Dario Argento Fan?

[Mr.G]

Am I the only one on here that doesn't get his films? I try to watch them but find myself wondering why others like them. I got Phenomena on Netflix and tried watching it tonight. Not even the great Donald Pleasence could save it for me. I did like the razor wielding chimp but everything else was just bland.

[Danny]

hit and miss, overrated but the man has some talent with a camera, just not the best storyteller.

[krakenslayer]

Most, but not all, of Argento's films are focused entirely on evoking atmosphere, at the expense of plot logic. This isn't neccessarily a bad thing; it's certainly a much better filmmaking technique than ditching plot detail for mere explosions like some Hollywood films. As viewers, we in English speaking countries tend to view films purely as "stories" and when we watch a movie we are totally focused on the film's narrative. