RIP to the great actor, Udo Kier. He died yesterday at the age of 81, in Palm Springs, California.
Today’s scene that I love features Kier in the only version of Suspiria that matters, the original one directed by Dario Argento. In this scene, Kier discusses witchcraft with Jessica Harper.
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting a true classic, Dario Argento’s Tenebrae!
If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! The film is available on Prime and Tubi! I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy!
It’s my birthday so today, here are four shots from my four favorite films!
4 Shots From My 4 Favorite Films
It Happened One Night (1934, dir by Frank Capra, DP: Joseph Walker)
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, dir by Frank Capra, DP: Joseph Walker and Joseph Biroc)
The Godfather (1972, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)
Suspiria (1977, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Luciano Tovoli)
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
I love giallo!
4 Shots From 4 Giallo Films
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970, dir by Dario Argento)
Hatchet For The Honeymoon (1970, dir by Mario Bava)
A Lizard In A Woman’s Skin (1971, dir by Lucio Fulci)
The House With Laughing Windows (1976, directed by Pupi Avati)
The opening of Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpiece, Suspiria, is about as perfect an opening as one could hope for. American ballet student Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) arrives in Frieburg, Germany. Both Argento and Harper perfectly portray Suzy’s confusion as she makes her way through the airport and, as torrential rain drenches her, attempts to hail a taxi and get a ride to the dance academy. (What Suzy doesn’t know, of course, is that the dance academy is home to the ancient witch known as Our Mother of Sighs.) With this opening scene, Argento both immediately establishes the off-center, nightmarish atmosphere of Suspiria and establishes Suzy as a character who we, as the audience, relate to and care about. Suspiria is a great film and certainly one that didn’t need a pretentious remake. The greatness of the original Suspiria all begins with this brilliant opening.
Suspiria (1977, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Luciano Tovoli)
You knew this was coming!
Today’s horror song of the day is the classic main theme to Dario Argento’s Suspiria! (The Argento version is the only version that matters.) The iconic soundtrack was composed by Goblin. I saw an interview with Claudio Simonetti in which he said he wanted the song to be “almost annoying” in its intensity. While I could never be annoyed this song, I do understand Simonetti’s point. The score is designed to be as overwhelming as the evil at the center of the film.
All together now: “WITCH!”
Dawn of the Dead (1978, dir by George Romero, DP: Michael Gornick)
Dario Argento not only produced and edited the European cut for 1978’s Dawn of the Dead, he also introduced George Romero to Goblin. The Italian band, famous for their horror movie soundtracks, provided the classic score to Dawn of the Dead.
(Admittedly, the score is is used far more prominently in Argento’s cut of the film than in Romero’s.)
For today’s horror song of the day, here is Goblin’s Main Theme From Dawn of the Dead.
Today’s music video of the day is for an instrumental piece that was composed by Bill Wyman and Terry Taylor for Dario Argento’s 1985 film, Phenomena.
Put together by Michele Soavi, this music video features not only scenes from the film but also clips of Dario Argento directing both Jennifer Connelly and Fiore Argento. Soavi, of course, went on to have a directorial career of his own, directing four classic horror films before stepping away from feature films to take care of his ailing son. Soavi has since returned to directing, though most of his subsequent work has been for Italian television.
Enjoy!
This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 Shots From 4 Films. I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.
Today, we close out the 70s!
4 Shots From 4 Films
Suspiria (1977, dir by Dario Argento)
Halloween (1978, dir by John Carpenter)
Zombi 2 (1979, dir by Lucio Fulci)
Today’s horror song of the day comes from Dario Argento’s Deep Red!
Deep Red features the first collaboration between Argento and Goblin and the score remains a classic and one that I listen to every October.
Here’s Goblin performing Profondo Rosso on Italian television in 1975.
Through the Shattered Lens 