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IMDb > Inferno (1980)
Inferno
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Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   4,253 votes
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Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Dario Argento (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for Inferno on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 April 1980 (USA) more
Tagline:
Terror that's hotter than hell! more
Plot:
Semi-sequal to 'Suspiria' has a American college student in Rome, and his sister in New York investigating a series of killings in both locations where their resident addresses are the domain of two covens of witches. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
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Fangoria Week in Review 09.13.2009
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User Reviews:
Absolute Film more (99 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
Leigh McCloskey ... Mark Elliot

Irene Miracle ... Rose Elliot
Eleonora Giorgi ... Sara
Daria Nicolodi ... Elise Stallone Van Adler
Sacha Pitoëff ... Kazanian (as Sacha Pitoeff)
Alida Valli ... Carol, the caretaker
Veronica Lazar ... The Nurse
Gabriele Lavia ... Carlo
Feodor Chaliapin Jr. ... Professor Arnold / Dr. Varelli (as Feodor Chaliapin)
Leopoldo Mastelloni ... John, the Butler
Ania Pieroni ... Musical Student
James Fleetwood ... Cook
Rosario Rigutini ... Man

Ryan Hilliard ... Shadow
Paolo Paoloni ... Music Teacher
Fulvio Mingozzi ... Cabdriver
Luigi Lodoli ... Bookbinder
Rodolfo Lodi ... Old Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dario Argento ... Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
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Directed by
Dario Argento 
 
Writing credits
Dario Argento (story and screenplay)

Produced by
Claudio Argento .... producer
Salvatore Argento .... executive producer
Guglielmo Garroni .... executive producer (as William Garroni)
 
Original Music by
Keith Emerson 
 
Cinematography by
Romano Albani 
 
Film Editing by
Franco Fraticelli 
 
Art Direction by
Giuseppe Bassan 
 
Set Decoration by
Francesco Cuppini 
Maurizio Garrone 
 
Costume Design by
Massimo Lentini 
 
Makeup Department
Luciana Maria Costanzi .... hair stylist
Giancarlo De Leonardis .... hair stylist
Pierantonio Mecacci .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
Andrew W. Garroni .... production manager
Cesare Jacolucci .... unit manager
Angelo Jacono .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lamberto Bava .... assistant director
Andrea Piazzesi .... second assistant director
Mario Bava .... second unit director (uncredited)
Stephen A. Glanzrock .... second assistant director (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Luciano Anzellotti .... sound effects
Massimo Anzellotti .... sound effects
Attilio Gizzi .... sound effects editor
Franco Groppioni .... sound engineer (as Francesco Groppioni)
Giancarlo Laurenzi .... boom operator
Romano Pampaloni .... sound mixer
 
Special Effects by
Germano Natali .... special effects
 
Visual Effects by
Mario Bava .... visual effects (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Alberto Altibrandi .... gaffer
Francesco Bellomo .... still photographer
Agostino Pascarella .... key grip
Idelmo Simonelli .... camera operator
 
Music Department
Keith Emerson .... music arranger (as Emerson)
Godfrey Salmon .... conductor
Godfrey Salmon .... music arranger (as Salmon)
Godfrey Salmon .... orchestrator
 
Other crew
Gianlorenzo Battaglia .... underwater sequence (as Lorenzo Battaglia)
Solly V. Bianco .... production administrator
Serena Canevari .... script supervisor (as Maria Serena Canevari)
Anna Maria Galvinelli .... production assistant
Enrico Lucherini .... unit publicist
Saverio Mangogna .... production assistant
Michela Prodan .... production assistant
Roberto Chevalier .... voice dubbing: Italian dubbed version for Leigh McCloskey (uncredited)
Vittorio Di Prima .... voice dubbing: Italian dubbed version for Sacha Pitoëff (uncredited)
Vittoria Febbi .... voice dubbing: Italian dubbed version for Veronica Lazar (uncredited)
Franco Odoardi .... voice dubbing: Italian dubbed version for Feodor Chialiapin Jr. (uncredited)
Isabella Pasanisi .... voice dubbing: Italian dubbed version for Irene Miracle (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Dario Argento's Inferno
more
Runtime:
107 min | Germany:106 min | Sweden:102 min (heavily cut)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
English film critic Kim Newman once called 'Inferno' the most underrated horror film of the 1980's. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: During the cat attack, a human hand can be seen throwing some cats at the actress. more
Quotes:
Kazanian: There are mysterious parts in that book, but the only true mystery is that our very lives are governed by dead people. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Gawi (2000) more
Soundtrack:
Va' pensiero... more

