I find I dont like Argento

[Harry Warden]

Argento has always been hit or miss with me. I really enjoyed Suspiria, Phenomena and Deep Red, but I didn't car for Inferno or Tenebre at all. I also agree with several other posts here..giallos are an acquired taste, and some are boring as hell. I haven't seen any of Argento's very recent work, so I can't comment on those films. My personal favorite is still Mario Bava.

[Workshed]

I've not seen Argento's Card Player or any of this MoH short films, but I've always enjoyed sitting down to one of his films. He certainly hit a stride there, early-to-mid career, that was very impressive. Phenomena never appealed to me, although I appreciated the effort, and the less said about Mother of Tears the better, but I honestly enjoy a very sizable chunk of his filmography.

Heck, I even get a kick out of his cut of Dawn of the Dead (1978).

[othervoice1]

I am really on and off on Argento myself. I love Suspiria and really liked Tenebrae and Bird with the Crystal Plumage. I also enjoyed Phenomena but can see why some might hate it. I couldnt get into Opera and, believe it or not, I could not really get into Deep Red and actually found IT to be the more overrated movie (well at least to me). There are several by Argento I still have not seen but I can see why his movies are not for everyone, I am sure most if not all of my friends would give me a strange look if I had them watch one of his films. I still plan on giving Deep Red another watch someday because I may have just been looking for something else, it was only the second Argento film I had seen after Suspiria. His films do at times have some bad acting and plot holes present which can be distracting, but there is definitely some great art in the mood and presentation in his films that will appeal to some and not to others.

Well I am a HUGE Argentophile here. I enjoy most of his filmography, and as a matter of fact, after John Carpenter and George Romero, he is my favorite writer/director. He has always rounded out my top three.

However, I'll basically cut this short and say I don't really care for Sleepless or his embarrassingly generic The Card Player, but I did enjoy both of his Masters of Horror episodes, and I found the enjoyable Mother of Tears recently underrated, and I honestly don't get some of it's hate. I found it a fine return to his supernatural form for what it is. The sequences of "Rome falling into chaos once again" I so loved. I truely didn't expect that baby/infent bit that genuineally up-set me.

Phenomena (aka: Creepers), Tenebrea, Suspiria, Cat O' Nine Tails and The Stendhal Syndrome are my my favorites of his. I'm still trying to get into The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Phenomena and Suspiria are ALWAYS required Halloween seasonal viewing in my October yearly scheduale for the last several years, which is sort of interesting for me. As anyone who knows me, I take advantage of October DVD sales, but cause I watch & collect so many genre films year 'round, I honestly try not to get October over-killed in genre film watching during said month. Guess it takes one of us big time genre fanatics to truely understand that, for the most part, every month is pretty much Halloween for me (as well as many others) cause of my genre film addiction, including December as well.

I must say, even as a big time Argento lover & his film collector, when he is off, like many Italian film makers, he IS off (and big time). Inferno and Deep Red (Prefondo Russo) I'll admit to never being into, and I'm never watching The Card Player again. I only own that generic tripe he never should have directed because it comes in the now year old Anchor Bay Argento/Giallo films five disc set.

To each they're own is the best thing to say about Argento. There are simply SO many celebrated "masters of horror" that very few will ever agree to liking or enjoying all of someone's filmography.

[msw7]

I really didn't like Suspiria the first time I saw it, but now it is one of my all time favorites. Tenebre I liked from the get-go. I liked Inferno a lot too, but not Mother of Tears as much...

I'm not sure I've made enough effort to really love all his films, but for those that have grabbed me (for whatever reason or however many viewings it took), I hope they never let go. I would be lucky to find more that I like as much.

