Deep Red

Rating:
Summary: The Best Argento Ever
Review: "Deep Red" is without a doubt Dario Argento's masterpiece. With a very clear (for Argento) storyline, absolutely dazzling camerawork and an unforgettable score by Goblin (which is bound to sound incredible in 5.1), "Deep Red" is a must for the horror aficionado, especially those with an interest in films that are historically relevant. "Deep Red" is the "Psycho" of Italian cinema. Back in 1975, when it came out, graphic gore was mostly relegated to ultra low-budget movies where carnage was the only point of the movie. With "Deep Red", Argento took gore in a completely new direction, mixing it with classy cinematography and a complex story, and unleashing it upon unsuspecting stars of the Italian stage and screen, people so prestigious in their own way you would never expect them to get it the way they do in a movie. The uncut widescreen version of this film, which has been long overdue in America, will reveal to those who have only seen it in pan-and-scan form the artistry and complexity of Argento's Technovision images. The previously unreleased footage, which I have seen and which was truncated from the version that has been in circulation in this country for decades, adds depth to the characters and the story. In my opinion, you should preferably watch this in Italian with English subtitles -- the English dubbing is atrocious and the Italian original is far more poetic-sounding and apropriate to the story and, besides, Anchor Bay is releasing the added footage in Italian because there is no English dub of those scenes, so you might as well watch it all in its original language. At any rate, this is a must for everyone who appreciates good scary movies, for anyone with an eye for truly spectacular filmmaking and especially for anyone who thinks European movies means Truffaut. An absolute must-have!

Rating:
Summary: Dario Argento's best film!
Review: Deep Red (proffundo Rosso) is widely acclaimed as being one of the greatest of the Italian serial killer sub-genre, the so-called 'giallo' films, and not without reason. Argento ups the gore from his previous outings (Bird with the Crystal Plumage et al.) without compromising on the plot elements making this a more accessible film than Suspiria or Inferno, and an excellent introduction to Argento for those people not familiar with his work. Although the blood and gore might look a little dated, Deep Red contains some of the most brutal and inventive deaths of Argento's career, combined with a relentlessly suspenseful and spooky atmosphere. The theme tune by Italian rock group Goblin is one of the most effective horror themes of all time, combining a pulsating re-occuring bassline with a child-like lullaby chant, and really adds to the atmosphere. And perhaps surprisingly for an Argento film, the cast gives a fine performance led by the ever-competant David Hemmings.

I would definitely recommend Deep Red to any fan of serial killer thrillers or detective films even if not familiar with Argento's work.

Rating:
Summary: A Deep Pool of Red
Review: Deep Red is a classic Italian suspense tale involving a witness overseeing a murder, rushing to the scene of the crime to help, and then finding himself ensnared in Argento's classical psychological/some physical torment web that engulfs both himself and the killer. There are a lot of layers circulating throughout the movie, giving it depth beyond the normal genre "slasher" flick. That said, its also one of the more gruesome films that Dario directed. With killings involving cleavers, oddly conceived decapitations, and other unique methods of murder that I won't mention for fear of spoiling them, it manages to keep the gore lover's attention without insulting them.
With film restoration adding to the movie, you are given a clearer overall picture of what Argento wanted to present as well, despite language switches causing the need for subtitles throughout the movie. (And, if you have the chance, pick it up in the Dario Argento Collection set. Its a fine deal for Tenebrae and Deep Red.)

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Movie..try and see past the flaws
Review: Describing this movie as "Argentio's Masterpiece" is stretching the truth a bit in my opinion. Having said that, though, it stands well above so many other films in the horror/giallo style that it seems picky to find faults...but there are a few.
Firstly, the praise - Deep Red, for those who haven't seen it, is a mind blowing cinematic treat. Incredibly gory murders, convoluted plot, red herrings galore, this film has it all. Argento is one of the most stylish horror directors int the world. There are so many moments of jaw-dropping genius that it's impossible to list them. The print on this DVD looks absolutely gorgeous, with bright colours and crisp sharp widescreen presentation making it the best this movie has ever looked, certainly, I have never seen it looking this good.
It's also the longest version ever seen in English, and it's there that, sadly, the film's flaws start showing up. As other reviewers have mentioned, a lot of the inserted footage is all in Italian, so subtitles are provided whenever the characters suddenly switch languages...soemtimes in the middle of a conversation! This gets very annoying after a while. It would be ok if the missing scenes were crucial to understanding the bizarre mystery at the centre of the plot, but they aren't, they mostly show in more detail the blossoming comedy/romance relationship between Marc and Gianna, which may have been entertaining for Italian audiences, but does not enhance the experience of watching the film in English at all. Other missing scenes involve members of the police laughing at their own jokes , and people in cafes and streets chatting about inconsequential topics...hardly great additions!
I hate to say it, but it would have served the DVD edition better if these had been left out... a dual presentation that also offered the shorter version of the film totally in English would have been perfect. This is not to deter people from the film, but it is a shame that all the good work by Anchor Bay has resulted in a film that plays better for film completists than for a newcomer or casual horror fan.

Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece? Um..sure
Review: I must admit, after seeing Tenebre (a vastly superior film ,by the way) i was a bit disappointed by Deep Red aka Hatchet Murders, aka Profondo Rosso. Thanks to the good people at Anchor Bay entertainment, Deep Red was restored to its full uncensored, uncut glory ( well ok i could hear some of you begging to differ...so a few seconds of footage was missing...big deal). As gory or convoluted as it is, Deep Red just doesn't deserve be acclaimed as a "masterpiece", which it has been by so many. The acting is near atrocious accept for the effervescent performance of Daria Nicolodi who plays the co-protagonist reporter. Also, let me mention that the dialogue FREQUENTLY slides from English to Italian with English subtitles due to lost parts of the soundtrack...this gets pretty annoying plus they'll do it right in the middle of a conversation! Well thats nothing to cry about but does take away from the overall effect of the film. The music is superb as usual and the camera work is quite deft. Well..thats all the really good things i can say for the movie. The plot is indeed a twisted mess that leads to a genuinely suprising ending, but if you look REALLY carefully during Daly's visit to the late Helga's house in the beggining, youll catch a glimpse of the killer! Despite the wicked cool ending, the pace of this movie is so unbearable! I found myself sighing and laying my head down at some points. In its uncut version, the movie is nearly two hours...which adds up to a lot of talking and wandering about. The kills are surprisingly sparse yet horrifying...wait till you see what happens to poor Marco. Even by today's standards i wouldn't consider this movie "tame". Gory as they may be the murders aren't as brutal as that of Suspiria or stylish as in Tenebre. This was Argento's big return to the giallo genre, but believe me his later films are much better. Deep Red is certainly not Argento at his best, but certainly is a lot better than things other film makers are coming coming out with these days See this movie, if for nothing else, it's awesome ending and the beautiful Ms. Nicolodi.

Rating:
Summary: Argento's Masterpiece
Review: Many years before Carpenter's Halloween and the Friday the 13th films ushered in the new wave of bloody horror slasher films in the United States; Italian film-makers like Mario Bava, and Dario Argento were re-inventing the horror genre. Argento updated and modernized the European horror film with a trilogy of films prior to Deep Red (Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970, Cat O' Nine Tails 1971 and Four Flies on Grey Velvet - 1972). He was called the Italian Hitchcock with good reason. These films combined the horror and suspense of Hitchcock's The Birds - 1963 , Psycho - 1960 (and later Frenzy - 1972), with modern European attitudes, settings and generous amounts of gore. Like Hitchcock's Vertigo, the logic of many of these films' narrative plot were secondary to the emotional mood and visual poetry on display. The Argento films also explore psychology, parapsychology and/or cutting edge technology as well.

Let me talk about a couple things not mentioned in reviews I've read.

After the opening credits, we are at a conference discussing psychic ability and the paranormal.

Later, when the Jazz pianist looks up at his apartment building, he witnesses his neighbor, the psychic at the conference, being savagely murdered. They seem to make eye contact.

I suggest a psychic connection between the two has been made and it is this connection which affects the pianists behavior and is the reason he must solve the murder before he leaves the city.

Later on he recalls when he ran into his neighbors apartment he believed he saw something, something which is later missing, he believes. Did he see anything at all, or was it a psychic impression which was implanted by his neighbor as they made eye contact?

He reacts to hunches, and seems to almost have some sort of psychic ability later on in the film, though he refuses to completely acknowledge it. He knows almost instinctively there is something about the old house which holds an important clue to the murder. He goes to the house, but at first he doesn't find anything. He's trying too hard. Thinking too logically. It is only later that suddenly he realizes, almost psychically what he's missed and upon examining the picture he convinces himself his hunch is right and returns to the house to uncover a hidden room. His alcoholic colleague speaks at length to him about how sometimes the most trivial of things are the most important and the most important of things are often trivial. His colleague is drinking himself to death, though not talking about the demons which obviously haunt him. The female reporter talks to him about his nervous habits, which Hemmings wonderfully explains away as him being a sensitive artist and full of quirks. . . but doesn't his artistic sensitivities lend themselves to psychic ones?

