Nicolodi, Daria

Tenebre - Special Edition

After several excursions into supernatural horror, Dario Argento returned to the homicidal frenzy that made his reputation with this mystery that plays more like a grown-up slasher movie than a detective thriller. Anthony Franciosa stars as Peter Neal, a bestselling horror novelist whose promotional tour in Italy takes a terrible turn when a mysterious killer re-creates the brutal murders from his book with real-life victims. The first to die are so-called "deviants," Neal's own friends, and finally there comes a promise that the author himself is next on the list. Columbo it ain't, but Argento has always been more concerned with style than story and his execution of the crimes is pure cinematic bravura. From the simple beauty of a straight razor shattering a light bulb (the camera catches the red-hot filament slowly blacking out) to an ambitious crane shot that creeps up and over the sides of a house under siege in a voyeuristic survey that would make Hitchcock proud, Argento turns the art of murder into a stylish spectacle. He even lets his kinkier side show with flashbacks of an adolescent boy and a teasing dominatrix in red stiletto heels that become a key motif of the film. The objects of Argento's homicidal tendencies are traditionally lovely, scantily clad Italian beauties, and with self-deprecating humor he even inserts a scene in which Neal is taken to task for the misogynist violence of his stories--an accusation Argento himself has weathered for years. --Sean Axmaker

Following the worldwide success of SUSPIRIA and INFERNO Master Of Horror Dario Argento returned to the giallo genre with the shocker that remains one of the director s greatest. Anthony Franciosa stars as an American mystery novelist on a promotional tour in Rome who finds that his most recent book has inspired a copycat serial killer. When the psychotic impulse becomes irresistible does freedom await in the simple act of annihilation? John Saxon (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) Daria Nicolodi (DEEP RED) and John Steiner (CALIGULA) co-star along with a nerve-shredding score by Goblin and a mind-blowing twist ending in this classic of sexual corruption savage bloodshed and virtuoso filmmaking that fans and critics hail as an Argento masterpiece.System Requirements:Running Time: 101 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/KILLER UPC: 013131484892 Manufacturer No: DV14848

Inferno

Dario Argento's sequel to Suspiria, his first and to date only American hit, is an even more incoherent nightmare fantasy. Laden with symbolic imagery and fantastic explosions of death shot in candy-colored hues, it's a bloody feast for the eyes. Mark (Leigh McCloskey), an American music student in Rome, rushes home to New York after a frantic phone call from his sister only to find an empty apartment and obscure clues about a supernatural presence in her spooky building. It all has something to do with the mysterious Mater Tenebrarum, one of the "Three Mothers" of Argento's murky mythology, and the fun house of an apartment house she inhabits, complete with a fully furnished underwater ballroom, miles of secret tunnels flooded in red and blue light, and hidden passageways under the floorboards. Meanwhile, there's a killer running around stabbing beautiful women for who knows what reason, a crippled bookseller attacked by rats, and a homicidal hot-dog vendor in Central Park. Why? It's best not to ponder such mysteries--Argento obviously isn't as concerned with making sense of his meticulously staged murders as he is with lighting them with just the right hue. Dramatically it's inert, a parade of quirky but faceless victims dispatched with elaborate care, but it's beautifully designed and executed, a spectacle of elaborate set pieces and magnificent decor orchestrated with a complete disdain for narrative logic. --Sean Axmaker

The Master Of Horror Dario Argento Brings You Terror That s Hotter Than Hell!A young woman stumbles upon a mysterious diary that reveals the secrets of The Three Mothers and unleashes a nightmare world of demonic evil. As the unstoppable horror spreads from Rome to New York City this unholy trinity must be stopped before the world is submerged in the blood of the innocent.Written and directed by Dario Argento INFERNO is considered to be the sequel to his classic SUSPIRIA. This surreal shocker stars Irene Miracle (NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS) Daria Nicolodi (DEEP RED) and Leigh McCloskey (DALLAS) and features a pulse-pounding original score by Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake & Palmer. Now transferred from the original vault negative materials INFERNO contains visually stunning sequences of horror that Argento fans consider among the best of his career.Extras:Interview with Writer/Director Dario ArgentoTheatrical TrailerStill GalleryTalent BiosSystem Requirements:Run Time: 106 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 827058110396 Manufacturer No: 1039