[Angelman]

I like Argento, and from about 1975-1980 he was GOLD. After that with a few curious/interesting exceptions (Stendahl) it has been a long, slow painful slide into mediocrity. I also think his time passed. Horror now is not horror then. He feels like a student of Bava, and while I love Bava, his movies feel like OLD horror. It's like this for me: if I sit down with a picture I usually take a glance at the director, country of origin and year it was made and then put myself in that time to watch it. So when I sit down to watch an old noir, I forgive its stage-y dialogue delivery and cheap sets and enjoy it for the masterpiece it was in its time. Argento just never grew. You watch Mother of Tears and it feels like a movie from 1982, except its not then and our aesthetic needs/appreciation has changed.

Same with Fulci. Psychic, Lizard, Zombie , Ripper... that era is gold. But no one likes those shitty TV movies, not really. No one says "I'm really in the mood for some House of Clocks!" or whatever that one was called.

Makes me appreciate Sydney Lumet. Dude killed it with 12 Angry Men and is still killing it with Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. He is the man.

[spawningblue]

Originally Posted by captain_brandon

I found the enjoyable Mother of Tears recently underrated, and I honestly don't get some of it's hate. I found it a fine return to his supernatural form for what it is. The sequences of "Rome falling into chaos once again" I so loved. I truely didn't expect that baby/infent bit that genuineally up-set me.

Agree. I enjoyed Mother of Tears quite a bit, and it met my expectations and ended the trilogy nicely. I knew it wouldn't be Suspiria on Inferno, it was it's own movie for it's own time, and it had some great gore!

As for Argento's other movies, I love Suspiria, Deep Red and Bird with the Crystal Plumage. I also really liked Inferno and Tenebre. The only Argento movie that I didn't love was Phenomena, but even that I thought was still pretty good, especially the last 10 mins.. I too have the Argento box set, but haven't gotten around to watching the rest of the movies in the set yet, but so far Argento is 7 for 7 in my books.

[dave13]

Originally Posted by spawningblue

I too have the Argento box set, but haven't gotten around to watching the rest of the movies in the set yet, but so far Argento is 7 for 7 in my books.

hahaha...thats a great set, but i think the flawless record is destined to be broken with a few of those other gems.

[shape22]

I'll echo what others have said. Argento is definitely an acquired taste for those raised on more traditional Hollywood horror films. Story almost always takes a backseat to the set pieces and camera calisthenics. The bad dubbing and insipid dialogue can also be very distracting.

But I'll say this. I have REALLY come to enjoy the bulk of his work. Suspiria is one of the most cinematic experiences you can have if you watch it on a big screen with a quality surround system cranked up. Argento marries sound and visuals in a way that elevates even pulpy material to the level of art. But I didn't get it on my first viewing. It was so weird and incoherent to my American sensibilities that I didn't know how to process it.

I agree with those who aren't high on Deep Red. I think it's his most overrated film. There are great set pieces and the score is tremendous. But I find it to be very slow-moving and tedious when the killer isn't in action.

It DOES manage a brilliant trick. I've never seen anyone catch sight of the killer in the psychic's apartment on their first viewing. Yet you go back and everything is in plain sight. I couldn't believe it the first time I wound it back.

All films that follow dream logic tend to alienate a lot of people, especially on first exposure. Once I got used to the lack of linear narration I found I could really, really enjoy most of Argento's flicks. You might just need to watch some of them again.

[allmessedup]

I enjoyed both of his MASTERS OF HORROR episodes as well, and enjoyed MOTHER OF TEARS for what it was.

I wonder how much of Argento's appeal is that his work was "forbidden fruit" to American fans for so many years--very hard to find other than via bootleg. It'll be interesting to see if his reputation holds up as the years go on, especially since his later work has been pretty weak.

[spawningblue]

Originally Posted by dave13

hahaha...thats a great set, but i think the flawless record is destined to be broken with a few of those other gems.

You are probably right, but then again, I enjoyed Mother of Tears, and that film seems to get a lot of hate around here.

Oh, and I forgot I have also seen Cat O' Nine Tails, Opera, and Two Evil Eyes, and once again, I enjoyed all three of them. So make that 10 for 10.

