Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Inferno (1980) - Argento's satanic, New York-set nightmare masterpiece

7/30/2024

Inferno (1980) - Argento's satanic, New York-set nightmare masterpiece

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A fashionably colored skull outline with a seductive woman's lips and jaws in a sea of black makes up most of this most elegant poster for Dario Argento's Inferno

A music student pursues tracks from his sister's mysterious disappearance in New York, just after being near to an equally mysterious double homicide in Rome, his place of study.

Inferno is written and directed by Italian master filmmaker Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage/L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970)), whose 7th feature it is. Dardano Sacchetti (Turbo (2000, TV-series)) and co-writer/co-star Daria Nicolodi (Suspiria (1977)) contributed uncredited contributions, and the story is inspired by Thomas De Quincey's (Lake Reminiscences (1834-40)) Suspiria de Profundis (1845). It is the second film in Argento's Three Mothers trilogy, also consisting of Suspiria (1977) and Mother of Tears/La Terza Madre (2007).

It is a fantastical, dream-like horror. Its opening scenes in a largely deserted New York City are unforgettable, and so are several incredible scenes later on. The Verdi scene in Rome and the cat drowning scene in Central Park must be called out as among the film's highlights.

Beautifully, atmospherically lit, and designed with exemplary effects, Inferno is memorable as a surrealist, sensually dense, deeply cinematic descent into the dark hell of our subconscious. It is among Argento's best, an unavoidable, strange and wild horror classic.

Demons/Dèmoni (1985) or, Cinema of Death! (co-writer/producer)

Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death! (co-composer)

The Cat O'Nine Tails/Il Gatto a Nove Code (1971) - Solid genetics-themed giallo murder puzzle

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage/L'uccello Dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970) - The great debut giallo of Dario Argento

Documentary about Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2002) - Bio. doc. of Dario Argento

Watch a modern-made trailer for the film here

Cost: 3 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 1.6 mil. $ (Italy only)

= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 0.66 times its cost)

[Inferno was released 7 February (Italy) and runs 107 minutes. Shooting took place from May - September 1970 in Rome, Italy and in New York. Argento became ill with hepatitis during the shoot. The film was commissioned after Suspiria's success, but new Fox management saw no quality in the endeavor and the film reportedly only had a tiny release in North America. The gross numbers, except for Italy, where the film was popular, are regrettably not reported. Only 1,126 paid admission in Denmark. With a projected final gross of 2 mil. $, the film would rank as a huge flop. Argento returned with Tenebrae (1982). Eleonora Giorgi (SoloMetro (2007)) returned in Mia moglie è una Strega (1980); Leigh McCloskey (Bones (2011, TV-series)) in Hart to Hart (1981, TV-series) and theatrically in Hearts and Armour (1983); and Alida Valli (La Bocca (1991) in L'eredità della Priora (1980, miniseries)), Verso l'ora Zero (1980, TV movie) and theatrically in Aquella Casa en las Afueras (1980). Inferno is fresh at 63 % with a 5.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (17-24)

7/30/2024

Inferno (1980) - Argento's satanic, New York-set nightmare masterpiece

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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