Favorite Italian horror film maker

[zomb5150]

Who is Your favorite Italian Horror film maker?
What would You consider to be his best film?


Although I'm a fan of all four of these film makers, My personal favorite is Lucio Fulci and my favorite film by Him is Zombie 2

[RavageRitual]

Originally posted by zomb5150
Who is Your favorite Italian Horror film maker?
What would You consider to be his best film?


Although I'm a fan of all four of these film makers, My personal favorite is Lucio Fulci and my favorite film by Him is Zombie 2

I agree, I like Lucio alot Its hard for me to pick a fav though

[jenna26]

Argento by far. One of my favorite directors of all time. My favorite film of his is Tenebre, but his best is probably Deep Red.

[Ritualistic]

FULCI LIVES!!!

GORE FOREVER!!!

anyone who knows me on here knows I love FULCI...

and my favorite film by argento is OPERA... I love the torture :-D

[SodaGirl]

Definitely Fulci. House by the Cemetery is my favorite. :)

[zwoti]

mario bava

....wait he's not on the list

antonio marghereti

michele soavi

ruggero deodato

....well if you can have lenzi on the list


not going to add aristide massaccesi (joe d'amato) or lamberto bava

i assume riccardo freda was left of the list as he technically wasn't an intalian horror director




here endeth the lesson

[TheOmen]

Wow...Argento in a landslide for me. I can't believe people vote for Fulci over Argento. He's just a better filmmaker. And there's plenty of beautiful gore with Argento, so what's the reason?

[The_Return]

Leave "horror" out of the title and it's Leone hands down.


Im rather behind on my italian horror....Ive only seen 3:

Suspiria
Zombie
House by the Cemetry


I guess judging from my limited knowledge, Ill have to say Fulci.

[urgeok]

i'd have voted Argento ...

but i prefer Soavi over everyone based on Cemetary Man alone

[zomb5150]

zwoti,
Thanks for the lesson.
I was hoping that someone would recommend some other Italian film makers because my Knowledge of Italian horror films is quite limited.I'll have to look for movies from some of the other directors You've mentioned.:)

[Kinski's Ghost]

Originally posted by zwoti
mario bava

....wait he's not on the list

here endeth the lesson

Bava is hands down the best! But as far as the ones listed, Fulci...definately Fulci. Even his shitty movies like CONQUEST and THE NEW GLADIATORS are fun. His best however is THE BEYOND.

[aborted]

Originally posted by jenna26
Argento by far. One of my favorite directors of all time. My favorite film of his is Tenebre, but his best is probably Deep Red.

^^^

Fuckin eh.

[EXTR3MIST]

Aristide Massaccessi (a.k.a. Joe D'Amato) - probably the most wreckless filmmaker to date.

Emanuelle in America, Aladdin X, Caligula... The Untold Story:-

Fucking mental.

[urgeok]

Alladin X ??

are they on a space station ? and Jafar becomes some super android ?


or is it just Jasmine, blowing everything and everybody in sight for 90 minutes ?

[EXTR3MIST]

It's funniest themed-porn I've ever seen, if only for the dubbed dialogue.

Joe also did Tarzan X, with Rocco Siffredi - he of the big cock, though personally I only watch it for the ladies.

[zwoti]

Originally posted by EXTR3MIST
Aristide Massaccessi (a.k.a. Joe D'Amato) - probably the most wreckless filmmaker to date.

Emanuelle in America, Aladdin X, Caligula... The Untold Story:-

Fucking mental.

ah yes, caligula.........the untold story

i'm sure michele soavi sticks this right at the top of his resume :p :p :p

[Kinski's Ghost]

Originally posted by zwoti
ah yes, caligula.........the untold story



...let's not forget Porno Holocaust or Erotic Nights of the Living Dead.

[zwoti]

Originally posted by Kinski's Ghost
...let's not forget Porno Holocaust or Erotic Nights of the Living Dead.

now i've got a mental image of george eastman...........thanks a bunch :mad:

[Cortonesi]

well i dont like the list, but i love Lucio Fulci.
Fulci Lives!

Francesco Cortonesi aka deadtoday

[AUSTIN316426808]

Argento- Suspiria/Deep Red

Haven't really seen that much Italian horror



I agree with Return, as far as Italian directors in general it's Leone by the longest long shot ever(imo)

[IDrinkYourBlood]

Fulci Lives!!!!!!
Im all about the brown...eh...I mean.....Fulci.
Zomie be his best followed by City of the Living Dead and The Beyond.

[Doc Faustus]

Argento placed second? Wow. Fulci can do Gore, but Argento's got the better eye and he knows how to set up a kill like nobody's business.

[gordytheghoul]

Argento, he's a great filmmaker, Fulci is a gore specialist. There is a huge difference, not that I don't like Fulci's stuff, it's just that he wasn't the artist that Argento is. Furthermore, Bava was better than both these guys anyhow, and just what the sam-hell were you thinking leaving Soavi off this list.