Originally Posted by spawningblue

Agree. I enjoyed Mother of Tears quite a bit, and it met my expectations and ended the trilogy nicely. I knew it wouldn't be Suspiria on Inferno, it was it's own movie for it's own time, and it had some great gore!

As for Argento's other movies, I love Suspiria, Deep Red and Bird with the Crystal Plumage. I also really liked Inferno and Tenebre. The only Argento movie that I didn't love was Phenomena, but even that I thought was still pretty good, especially the last 10 mins.. I too have the Argento box set, but haven't gotten around to watching the rest of the movies in the set yet, but so far Argento is 7 for 7 in my books.

Indeed: Never got all of it's recent hate. Maybe it's cause it's modern Argento, with a modern cover from Dimension/Miramax and all, and the music, ect. But truely, aside form Asia's "American" accent (as Rhett said: Yeah, I know...), I truely dug it for the most part. I'll take it over Sleepless and The Card Player any ol' day of the week.

From your set like I got as well, have you watched Do You Like Hitchcock? (Ti piace Hitchcock?) He did it right after The Card Player, and a full two years before Mother of Tears. It's a good Italian/mainland European TV movie. It's NOT ground-breaking Giallo material, but it's a fine return to form. Like it it was a lost, obscure film, it would have been one heavily traded back in the old days on our North American continant, in many VHS tape dub trading circles and at convetions if the quality was good enough. The hot Spainard chick from fine modern French film L' Auberge Espagnole (aka The Spanish Inn, but The Spanish Apartment or Euro Pudding to many) and it's sequel, Russian Dolls, is naked through out it. Also look for Argento posters in the DVD video store that the lead character goes to. It's entertaining and involving, which is all one chould ask from a Giallo.

It does lack visuals and a few things left my cold, but I've since re-watched it and it's a good, involving time. Didn't REALLY get into his segment of Two Evil Eyes, as I prefer Romero's (although both, with all due respect, have they're flaws), but I'm glad to hear that Cat O' Nine Tails getting some love. fine film, and except for some fashions, isn't dated much (not to mention the DVD is from such a good print). Trauma I found very average and definately shows that it was made in the U.S. here, in Minesota of all places. I can take it or leave it. The final half of it is much better & involving, I think, then the first half.

I'm not a huge Argento fan, but Suspiria is one of my favorite horror films ever. It's truly a masterpiece, IMHO.

I had a very hard time warming up to Deep Red. In fact, I started it about three or four times and would always turn it off after about 30 minutes. I just couldn't get into it. However, I finally made myself watch the whole thing, and I ended up really enjoying it. Tenebre is quite good as well.

Inferno is interesting but flawed; I think it tries very hard to achieve the otherworldly ambiance of Suspiria but ultimately fails. Mother of Tears is by far the lesser of that trilogy, but I actually had a good time with it. Just don't expect a classic.

[dave13]

Originally Posted by spawningblue

You are probably right, but then again, I enjoyed Mother of Tears, and that film seems to get a lot of hate around here.

Oh, and I forgot I have also seen Cat O' Nine Tails, Opera, and Two Evil Eyes, and once again, I enjoyed all three of them. So make that 10 for 10.

you know, i dug mother of tears a lot too, and brandon beat me to the punch by pointing out that do you like hitchcock is actually surprisingly decent. trauma is a seriously flawed film, but i found elements of it to enjoy, and there was a lot of effort there. but the card player...? damn, im sorry, but most of that was just lazy lazy stuff. there were a few decent scenes (and one really great death), but for the most part it was lousy.

[Ash28M]

I can honestly say that there hasn't been an Argento film that I haven't enjoyed on some level including Mother Of Tears, The Card Player and Phantom of the Opera. My Disappointment with Mother of Tears had more do to with it being the 3rd film to a Classic Trilogy. As far as style and mood it doesn't feel like it belongs. it seemed like to me from listening to him speak about the film and watching the film it's self that he thought his fans wanted a film full of Gore and Nudity. When that is such a small aspect of what attracted me to those films.