In this film, Dario Argento explains the difference between fear and panic (the panico that gives this its title). He claims that fear is like a fever of 100.5 F, one that has you terrified. Panic is just a degree higher, something that takes you beyond to a place that you can't control.
If you've read Argento's book Fear, he often speaks of writing his scripts isolated in a hotel room. In this documentary, the director finds himself returns to the place where he completed his latest script and speaks as part of an intimate interview, all while being followed by a film crew documenting his life for a movie about his illustrious career.
He's joined by friends, collaborators and fans -- many of whom are today's most important filmmakers -- to discuss the story of his life and films.
Director Simone Scafidi made Fulci For Fake in 2019, a film that attempted to explain the movies of Lucio Fulci. In that effort, he didn't have true access to Fulci. Here, he has Argento speaking to his greatest successes and why he makes movies, as well as some of the most essential people in his life, including his daughters Fiore and Asia, his first wife Marisa Casale, Claudio Simonetti of Goblin, Lamberto Bava, Michele Soavi, Luigi Cozzi and current directors Nicolas Winding Refn, Guillermo del Toro and Gaspar Noé.
Del Toro speaks most effectively on the power of what Argento can do and how he's "getting high off his own supply." He makes a case that Deep Red presents a world where anything at any time can happen and that you must accept that -- "here's is a killer doll, alright" he laughs -- and that it's also full of ancient evil waiting on the outside of the frame, a film where no one is safe.
There's a lot more that I'd like to have heard about, such as the time in American making Dawn of the Dead and Inferno, as well as what inspired his later films. This skips quite a bit -- sorry fans of Dracula 3D and Mother of Tears -- but it's impossible to get a multiple decade career into a short running time. What does emerge is that even when people have had rough relationships with Dario -- such as actress Cristina Marsillach, the star of Opera -- they feel as if they have learned from the time they spent with him. It makes for an interesting companion to his aforementioned autobiography, as you only hear his side of the story, where Asia presents a more nuanced vision of him, including a surprising moment of tenderness and vulnerability.
It's very hard for me to be objective on this film's subject, as his movies form the nucleus of so much of my love for cinema. I am pleased with the results, as it gives me as much as I need to know and I could honestly listen to Soavi, Bava and Cozzi speak for hours.
As a film nerd, I am beyond happy that this mentioned The Card Player. As you may know, my parents' first date was to see The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and for years they used it as a barometer of films they hated. I think my gialli addiction started in those formative film discussions as a form of rebellion. Also: Yes, I did cry when they showed the Louma crane from Tenebrae.
If you've read Argento's book Fear, he often speaks of writing his scripts isolated in a hotel room. In this documentary, the director finds himself returns to the place where he completed his latest script and speaks as part of an intimate interview, all while being followed by a film crew documenting his life for a movie about his illustrious career.
He's joined by friends, collaborators and fans -- many of whom are today's most important filmmakers -- to discuss the story of his life and films.
Director Simone Scafidi made Fulci For Fake in 2019, a film that attempted to explain the movies of Lucio Fulci. In that effort, he didn't have true access to Fulci. Here, he has Argento speaking to his greatest successes and why he makes movies, as well as some of the most essential people in his life, including his daughters Fiore and Asia, his first wife Marisa Casale, Claudio Simonetti of Goblin, Lamberto Bava, Michele Soavi, Luigi Cozzi and current directors Nicolas Winding Refn, Guillermo del Toro and Gaspar Noé.
Del Toro speaks most effectively on the power of what Argento can do and how he's "getting high off his own supply." He makes a case that Deep Red presents a world where anything at any time can happen and that you must accept that -- "here's is a killer doll, alright" he laughs -- and that it's also full of ancient evil waiting on the outside of the frame, a film where no one is safe.
There's a lot more that I'd like to have heard about, such as the time in American making Dawn of the Dead and Inferno, as well as what inspired his later films. This skips quite a bit -- sorry fans of Dracula 3D and Mother of Tears -- but it's impossible to get a multiple decade career into a short running time. What does emerge is that even when people have had rough relationships with Dario -- such as actress Cristina Marsillach, the star of Opera -- they feel as if they have learned from the time they spent with him. It makes for an interesting companion to his aforementioned autobiography, as you only hear his side of the story, where Asia presents a more nuanced vision of him, including a surprising moment of tenderness and vulnerability.
It's very hard for me to be objective on this film's subject, as his movies form the nucleus of so much of my love for cinema. I am pleased with the results, as it gives me as much as I need to know and I could honestly listen to Soavi, Bava and Cozzi speak for hours.
As a film nerd, I am beyond happy that this mentioned The Card Player. As you may know, my parents' first date was to see The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and for years they used it as a barometer of films they hated. I think my gialli addiction started in those formative film discussions as a form of rebellion. Also: Yes, I did cry when they showed the Louma crane from Tenebrae.