Where did it all go wrong?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Dario Argento
michaelsloan_779 — 9 years ago(September 07, 2016 03:39 PM)
In the 70s and 80s, Dario Argento made some of the coolest (if nonsensical) thrillers out there, virtually inventing the giallo, aka the Italian murder thriller which was the prototype for the American slasher flick. Since then, though, Argento's work has been pilloried as derivative and dull. Not unlike Woody Allen, now that I think about it.
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recklesscow — 9 years ago(September 08, 2016 02:26 AM)
What went wrong? Nothing, really, unless you want to say Argento himself failed to give us what we were expecting from him.
He simply chose to make different types of films. He has said in interviews that he doesn't l1354ike repeating himself and he doesn't want to keep giving audiences what they expect over and over.
Some would say he has lost his ability to choose good plots and direct actors and he has significantly toned down his artistic flair. I would agree that his most recent films contain some of the worst performances he has elicited from actors and he is far more restrained with his colors and camerawork than he was in his heyday but whether this is due to declining ability with age or a certain vibe he was striving for, I can't say.
The man himself would probably say nothing went wrong. He simply chose not to keep delivering the same type of films he was known for. -
guigui-paul — 9 years ago(September 09, 2016 07:57 AM)
I agree mostly with you but:
" I would agree that his most recent films contain some of the worst performances he has elicited from actors"
That dependsi think that THE CARD PLAYER has really good acting from the leads, GIALLO and DRACULA have overall a decent casting (i liked Brody, Pataky, Gastini and Hauer in these two films), also the Masters of Horror episodes have some decent acting, same for DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK?SLEEPLESS has some weak acting though, same for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with Sands's terrible performance.
We shouldn't forget that Argento's more praised movies had some uneven acting tooINFERNO, OPERA, TENEBRE, etc! -
carpathianwolff — 9 years ago(September 13, 2016 07:18 PM)
It all started going down after the "Two Evil Eyes" anthology film (which I love) "Trauma" and "The Stendahl Syndrome" were ok but everything after that is pretty much awful
Bava is the master of horror cinema -
SteveDayreturns — 9 years ago(October 03, 2016 06:57 AM)
The man is a victim of his own success, much like every other wiz - horror director of the 70s.
Some sell out, some do different genres, and some just do not have the resources.
Giallo and Dracula were undone by a star who threw his weight around, and producers who cut his budget. -
I_Love_Hutch — 9 years ago(December 20, 2016 05:12 PM)
I think a lot of directors just peak at different times, then just sort of lose their inspiration or start repeating themselves. Mario Bava, IMO, would have been an exception. But I think Dario's last really good movie was "Opera".
I thought I was gonna die! - Roseanne Roseannadanna -
AndrewDavidscott76 — 4 years ago(May 09, 2021 09:29 PM)
I agree Opera was his last fully decent film, although Sleepless had its moments.
I remember when Trauma and The Stendhall Syndrome came out and they were both slaughtered by the critics and his fans alike.
He's another one who needs to get back to his old form. The other being John Carpenter but he'd need to release a film for that to even happen.