i am a recent dario argento convert. i caught "inferno" (1980) at the castro theatre the other night -- it was my first argento film on the big screen and it was shown on film which was nice. i've only seen "phenomena" (1985, starring a pubescent jennifer connelly), and "opera" (1987) which is maybe one of the grossest horror movies i've ever seen, but also one of the coolest. "inferno" is the second in the "three mothers trilogy" and i've yet to see "susperia", which seems to be the argento film you hear about most -- i've read that "inferno" is inferior, but whatevs -- i thought it was fucking great. if you only watch films for a good narrative, then i wouldn't recommend argento at all. but if you like intense colors and interiors (i want to live in an argento film -- from what i've seen, some of the my most ideal living spaces are created in his movies) and intense/erratic metal, prog rock/electronic music, then you will be satisfied. the whole point of me blogging about this isn't really to discuss the merits of argento's oeuvre, but to go on a limb and connect one of my favorite musician's stuff to argento. i could totally be TRYING to see a connection between john maus and dario argento -- and my thought isn't totally original: lots of maus' reviewers, especially of his most recent "we must become the pitiless censors of ourselves" (2011) have drawn a connection between his style and that of the music heard in argento films. and it could totally be a coincidence that his song "tenebrae" shares the name of an argento film (that i've yet to see, but is high on my list -- if only to see if there's an explicit connection). john maus is a pretty academically minded dude, and maybe he poo-poos horror films, even ones as cool looking and over-the-top as argento's. i am going to believe that he doesn't and surmise that maybe somewhere along the line he went through an argento phase. or maybe it's just that people in my age group who like john maus' records (who is also in my age group) also find argento films appealing for similar reasons that we find maus' music appealing.
verdi's "nabucco" is featured in "inferno" and the second i heard the music i thought of john maus' "opening" (mp3) from his "songs" record (2006) which i guess you could say is just a tribute to religious organ music or whatever but the first minute of "nabucco" reminded me of it nonetheless. see + hear for yourself:
not surprisingly, maus lists a bunch of classical pieces as what he's into listening to during an interview for pitchfork a few months back. after listening to the original soundtrack, i realized that it's "the library" (mp3) song that sounds like maus' "opening" specifically -- similar organ-intro feel.
in addition to verdi, argento uses kieth emerson for the score of "inferno" -- here is an example & a pretty good montage of scenes from the film:
be sure to listen all the way through -- this is one of the most rockin', over-the-top religious songs i've ever heard in a film. i don't care if argento fans say it's not as good as the usual music by goblin -- i think it's genius!! check it & enjoy: "mater tenebrarum" by godfrey salmon & keith emerson
and another mellow electronic pop track: "elisa's story" by keith emerson
and again, i can't help but hear similarities to john maus -- not the opera necessarily, but the overall style i guess feels similar to... i dunno, almost any of his songs really, but "don't worship the devil" comes to mind or "too much money" (mp3) off of "love is real" or even "believer". okay, i think i should end this probably unconvincing comparison..... i will leave you with this hopeful anthem
also, the onion's AV club just did a cool piece on the giallo genre -- the list of films is overwhelming, but i am going to do my best.
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