[stacilayne]

I love Argento's work.

Has anyone here seen "The House with Laughing Windows", directed by Pupi Avati?

Staci

[Kinski's Ghost]

Originally posted by stacilayne
Has anyone here seen "The House with Laughing Windows", directed by Pupi Avati?


Yes!...now there's a fucked up movie. Zeder, also by Pupi Avati, is pretty good too.

[TheOmen]

Martino has some good movies too.

And I disagree that Fulci is the gore specialist. There's more of it in his films, but some real stupid shit. Argento's films are very gory, but are so stylish that nobody seems to give him credit for just how much gore he splatters on the screen. Argento is the best Italian horror director, and one of the best horror directors, period.

How many times has he been ripped off by Depalma or Carpenter alone?

[Cortonesi]

Originally posted by stacilayne
I love Argento's work.

Has anyone here seen "The House with Laughing Windows", directed by Pupi Avati?

Staci

In Italy this film is a great cult, beacuse Pupi Avati is very famous filmaker...The house is near to Bologna...

[EXTR3MIST]

The brutal New York Ripper aside, I find Argento's stabbing, slashing approach to gore far more rattling than Fulci's smashed heads and fantastic eye-puncturing.

Look at the amazing razorwire sequence in Suspria, and the gruesome fingernails bit in Sleepless.

However, Argento's stories can be just as convoluted and incoherent as Fulci's - Inferno and Trauma for example - and in fact Fulci was more than capable of coming up with a fine giallo/mystery (Don't Torture a Ducking, The Psychic, One on Top of the Other) before he was seduced by crumbling zombies.

[hollywoodgothiq]

Argento - by far - should be the winner.

The only close competition is Mario Bava. He made some great --and very influential -- films . But also he churned out so many movies, so fast, on such low budgets, that he made quite a few clunkers that bring his average down. (To be fair, Argento has lowered his own average score during the last ten to tweny years -- although SLEEPLESS showed that he could still make a good one now and then.)

I have a soft spot in my heart for Fulci (mostly becuase of ZOMBIE 2, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and, especially, THE BEYOND) -- but he wasn't necessarily a great filmmaker.

As for other names in the "history lesson," I never understood what all the shouting was about in regards to Ricardo Freda. THE TERRIBLE SECRET OF DR. HITCHCOCK is good for a laugh (watching the titular doctor try to resist his necrophiliac impulses while examing a corpse, for example).

Margheriti is about on the level of Fulci: he made some good ones, but he's not really a consistently great filmmaker -- just a competent one whose work sometimes clicks. For you gore fans out there, you might be interested to know that he directed second unit, including the 3-D insert gore shots (e.g., entrails hanging into the camera), for ANDY WARHOL'S FRANKENSTEIN -- a film otherwise written and directed by Paul Morrisey.

[EXTR3MIST]

Ricardo Freda was notable for inventing the Italian zombie/undead movie (along with Bava) in I, Vampiri.

He observed that Italian film fans stayed away in droves, disbelieving that any of their countrymen could make such a film - effectively, at least.

This later started the trend of Italians adopting English pseudonyms to sell their films at home.

[hollywoodgothiq]

Yes, I know Freda's history. What I don't understand is the critical adulation. Being first isn't the same as being best.

[EXTR3MIST]

I don't know... pioneers always deserve respect, and I like Fear, Double Face and especially Caltiki (nice underwater shots, and great Blob-like creature).

[zwoti]

we do have freda to thank for bava getting his break

[MichaelMyers]

Argento.

[katsukhan]

I haven't seen a lot of Italian horror movies but from what I have seen I think Argento is the better amongst this group.

[bwind22]

Am I alone in thinking Fulci is hugely over-rated?

His films are painfully slow moving and there tends to be like two or three scenes with cool gore and that's about it. Argento all the way.

[no mulier]

Saw Dario Argento's Phenomena as a child. I was pleased to observe that it has aged well, viewing it again and remembering it after a decade. Together with Stendhal Syndrome, this is -- in my opinion -- his best. I find Deep Red, Sleepless, and The Cardplayer rather average, as far as giallos go. Often the dialogue is almost comical, but I like to think that it has to do with intentions getting lost in the translation. As with most of Argento's films, the plot is nothing more than an afterthought, to make sense of his artistic visions.

It doesn't seem to me that Argento is the type who has consistent structure of character, dialogue, plot/storyline. He executes his visions (evidently in Suspiria, Inferno, and Tenebrae) before all else. It's as plain as day that many of you like the aesthetics of his films. The kill/attack scenes, oh yes, he does them well. However, there are instances where it does seem like he's exaggerating. Too much style. Too little substance.

Therein lies my opinion that it is Argento who is overrated.