Deep Red

Dario Argento s Masterpiece In It s Full-Length Director s Cut!An English jazz pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal hatchet murder of a renowned psychic and is quickly drawn into the savage crime. With the help of a tenacious female reporter the pair track a twisted trail of deranged clues and relentless violence towards a shocking climax that has ripped screams from the throats of audiences for more than 30 years!DEEP RED stars David Hemmings (BLOW-UP) and Daria Nicolodi (PHENOMENA TENEBRE) and is widely considered by both fans and critics alike to be Dario Argento s true masterpiece. Now with the cooperation of the maestro himself this classic shocker is presented in its full-length Director s Cut remixed in 5.1 Dolby Digital uncut and uncensored for the first time ever!Extras: 25th Anniversary FeaturetteItalian Theatrical TrailerU.S. Theatrical TrailerTalent BiosSystem Requirements:Run Time: 126 mins Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 827058107099 Manufacturer No: 709

Phenomena

Brace yourself for an all-new look at one of the most wildly original films ever from writer/director Dario Argento an insane epic of terror wonder and jaw-dropping carnage. Jennifer Connelly stars as an outcast student at a Swiss boarding school who discovers both her telepathic power to control insects and the gore-soaked trail of a razor-wielding killer. Can a kindly professor (Donald Pleasence of HALLOWEEN) now harness her gift to stop the bloodbath of a psychopath? Daria Nicolodi (TENEBRE) Dalila Di Lazzaro (FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN) and Fiore Argento (DEMONS) co-star along with a pounding soundtrack by Goblin Bill Wyman Iron Maiden and Mot rhead in the shocker that remains a favorite of Argento fans as well as one of the most brutally original horror thrillers of the 80s.System Requirements:Running Time: 110 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/SUPERNATURAL UPC: 013131484793 Manufacturer No: DV14847

Opera

When a young opera singer takes over the leading role in an avant-garde presentation of Verdi s Macbeth she triggers the madness of a crazed fan who repeatedly forces the diva to watch the brutal murders of her friends. Will the woman s recurring nightmare hold the key to the identity of this psychopath or does an even more horrific evil lay waiting in the wings?The legendary Dario Argento (DEEP RED SUSPIRIA) co-wrote and directed this savagely stunning thriller featuring some of the most shocking sequences of the maestro s entire career. Previously available in the U.S. only in heavily edited form this horror classic has now been restored from original Italian vault materials and is presented uncut uncensored and loaded with Extras.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 827058106498 Manufacturer No: BU1064

The Life of Verdi

"Sumptuously costumed and splendidly staged, this elaborate cinematic biography blends documentary with drama to tell the story of a great artistic genius who became the musical voice of a nation."* Booklist. Filmed on location in Italy, Leningrad, London, and Paris, this epic mini-series took several years to create, requiring more than 100 actors, 1800 extras, and 4000 costumes. This uncut version dubbed in English is 4 hours longer than the edited version that originally aired on Public Television to great acclaim. This spectacular film is filled with Verdi's glorious music, sung in the original Italian and taken from past recordings featuring such operatic legends as Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Birgit Nilsson. Stars Ronald Pickup, who plays Verdi with a "subdued, dignified passion" and Carla Fracci, the famed Italian ballerina, who is "absolutely superb" as Giuseppina Strepponi, Verdi's second wife (Clive Barnes).

Scarlet Diva

Italian starlet Asia Argento (who costarred in XXX with Vin Diesel, as well as several films directed by her father, horror maestro Dario Argento) wrote, directed, and stars in this story of an emotionally unstable Italian starlet named Anna Battista, who describes herself as "the most lonely girl in the world." Anna flailingly searches for love as she grapples with the pressures of life as a star (including grabby fans, lecherous producers, and abusive directors), travels from Rome to London to Amsterdam, has a drug-induced freak-out at a photo shoot, and smokes a lot of cigarettes. A tryst in Paris with an Australian rock star leaves her pregnant and convinced she's in love; but when he abandons her, she starts burning herself. Scarlet Diva features copious explicit sex, occasional flashes of visual razzle-dazzle, and a great deal of emotional torment. And while it lacks narrative shape, it is vivid and undoubtedly accurate. --Bret Fetzer

Creepers

Sinbad of the Seven Seas

A dazzling adventure of faraway lands and heroic spectacles this heart-soaring epic follows the brave Sinbad the Sailor (Lou Ferrigno "The Incredible Hulk") in a rousing tale based on Edgar Allan Poe s short story "The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade."When an evil wizard named Jaffar casts a cruel spell a good king and his happy kingdom face darkness for the first time ever. And when Jaffar demands marriage to the king's beautiful daughter who is already engaged to a handsome prince it will be up to Sinbad and his loyal companions to save the princess and the people of the kingdom. But first he must retrieve the palace gems Jaffar has stolen and hidden away and face the Amazon Queen the Ghost King and the most vicious beast imaginable along the way!System Requirements: Running Time 93 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616924841 Manufacturer No: 1008474

Opera