By Todd Garbarini
Dario Argento’s Inferno (1980) is one of the most beautifully-realized cinematic
experiences ever captured on film. The
follow-up to his previous film, Suspiria
(1977), Inferno is a film that upon
first viewing appears to be short on substance but considerably long on
style. While dialogue has never been the
director’s strong suit, the verbal platitudes that permeate not just this
phantasmagorical tale of alchemy and murder, but just about every other film he
has directed, provide a certain charm that has become an unofficial and
unmistakable part of his oeuvre. Although
the film takes place in New York, virtually all of it was faked in Italy
between April and August 1979, with some minor location shooting in the Big
Apple. Beautifully framed and suffused
with primary colors, Inferno, the
story lifted from the myth of the Three Mothers as written by Thomas De Quincey
in his 1945 essay “Suspiria de Profundis,†takes the viewer on a journey not
seen outside of a nightmare. Whereas Suspiria was loud, strident, and truly
graphic, Inferno is a study in
contrasts – long, meandering scenes suddenly give way to abrupt changes in
mood, the accompanying music cacophonous in its energy. The film is no less graphic in its depiction
of violence. Leigh McCloskey stars as
Mark, a music student in Rome who becomes involved in trying to track down his
sister, Rose (Irene Miracle), who has disappeared in New York. With the help of a fellow student, Sarah (Eleanora
Giorgi), Mark uncovers a layer of evil permeating the earth that he formerly
was oblivious to. This threadbare plot
provides the basis for some truly stunning set pieces ever mounted by the
director.
Inferno was readied for theatrical release in
the U.S. in 1980, but due to issues at 20th Century Fox, such as rumored
management turnover and the studio’s suits having no faith in the film, it
didn’t see the light of day until October 1985 when it was quietly released on
VHS through Fox’s subsidiary Key Video label. A brief stint at the Thalia in New York in August 1986 is the closest
that the film came to receiving a theatrical exhibition and not surprisingly,
it received a less-than-enthusiastic review from the New York Times. The new Blu-ray from the fine folks at Blue Underground
is the best that the film has ever looked outside of a 35mm screening (if you
can find it). While the standard
definition DVD was a considerable step up in quality from the aforementioned
VHS transfer, this new Blu-ray, while possessing a certain degree of
unavoidable film grain, gives us the best transfer we are likely to see of this
gorgeous-looking film. Cinematographer
Romano Albani, who collaborated with Mr. Argento five years later on his most
personal film, Phenomena (1985),
takes a cue from Suspiria’s director
of photography Luciano Tovoli by bathing the frame in distinct colors. The 1.85:1 frame is suffused with bright reds
and blues, in addition to deliciously sinister and muted colors. The film is truly a cornucopia of dazzling
visuals to the eye. Water plays a huge
theme in this film, as it also did in the aforementioned Phenomena. Blue Underground
has done another masterful job in transferring this film, complete with
easy-to-read yellow subtitles, which are extremely helpful and should be used
by anyone watching this movie who wants to gain greater insight into the
film. There are moments wherein the
dialogue is so muted that without the descriptive subtitles one would not even
know that dialogue was even present; some of it is so slight as to be rendered
completely inaudible.
There is much to admire here: Mr. Argento’s
expert use of the “Va, pensiero†chorus from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Nabucco; Argento regular Fulvio Mingozzi
making his trademark cameo, this time once again as a taxi driver (just like in
Suspiria); Romano Albani’s dazzling
camera work; the jump-cuts in-synch to the aforementioned opera; the stunning
underwater sequence which anticipates Jennifer Corvino’s attempted escape in Phenomena; Keith Emerson’s incredible
score; and the gorgeous set design.
The extras from Blue Underground’s
standard definition DVD have been ported over to the Blu-ray with some
additions exclusive to this edition (specifically interviews with stars McCloskey
and Miracle, each of which run about 15 minutes each). They consist of:
· Art & Alchemy – Interview with star Leigh McCloskey
(high definition)
· Reflections of Rose – Interview with Star Irene Miracle
(high definition)
· Interview
with Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava
· Theatrical
Trailer
· Dario
Argento Intro
If you are an Argento fan, the
increased resolution in this stellar format is more than enough reason to
justify the upgrade.
Highly recommended.
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