FAQ

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9 out of 13 people found the following review useful.
Absolute Film, 22 March 2001
Author: marquis de cinema from Boston, MA

Inferno(1980) was the second film in the yet to be completed 3 Mothers Trilogy. The first film, Suspiria(1977) was about Mater Suspirium. Inferno(1980) deals with the evil mysteries of Mater Tenebrarum. The third film is to be about the character of Mater Lacrimarum. At one point after this film, Argento was planning to complete the trilogy with Jennifer Connelly as Mater Lacrimarum.

The director decided to shift gears by using the music of Keith Emerson for the film's soundtrack. Its a change of pace after the hard rock pounding effects of Goblin. The music in Inferno(1980) is more of the traditional gothic sound. The music in this film is wonderful to listen to. Its the most overlooked soundtrack in an Argento picture.

The cameo of Mater Lacrimarum is an essential part of this movie. Her appearence is to set things up for the story of the third film. The scene with Mater Lacrimarum is so unreal that it has the aura and feeling of a dream. Ania Pieroni is bewitching and impressionable as the beautiful and mysterious music student. Mater Lacrimarum is very much unexplained to the point that she is something out of a dream or fantasy.

Inferno(1980) deals with occult themes such as alchemy and magic. Goes into the supernatural and the mysteries of the occult with better detail than in Suspiria. What this film says about alchemy and the supernatural is that they are elements of nature that are difficult to explain. Its in this form that Inferno is in the tradition of the great gothic works from the gothic era. The subject of alchemy was another thing that interested Dario Argento.

Unlike the previous film which had a story, Inferno takes a different route by having no story. Inferno instead relies on the use of images and sound. Not liked by many because the film leaves many things unesplained and is too dreamism looking. Inferno(1980) is an inaccessible film to a mainstream audience as were the films of Lisa & the Devil(1974) and The Beyond(1981). I absolutely love this movie because its the closest thing there is to a recorded dream.

Inferno(1980) is an important Italian horror picture because it was the last picture that Mario Bava worked on before his death. He ended in the same manner that he began when co directing I Vampiri in 1955. Mario Bava was involved in the special and visuals effects for the underwater and mirror sequences. He helped make these scenes a pleasure to view. A fitting end to a filmmaker that influenced a generation of directors around the world.

The murder scenes are done with much creativity and panache. The murder of Sara is filled with good use of Verdi and memorable visuals. The death of Rose Elliot including a guillotine like window is cleaver. The murder of the Countess Von Adler is both sadistic and vicious. The murder sequence involving Kazanian is also sadistic as well as skillfully done.

The weakest part of the film is the male protagonist played by Leigh McCloskey. The character of Mark Elliot is both bland and uninteresting. He is the main protagonist by default because the people who were protagonist material had been killed off. This shows that the strongest protagonist in a Dario Argento film is the female protagonist. This is one thing that hurts the film very much.

Kazanian is excellently played by Sascha Pitoeff who had earlier co starred in another complex and confusing flick known as L'Annee Derniere A Marienbad/Last Year at Marienbad(1961). This is the most difficult film that Dario has partaken as a director. He poured every ounce of creative and imaginative ideas that he came up with and it drained him out of an big amount of creative energy. Its one of the main reasons that he hasn't done the third film in The Three Mothers Trilogy. As in Suspiria(1977), the ending here is one of the auteur's weakest.

The main inspiration besides the De Quincey essay is the 1960s horror film, Horror Hotel(1961). In both films there is a female protagonist who disappears during the middle act. The two films includes a brother who searches for the truth about what happened to the sister. The best line in the film is from Kazanian when he says, "There are mysterious parts in that book, but the only true mystery is that our very lives are governed by dead people". The dream of Mark Elliot is the film's surreal moment and the image of the total esclipse as Kazanian is being murdered is mesmerizing and spellbounding.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Male votes = 2,916, Female votes = 246 stratoculture
this might be my favorite argento movie stratoculture
Could this film have been better If... hook-12
Was this filmed phonetically? Bdeezine
Why isn't this called Tenebrae? missmarina_
Best line in any movie EVER....Period. cedarcubical
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