film equipment. I met my friend Ben, in Lynchburg of all places, and borrowed from him a pink and shag carpeted dolly.



Yes, this dolly has got some sex appeal, that goes way beyond functionality.



Now, it would probably be good for me to build my own, perhaps even one a bit smaller, perhaps a bit lighter, but I got history with this dolly. Ben built it while we were in college, and it was even used by a fellow filmmaker/friend to make Night of the Living P.I. (The film involved shooting in an abandoned mental hospital (yes, it was that fricken sweet) but unfortunately, the film seems to be stuck in post indefinitely).



The dolly even came with the iron track, though its condition is a bit questionable. I may attempt to switch to pvc pipe; however, I am worried the weight may be too much. I also got a hold of another NOTLPI relic, an "all pipe" steadicam, which looks quite badass.



The issue with equipment like this is whether I cannot turn the hassle into value. But I am staying positive, and hey, gotta start somewhere.

Another amazing thing that I got this Christmas was Istopmotion. My sister got me it, and I am extremely excited. I mentored a 2 week Animation workshop at Lighthouse Studios in Charlottesville, and it really got me into the art of Stopmotion. My group's film can be seen below.



Of course, I still need to purchase some modeling clay. But I managed to make a movie with my Uncle and my cousin while they were visiting over the holidays. Marshmellows are incredible to work with for stopmotion I discovered.



So, that is my New Year's update. All I need to get now is Aftereffects, Photoshop, a drawing tablet, computer speakers, crane, lenses, light kit, xlr cable and boom, green screen...