Daria Nicolodi – Rest in Peace

These posts are always tough to do. It is with great sadness that we have found out that Daria Nicolodi has passed away today, age the age of 70. One cannot be a fan of Italian cinema and not know of her work, both in front of and behind the camera. From her appearance in Dario Argento’s Deep Red (1975), Tenebre (1982), to Opera (1987), as well as co-writing Suspiria (1977), one of the best horror films ever committed to film, she has definitely made her mark.

Thankfully, we know that her memory will not fade away, because she will still remain alive in our minds and hearts, every time we break out one of these movies. Her talent and beauty will be alive on screen every time we push play, and we can continue to be grateful that she has left us such gifts.

Our deepest sympathies go out to her family and friends in this most difficult time. Riposa in pace, Daria. 

Movie Review: Tenebre (1982)

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Tenebre (1982)
Directed by Dario Argento
Starring Anthony Franciosa, John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi, Veronica Lario, John Steiner, Giuliano Gemma, Christian Borromeo

Every humiliation which stood in his way could be swept
aside by the simple act of annihilation: Murder

In the early ’80s, after spending several years with the first two films in his Three Mothers Trilogy, Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980), something happened to Argento while in Los Angeles that gave him the idea for what would be his next picture. He started to receive some strange phone calls from a ‘fan’ who wanted to discuss his work with him. With each call, they became more and more distressing to Argento, especially when this person said he wanted to kill him. After leaving LA, Argento started to really think about that concept of murder. Shortly after, he was quoted saying  “To kill for nothing – that is the horror of today. If you kill for money or to achieve a goal, I can understand that, even if I can’t condone it. But when that gesture has no meaning then it is more repugnant than ever.”

So the genesis of Tenebre started.

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Paganini Horror Soundtrack Anyone?

paganini horror cd

While I will admit that this movie is really only viewing during a Turkey Day marathon, I still have a certain fondness for it. Directed by Luigi Cozzi and c0-written (and starring in) Daria Nicolodi, this movie definitely freezes that point in time with cheesy rock music videos. A band is shootting a muisc video with the ghost of composer Paganini shows up to kill them with a bladed violin. Yeah…gotta love it.

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