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.
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!”
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.
Today’s horror song of the day comes from the 1979 film, Beyond The Darkness.
This film’s soundtrack, courtesy of Goblin, was so acclaimed that it later turned up in several other Italian horror film, usually without anyone bothering to ask Goblin ahead of time.
Happy Halloween!
Enjoy!
This, of course, is from the soundtrack of Dario Argento’s film of the same name.
Enjoy!
This, of course, is from the soundtrack of Dario Argento’s classic 1975 film Deep Red.
It’s not Halloween without a little Goblin!
Enjoy!
David Niven at the 1974 Oscars
Continuing our look at good films that were not nominated for best picture, here are 6 films from the 1970s.
Dirty Harry (1971, dir by Don Siegel)
“Well, I’m all torn up about his rights….” Detective Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) says after being informed that he’s not allow to torture suspects for information. Unfortunately, in this case, the Academy agreed with all the critics who called Harry a menace and this classic and influential crime film was not nominated. Not even Andy Robinson picked up a nomination for his memorably unhinged turn as Scorpio.
Carrie (1976, dir by Brian DePalma)
The Academy liked Carrie enough to nominate both Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The film itself, however, went unnominated. It’s enough to make you want to burn down the prom.
Suspiria (1977, dir by Dario Argento)
In a perfect world, Goblin would have at least taken home an Oscar for the film’s score. In the real world, unfortunately, Argento’s masterpiece was totally snubbed by the Academy.
Days of Heaven (1978, dir by Terence Malick)
If it were released today, Terence Malick’s dream-like mediation of life during the depression would definitely be nominated. In 1978, perhaps, the Academy was still not quite sure what to make of Malick’s beautiful but often opaque cinematic poetry.
Halloween (1978, dir by John Carpenter)
“The night he came home!” should have been “The night he went to the Oscars!” The film received no nominations and it’s a shame. Just imagine Donald Pleasence winning for his performance as Loomis while John Carpenter racked up almost as many nominations as Alfonso Cuaron did this year for Roma.
Dawn of the Dead (1978, dir by George Romero)
If the Academy wasn’t willing to nominate Night of the Living Dead, there was no way that they would go for the film’s longer and bloodier sequel. But perhaps they should have. Few films are cited as an inspiration as regularly as Dawn of the Dead.
Up next, in about an hour, the 1980s!
If you’ve ever watched a Dario Argento film, you know how important music is to his art.
After collaborating with Ennio Morricone on his first three films, Argento used an Italian progressive rock band for his 1975 film, Deep Red. Argento and Goblin turned out to be a perfect match and the band went on to compose and perform the scores of several other Argento films, most famously for Suspiria.
In this clip from 1975, Goblin performs the main theme for Deep Red on an Italian TV show. (Sorry, I don’t know the name of the show.)
Enjoy!
Goblin Rebirth is one of the many different incarnations of the classic Italian prog rock band, Goblin. Goblin Rebirth is made up of:
Fabio Pignatelli – bass
Agostino Marangolo – drums
Aidan Zammit – keyboards
Giacomo Anselmi – guitars
Danilo Cherni – keyboards
Anyway, here they are performing Buio Omega in concert. Buio Omega is the main theme of one of my favorite Italian horror films, Beyond the Darkness. Even if you haven’t seen the film — and, when it comes to movies about wealthy young men who dig up their dead girlfriends and eat hitchhikers, it doesn’t get much better than Beyond the Darkness — the music is wonderfully atmospheric. You just hear this music and you know that something really odd is about to happen.
Diverti!
