Tag Archives: Suspiria

Udo Keir – Rest in Peace

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The great Udo Keir has left the building. The word “icon” should be used often, but for Mr. Keir, I think it is a well-deserved moniker. With 275 credits to his name, the man has worked… a LOT. And whatever he appeared in, he always made it a little better. Of course, it was those two amazing films he did with Paul Morrissey, Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula (1974) that really cemented his fame in the horror genre.

But as everyone probably knows, Keir passed away two days ago, at the age of 81. I had the chance to meet him a few times over the years and was always very fan friendly. The genre really has lost a great talent, and he will be missed. But luckily, we have plenty of his great films to continue to admire. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

It’s Alive!

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I think it was around my 45th birthday when I had finally made the decision to get a tattoo. I’d been wanting to for a while, but first couldn’t decide what I wanted, but then I was always worried about any possible issues at work, since I did work in an office. Years ago, that would have been highly frowned upon but that dramatically lessened over the years. Plus, at that point in my life, I just didn’t care anymore. So, I got my first one, I think around 2010. Then for the next 9 years, I would go to a friend’s house for a tattoo party and add another one. From simple stitches around my wrist, to Italian horror, Hammer, and of course, Paul Naschy! But then I stopped, for a variety of reasons. But the itch to get more was always there.

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’70s Argento at the Gene Siskel Film Center

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If you’re a fan of Dario Argento, especially his early work, and live somewhat close to Chicago, you might want to check this out. Starting on Feb. 3rd, they will be screening Argento’s first 6 feature films over the course of 7 days. Below is the list of titles, dates, and times. If you haven’t had the chance to see these on a big screen, then now is your chance to knock out his early titles, which many would argue are his best, including the rare comedy he made, The Five Days, aka Five Days in Milan. For more details, you can go directly to the Gene Siskel site by clicking HERE.

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Massimo Morante – Rest in Peace

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Right as we were heading off to Monster Bash last week, we heard the sad news of the passing of musician Massimo Morante, one of the founding members of the band Goblin. I had the chance to see them back in 2013 when they were touring with a few other original band members, including Claudio Simonetti. It was one of the best concerts I had gone to, and even better that my son was there to experience it with me. And to really top it off, we were able to meet Morante and Simonetti after the show for a photo.

Morante and the rest of the band were able to create not only some incredible music, but made these amazing movie soundtracks, the likes we’d never heard before, giving a whole new take on what a soundtrack should sound like. Morante help make these scores not only work so well, but so memorable. He will be remembered each time the notes from Deep Red or Suspiria starts to blast from our home theater speaker, and definitely never forgotten for his contributions to the music field.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Suspiria at the Music Box!!!

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This is a little short notice, but it was recently announced that Dario Argento’s immortal Suspiria (1977) will be screening at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre this weekend and next week. If you haven’t seen this film in the theater, then you haven’t really seen it. Seriously. This will be screened from a DCP format, which I’m guessing is the print from the Synapse recent Blu-Ray, so it is simply amazing.

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Daria Nicolodi – Rest in Peace

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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. 

Book Review – Fear: The Autobiography of Dario Argento

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Fear Aregento AutobiographyFear: The Autobiography of Dario Argento
Published by FAB Press, 2019. 288 pages.
By Dario Argento

No matter what you have to say about Dario Argento, he is a powerful voice in cinema, with a staggering amount of pictures that will be discussed at length, at movie conventions and film schools alike, for many years to come. So when news of his autobiography, which was first published in Italy in 2014, was going to see its first English version thanks to FAB Press, I immediately pre-ordered a copy.

Autobiographies can be a bit tricky, especially coming from someone as high up as Argento is. Sometimes they can be very self-indulgent, filled with self-praise, or even though while entertaining, you question the legitimacy of some, if not all of the stories. So I went into this volume with a slight trepidation as to what I was going to get. What I did get was something that felt completely honest and written from the heart. If there is one thing that is filled within each and every page, it is passion. Even in the opening chapter, when he touches on his thoughts of suicide, you can tell he is not holding back with his stories. Continue reading →

Book Review: 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See

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150 Movies You Should Die Before You See150 Movies You Should Die Before You See
Published by Adams Media, 2010. 290 pages.
By Steve Miller

This one had me really confused, especially the title. I first picked it up because I thought it might give me a few ideas for some future Turkey Day viewing. But as I read through it, I became really confused at just what Miller was trying to do here.

Each film has a very short synopsis along with cast and crew listing. Then a paragraph under the Why It Sucks moniker, a ratings of how many Thumbs Down, then a Crappies Award for whatever he didn’t care for.

In his introduction, Miller writes that there is “something magical about bad movies. Something that makes them worth the sometimes considerable effort to sit through.” Now while I really don’t like the term “bad movies” when you’re talking about a film you enjoy watching (same goes with “guilty pleasure”), I’ll let it slide here because that is an discussion for another time. But if you’re talking about movies that you do enjoy watching, then why are you putting them in a book with the title telling people NOT to watch them? Continue reading →

Suspiria in 4K back at Music Box

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Suspiria1

Last August at the Flashback Weekend, they had a special screening of the newly re-mastered 4K scan of Dario Argento’s Suspiria. It was an amazing experience, almost like seeing it again for the first time.

But now it is back again, screening this time at the Music Box Theatre. If you’ve never had the chance to catch this new 4K scan, I cannot recommend it enough. Not only does the print look amazing, the sound is just stunning. The soundtrack has been restored to the original quadraphonic mix, which means you hear it all around you. 

You may have seen Suspiria before. But you’ve never seen it on the big screen like this way before. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out.

It is screening at the midnight shows next weekend, Feb. 9th & 10th. For more information, head over to the Music Box Theatre’s website HERE.

2017 Year End Review Part 6: Best Revisits!

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This is a first for my little year-end round-ups and kind of surprised I didn’t about this before. With all these new Blu-rays coming out, there are times that seeing a film that we’ve seen countless times before, but now seeing in a restored, cleaned up, or whatever those crazy Blu-ray producers do, sometimes can be like watching the movie for the first time. I had more than a couple of those instances happen this year.

Phantasm bluray

The first one was seeing the new Blu-ray of Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm (1979). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this amazing film, from in the theater, at drive-ins, countless times on VHS and even DVD. But when I started watching the new Blu-ray…wow. When the part comes up with Tommy’s funeral, and Michael is watching the Tall Man put his casket in the hearse by himself, I could hear this noise coming from the back speakers. Wait…is that rain? Then I notice the beads of rain running off the casket as the Tall Man picks it up. W-T-F? That is the kind of clarity these guys did on this film. Simply amazing. If you’re going to be one of those that complains because they changed something with the spheres, in a shot that last seconds, then you are missing out on so much more. I’m not one for double-dipping, but this is a must.

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