For those of you who are fans of the horror genre, we have a treat in store: the RISD Library has recently acquired a set of films by the Italian director Dario Argento, including these titles: Deep Red (1976); Inferno (1980); Tenebre (1982); Phenomena (1984); Trauma (2002); The Card Player (2003); and Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005).
Dario Argento started his career in cinema in 1967, co-writing the script for Sergio Leone’s “Once upon a time in the West” with Bernardo Bertolucci. He is best known for his very graphic horror films, characterized by their over-the-top visuals, the twists and turns of their plots, and the excessive violence. The influences for Argento’s films are varied, from Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic horror tales to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, F. W. Murnau, and even Walt Disney. He is considered a ‘cult’ director, and worked as script consultant/ producer in horror classics such as George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” (1978). For a well-informed review of Argento’s work, read this.
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