Dario Argento's World of Horror (1985) User Reviews

Boring, dull...

[macabro357 · 5/10 · 28 April 2003]

Gawd, it's hard for me to think of Dario Argento as boring in any way, but this weak documentary sure portrays him as such.

Yes, we get lots of shots of Argento filming PHENOMENA with Jennifer Connelly, but not much else. In fact, I didn't hear a lot of discussion about the films he made before SUSPERIA. Films such as DEEP RED; FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET; THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, etc.. all get the short shift.

A definitive Argento biography has yet to be made. You won't find it here.

Get's a 5 on the imdb scale.

I Would Probably Make A Pretty Good Murderer

[ShootingShark · 5/10 · 19 February 2007]

A documentary about the Italian filmmaker Dario Argento, who specialises in violent and bloody thrillers and phantasmagorical horror films.

Dario Argento's movies are an acquired taste. You need a darkness to your psyche to begin with, and you have to be willing to consider violence rendered on film as art. If not, go watch a nice National Geographic documentary on giant pandas. This documentary focuses chiefly on his mid-period films; Profondo Rosso/Deep Red, Suspiria, Inferno, Tenebre and Phenomena, but also looks at three of his earlier films - L'Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo/The Bird With The Crystal Plumage and the rarely-seen Il Gatto A Nove Code/The Cat O'Nine Tails and 4 Mosche Di Velluto Grigio/Four Flies On Grey Velvet, as well as two movies he produced, George A. Romero's Dawn Of The Dead and Lamberto Bava's Demoni. Production-wise, it's shoddy - the film stock is pretty grotty, the subtitles are poorly-written (Bava is referred to as Rava) and none of the people or the numerous clips are introduced or placed in context. Content-wise however, it's terrific - Argento's comments are truly thought-provoking (and often bizarre), there is some great behind-the-scenes footage, particularly from Tenebre and Phenomena, and the clips will satisfy gore-hounds everywhere. I would have liked a little more insight into Inferno, the middle of his as-yet-unfinished "Mothers" trilogy, which I often think is an overlooked gem and an extremely subtle and chilling work. I love Argento's films because they are so outrageously visual and because his style is simply unique. Whatever its shortcomings, this documentary is a (blood-spattered) window into his twisted imaginings. Shot on film by Soavi, who was the assistant director on several of the movies featured, and subsequently released on video. English title - Dario Argento's World Of Horror. 5/10

Dario's Big Pitch

[cinemacide · 7/10 · 10 August 2006]

No one can deny Dario Argento. Earning a place in horror as a pioneer while being as visually adept as Peter Jackson, John Woo or David Fincher. Unfortunately, his style over substance approach has limited his exposure to the European shores and to probing pesky horror fans. This could be the reason why 'Dario Argento's World of Horrors' comes off as more of a commercial than a documentary. It does have its meat, with behind the scenes footage and interviews but it also comes off somewhat contrived. The interviews, for instance, have him talking directly to the camera expressing thoughts and reasons on various projects. While this gives a somewhat intimate approach it also looks staged and heavy handed with Dario looking like he's just talking to himself. Once more the editing is just too abrupt and distracting making it look extremely amateurish with the result being uneven pacing between interviews and selected scenes. OK, this was Michele Soavi's first gig, but harsh cuts and uneven progression are something an editor is hired to fix. More importantly it never really fleshes out his many film contributions but instead seems content to be Argento's argument to the world that he is a valid director. Almost like propaganda. Yuck. It's too bad, because the proof is in the pudding. The more we discover about his films the more we see how inventive and influential his style is. The interesting info is just glanced over here and I wanted more. Such as his Technicolor filming of Suspiria, the makeup effects in Demons, or the fantastic production design for Tenebre. Footage was shown but never explained or commented on. I wanted to see more about his various styles of camera work that seems almost ripped off by contemporary films. Also you could have put aside an hour alone on his work with composer Ennio Morricone and the band Goblin. Now group this with the fact that it's somewhat dated (Miami vice music and all) and what you have is an interesting but uninspired 76 minutes.

