Inferno (1980, Blu-ray Review) Blue Underground
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Irene Miracle, Daria Nicolodi, Sacha Pitoeff, Leigh McCloskey, Eleonora Giorgi
Blue Underground / All region / Unrated / 1.85:1 Widescreen / Full 1080p / Color / English 7.1 DTS-HD, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Dolby 2.0, Italian mono / English, French and Spanish subtitles / 106 mintes / PURCHASE FROM TLACULT
Extras: Art & Alchemy – An interview with Leigh McCloskey [HD] / Reflections of the Rose – An interview with Irene Miracle [HD] / Interview with Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava / Theatrical Trailer / Dario Argento Intro
——————–
Italian horror legend Dario Argento’s “Three Mothers” trilogy started in 1977 with the classic Suspiria. In this series, three evil sisters create witchcraft in the 11th century and for centuries they travel the Earth amassing god-like power. In the first installment the sister called Mater Suspiriorum or the Mother of Sighs terrorizes a German dance academy. The film is one of Argento’s most successful films both critically and financially. Some 30 years later Argento would finally close out the trilogy to give Mater Lachrymarum aka the Mother of Tears her chance to wreak havoc on the world in the aptly titled Mother of Tears starring his daughter Asia. Stuck in the middle is one of his most underrated films, Inferno, featuring the youngest and most cruel of the sisters, Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness.
Young Rose lives in an old apartment building in New York City which is next door to a bookstore where she finds a book entitled “The Three Mothers”. The book tells of an architect who was commissioned by the three sisters to build them dwellings in NYC, Rome and Germany so that they may “rule the world” with their dark witchcraft. She believes that her building may just be the one built in New York so she writes her brother Mark who is in Rome. After receiving the letter, strange things happen so he hops the first flight to the states. When he arrives he doesn’t find his sister home, instead the tenants tell him that she hasn’t been seen for a couple of days. After finding blood on the floor, Mark follows a trail of clues that lead him to the book seller who gives him no information but is dispatched by rats and and finally stabbed to death by a stranger. It isn’t long before he is headlong into a deadly mystery as people in the building begin to die.
I have never gotten into Dario Argento to every other horror fan’s dismay. As a kid growing up in a small town, I didn’t have much access to his movies (with Suspiria being the exception) and I just haven’t been interested since. So recently I upgraded my home theater with a 50″ plasma, a 5.1 HD surround system and a blu-ray player so I can properly give you guys and gals the 4-1-1 on high definition blu-rays and DVDs. Luckily Blue Underground is releasing Inferno on blu-ray so not only do I get to see really my first Argento, but I get to see and hear it in its propers. I am very glad I had the chance to experience this the right way. After viewing this release I have to say that Dario Argento’s reputation as a horror master isn’t undeserved. The direction is masterful and his use of a garish color palette makes Inferno a beautiful film to behold.
With this newly remastered version from the original uncut and uncensored negative those purples, magentas, blues and reds really pop. My upgraded audio set-up also allowed me to enjoy the hard-driving score from Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame, though at some points the music overtakes the sometimes low dialogue mix. Seeing this “meat” of the trilogy sandwich really makes me want to see the other two (hopefully with this kind of HD treatment) but honestly only for the style of direction and cinematography. The story is interesting but I thought the pacing was very slow and plodding leading up to the big ending, which in my opinion was over way too quickly and easily. It does build tension, but almost to the point of boredom in some stretches. Maybe I just don’t get the nuances and subtleties or maybe this just isn’t my kind of movie. I am really torn on whether I “like” this one or not. It’s so beautiful and stylish and this presentation so perfect, it makes up for the pacing overall.
I too was the dismay of my horror-fan buddies for my resistance to Argento’s charms (Suspiria and Phenomena excepted), but I loved the LOOK of Inferno–especially the dream-like underwater scenes.
I’d like to maybe give it a second chance on blu-ray.