At first one might come away from the film thinking, why did they make David Hemmings a Jazz musician and then have him act like a private detective in trying to find the murderer? Why not have Hemmings be playing a burnt out former police detective whose hobby is jazz?

Yet Florence is a European center for Jazz Artists, and as a sensitive artist type he would be more 'sensitive' to emotional and psychic vibrations.

It's not important to your enjoyment of the film to share my feeling that Hemmings' character has discovered he is psychic without fulling being aware of it. . . butit might add an added depth to the film the next time you watch it.

Please note the version you should watch is the 126 minute director's cut of the film which has been meticulously restored and is now distributed by Anchor Bay. The DVD has several added features. This restored cut uses all of the available English dubbed feature , but 28 minutes of the film are in Italian with English subtitles and it's a bit awkward if watching the dubbed (rather than the Italian language with English Subtitle version) when it switches from English to Italian and subtitles and then back again within the same scene. The English dubbed scenes that were cut for the American release no longer exist which is why it was necessary to present it this way.

The previously U.S. released versions which run 98 minutes are to be avoided. The film does actually make narrative sense in it's full version, but will not in its truncated version. Part of the film plays on known fears. The violence shown is of a nature we are all somewhat familiar with and so has much more impact. We know what it's like to burn yourself with scalding hot water.... so a murder of a woman involving a bathtub full of scalding hot water is quite horrifying. Hitting yourself on the corner of a table, or a fireplace mantel is a sensation we know, so a scene where a man is slammed into several sharp corners is quite unsettling.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder....

Rating:
Summary: Horrible
Review: The movie is long and slow. The uncut version is about 2 hours. The music sounds like it came from a 70s porn movie. The only good part were the original murders.

Rating:
Summary: STUNNING Transfer of Argento's Giallo Classic
Review: This new DVD is an absoulutely stunning restoration of Argento's seminal giallo-horror film from 1975. Not only is it in it's original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio (incredible), but it's also the complete uncut 126 minute version. The film has never looked or sounded so good. The only slight flaw is that under the end credits, the DVD freeze frames the image in the puddle of blood which continued to move in the original film...why did they do this? Otherwise, it's a perfect presentation and includes the italian and US trailers plus an interesting little featurette. Since a lot of scenes had been cut before the US release, many scenes in the film suddenly pop up in italian with english subtitles. This happens quite a bit, even just small segments of scenes that were trimmed. If the constant change in language annoys you, however, you can always watch the entire film in the italian version with english-subtitles throughout. DEEP RED has a great reputation and although I think it showcases Argento at his peak, it is also a Very leisurely-paced movie...it may tax the patience of viewers more used to the fast-paced films of today. In fact, some scenes seem to go on way too long and the added extra romantic-comedy bits between Hemmings and Nicolodi can be a little tiresome. Also, there's not as many plot twists as in Argento's other giallos like "Bird", "Four Flies", "Tenebre", "Opera" to keep the story very interesting... but as soon as there's a murder scene....all is forgiven! This movie has several GREAT killing scenes, some very gory (which were edited in earlier prints) and many of them inspired other films such as "Halloween" (check out the the yarn needle scene) and "Halloween 2" (scalding water scene). The film also contains the first great collaboration score between Goblin and Argento, a classic. All in all, if you like Argento, this is an absolute MUST purchase...the film looks like a multi-million dollar production in this beautiful widescreen presentation. Not my favorite Argento by any means due to it's pace, but the pluses definitely outweigh the minuses. And you just gotta love that head splat scene!

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable Argento classic
Review: To make this review shorter, I won't go on about the plot or the plot twists and the characters and such. I'll just say that this easily ranks amongst the top 10 Argento films ever. What I really like about Deep Red is that unlike some of Dario Argento's other movies (like Stendhal Syndrome), the ending was completely unexpected and nobody expected it. That plot-twist was brilliant and very well concealed. Anywhom, this is an incredible giallo. For the starting Argento fan, I'd reccomend this, his first film "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage", "Tenebre". I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT RECOMMEND "Suspiria", IT IS NOTHING LIKE ARGENTO'S OTHER WORK, AND IS DEFINATELY NOT AS GOOD.

Rating:
Summary: Uh...strange!
Review: When a psychic mind reader picks up on the thoughts of a murderer, little did he know that he'd soon become a victim! An english pianist gets involved in solving the murders, but finds many of his avenues of inquiry cut off by new murders, and he begins to wonder how the murderer can track his movements so closely...