a breathtaking montage of murders

[Rusty1988 · 7/10 · 14 April 2008]

murders with swords, knives, axes and ghastly slicing razors. Fasten you seat belts. We're on a no brakes, downhill plunge as we watch a series of the most unforgettable horror climaxes ever filmed by the master of horror Dario Argento, Razor-Wielding psychopaths... cannibalistic zombies... diabolical demons from hell. These are the creations of the "alternative Hitchcock" He pulls out all stops for an avalanche of gore, You'll see dazzling camera work for the cult hit SUSPIRIA, the ultimate horror of DEMONS, the skin crawling CREEPERS, the classic DAWN OF THE DEAD, Keith Emerson's vivid scoring for INFERNO, and the terrifying TENEBRAE!

A Bit Dated, But a Fine Overview of Dario Argento

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 22 September 2010]

Michele Soavi, writer and director, presents his view on Dario Argento. There is no better person to present a documentary on Argento, as Soavi has studied under the man (as well as other great Italian legends), and through his tutelage went on to be the greatest Italian horror director of his time... to see this early attempt at directing is instructive of both Argento and Soavi.

The documentary was released in 1985, so it focuses on behind the scenes on "Phenomena" and the process by which a hornet was put to sleep with ether, surgically modified and remote controlled, as well as other camera tricks and special effect work. It's an interesting take on how effects were much different 25 years ago.

Another reviewer opined that parts of this would work better as featurettes on the other DVDs, and I absolutely agree... though, of course, in 1985 movies did not have special features. With the rights to many films being owned by Anchor Bay and this one by Synapse, I'm unclear how that would work.

The best bits are by far the interview segments with Argento, where we learn that he thinks his murder scenes are "beautiful", how murder is "erotic" and "sensual", and how he worries that he does not have the skill to pull off his ideas. It's a very sympathetic look, but also a frank one. He speaks his mind, as unpopular as his views might be.

If you do not know who Argento is, this may not be the best introduction. But if you've seen a few of his films and want to see more, this should put you in the mindset to continue your journey. Experienced fans might not find much new here, especially after all these years, but I have seen the bulk of his work and still found it insightful.

A documentary on a good director.

[CaZSuede · 8/10 · 28 December 1998]

Dario Argento was a new breed of Italian directors that appeared on the scene in the late 1960's with the Giallo form of horror filmmaking. Giallo's were detective style structures and mixed with horror. Argento dealt with Serial Killers very well. With Mario Bava and perhaps Lucio Fulci (stretching that one a bit), Italian cinema entered a "golden era" of horror gore and exploitation during the 1970's.

World of Horror shows the best of Argento's movies, leading up to Demon's, which he produced only. Most scenes are either "Death Scenes" or "Stylistic Shots". Anyway, there is some technical shots, but the movie does not really go into detail about the technicals of his movies. However, you get a dose on what happens in his noggin, and that in itself is scary enough. If you happen to find this movie on video (good luck), try it out, but good luck trying to find some of his movies on video (I'm still looking for his "4 flies on Gray Velvet")

Lackluster and shallow

[eadwinn · 4/10 · 30 August 2010]

Those expecting a deeper look into the content of Argento's movies in this 71 minute documentary will be thoroughly disappointed -- the movie mostly concerns with the technical aspects of Dario's movies (special effects, crane shots, etc), and choke-full with footage from his movies. I'm not exaggerating -- this documentary shows us minutes upon minutes of scenes from Argento movies for no good reason literally wasting our time.

The biggest disappointment is the lack of insight into the themes of Argento's work -- though, admittedly, there is some of it, but it obviously wasn't the main concern of the guys behind the documentary. All in all, it is a very shallow look into the subject.

A Bloody Genius

[barthj-94385 · 9/10 · 25 September 2023]

Awesome documentary on one of Italy's best horror directors. Shows lots of behind the scenes footage on how certain shots were executed and just how passionate of a horror fan Dario is. I wondered what the pit of human remains, maggots and what pretty much looked like human feces was made of in Phenomena, and that's answered, along with multiple other special effects in basically all of his movies up until 1985. The behind the scenes of Demons was particularly interesting because that's one of my favorite Argento films. Essentially an Italian Evil Dead in a movie theatre for those who haven't had the pleasure.