The Films of Dario Argento
& Michele Soavi

 

Cemetery Without Crosses     Cemetery Without Crosses: (1968) A.k.a. The Rope and the Colt. Finally, after years of searching we have found a master for this super-rare spag! Robert Hussein stars and directs this moody, grim spag that was co-written by Dario Argento. A family of land-barons and cold-blooded killers murder a landowner and force his wife (Michele Mercier) to watch. Fueled by hate, she hires a morose gunman (Hussein) to first extort and then kill the evil family. This Italian-French co-production is very much a hybrid of both styles of cinema, lots of gritty Italian western feel with plenty of disenchantment and impending doom of French films. Widescreen. [B]
 
    Dario Argento, Master of Horror
: (1990) Good follow-up to World of Horror with interviews with Argento, behind the scenes footage and clips from early stuff as well as more recent pics like Opera, The Church, The Sect and Two Evil Eyes. A must for Argento aficionados. This new Japanese release also contains a segment on the making of Trauma. In English with Japanese subtitles. [B, 18+]
 
    Dellamorte Dellamore: (1994) If this isn't the coolest zombie flick to come out of any country in the last decade, send me the proof and I will personally devour my own intestines on your front porch as a tribute to George Eastman. This is Michele Soavi's first solo effort and this guy is talented! Stylish camera work, very cool lookin' zombies, lotsa grue, sly humor, and FX by Sergio Stivaletti. The story concerns Francesco Dellamorte, the grounds keeper of the local cemetery and his efforts to keep the dead in their place, and so much more. With the stunning (and often nude) European supermodel Anna Falchi. Letterboxed and uncut (the US release is cropped on all four sides!) in pristine quality. If you could only see one movie this millennia... In English with Japanese subtitles. [B, 18+]
      The Sect: (1989) A.k.a. The Devil's Daughter. Nice widescreen print of this cool Michele Soavi helmed, Dario Argento produced outing about a Manson-esque cult headed up by Herbert Lom, who manage to coerce a young woman into giving birth to the Anti-Christ. Many surreal and striking moments including the much talked about stork rape scene. [B]
 
      Sleepless: (2000) A.k.a. Non Ho Sonno. Dario Argento returns to his roots with this cool, bloody giallo starring the legendary Max Von Sydow and sporting an incredible Goblin score! Seventeen years after a serial killer was hunted down by top detective Moretti (Von Sydow), the murders start again. After a prostitute and her friend are brutally butchered, Moretti comes out of retirement to hunt down a presumably dead serial killer. Very stylish camerawork and gory murder sequences that are 100% vintage Argento, combined with a phenomenal Goblin score (I could write a whole article on how awesome this soundtrack is) and the great Max Von Sydow make this a must see for Euro horror fans! Includes trailer and 35+ minute "making of" featuring Dario on the set, polishing knives, instructing the actors, etc, Sergio Stivaletti creating the excellent, gory make-up effects and much more! Both trailer and featurette are in Italian only. This is the original widescreen, English language version of the film - not the Italian dubbed version others offer! [B]
 
    Tenebrae
: (1982) Uncut, widescreen, import version of Argento's dazzling, gory giallo thriller about a writer who's latest book is being used as a blueprint for a string of violent murders. Italian genre vet John Saxon and Anthony Fanciosa star as agent and writer, respectively. The recent re-issue in the US and overseas is still cut (not by much, but cut is cut). Definitely one of Argento's best. In English with Japanese subtitles. [B, 18+]
 
 
 
   Today It's Me... Tomorrow It's You: (1968) Great re-mastered, widescreen print of this classic spag! Montgomery Ford (a young Brett Halsey) stars as a grim-faced man in black who was framed for murder and robbery by a one-time friend and left to rot in jail. On the day of his release he puts together a band of cutthroats (one of whom is Bud Spencer) to set out for revenge. A well made yarn with some good dialogue and action sequences, co-scripted by Dario Argento and directed by Tonino Cervi. [B]
 
Trauma     Trauma: (1994) Letterboxed work print of Dario Argento's return to the directorial chair with FX by Tom Savini. If you watch closely, you might even notice the rather nasty incestual undercurrent that the whole proceedings. Runs a couple of minutes longer than the unrated release (supposedly Savini has a print that runs 2 hours long, but he ain't givin' it up). In good to very good quality. [B]
 
    Zombie, Dawn of the Dead
: (1978) Mint quality print of Dario Argento's 118 minute cut of Romero's classic with extra scenes and all of the original Goblin score. This is my favorite of all versions as it moves along at a nice clip and doesn’t have that cheesy stock music Romero used instead of the Goblin score. This tape also includes a very cool 1995 interview with Romero and a look at some of his memorabilia after the film. In English with Japanese subtitles. [B, 18+]