Inferno (1980)

An American college student in Rome and his sister in New York investigate a series of killings in both locations where their resident addresses are the domain of two covens of witches.

Director:

Dario Argento

Writer:

Dario Argento (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leigh McCloskey	...	Mark Elliot
Irene Miracle	...	Rose Elliot
Eleonora Giorgi	...	Sara
Daria Nicolodi	...	Elise De Longvalle Adler
Sacha Pitoëff	...	Kazanian (as Sacha Pitoeff)
Alida Valli	...	Carol, the caretaker
Veronica Lazar	...	The Nurse / Mater Tenebrarum
Gabriele Lavia	...	Carlo
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Professor Arnold / Dr. Varelli (as Feodor Chaliapin)
Leopoldo Mastelloni	...	John, the Butler
Ania Pieroni	...	Music Student
James Fleetwood	...	Cook
Rosario Rigutini	...	Man
Ryan Hilliard	...	Shadow
Paolo Paoloni	...	Music Teacher

Storyline

Riddled with secret but horrid suspicion, the young American poet, Rose Elliot, writes to her brother and musicology student in Rome, Mark, about the startling findings in the dark and dank basement of her New York Art Deco apartment building. Pivoting around the cryptic knowledge hidden in the leather-bound book entitled "The Three Mothers", Rose is convinced that her aristocratic but damned abode is, in fact, an ancient coven for Mater Tenebrarum, the malevolent Mother of Darkness. Little by little, as the siblings delve deeper and deeper into the occult, a mysterious disappearance and an endless string of gruesome killings will bring Mark closer and closer to a surreal nightmare. Where do the long and shadowy corridors of Rose's building lead?

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Plot Keywords:

second part | drowning a cat | dead animal | killing an animal | actual animal killed | 

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Taglines:

Come face to face with hell

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Genres:

Horror

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's story was apparently inspired by Alain Resnais' O Último Ano em Marienbad (1961).

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Goofs

Just before the girl goes swimming, she sets the beam to light up the darkness. The beam changes position between the 2 shots where she is turning it on.

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Quotes

[Reading from "The Three Mothers", by E. Varelli]
Rose Elliot: I do not know what price I shall have to pay for breaking what we alchemists call Silentium, the life experiences of our colleagues should warn us not to upset laymen by imposing our knowledge upon them.

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Alternate Versions

For its UK cinema release cuts were made to shots of a cat eating a live mouse. The Fox video was cut by 20 secs with the same cinema cut plus an additional edit to a closeup of a cat's head being hit against a chair. The cuts were fully waived for the 2010 Arrow DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in Mãe das Lágrimas: A Terceira Mãe (2007)

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Soundtracks

Va' pensiero...
(from opera "Nabucco")
Music by Giuseppe Verdi'
Performed by Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai (as Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus of Rome Radio Televisione Italiana)
Chorus master by Gaetano Riccitelli
Conducted by Fernando Previtali
Courtesy of Fonit Cetra

User Reviews

A mixed bag.

Dario Argento is a master of his genre, no doubt about that, but his script here is pure hokum. The film has a number of striking images (the mysterious beauty that appears out of nowhere in the classroom; the drapes being slowly ripped apart by the nails of a stabbed-to-death woman; the close-up of Daria Nicolodi's lips; the pursuer at the library's basement, whose face remains in the dark, but whose hands are clearly not human), and a very peculiar architectural design, with secret passages leading to all sorts of hidden rooms to other passages to other rooms....However, as many others have said, the film is best approached as a dream, because the plot is incoherent and there are several scenes that run on too long. It does get better on the second viewing. (**)

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

15 January 1982 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Inferno

Filming Locations:

Biblioteca Angelica, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Intersound

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 102 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (Dolby Stereo) (5.0 Surround Sound) (L-R) 3 Channel Stereo (5.0 Surround Sound) (L-R)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1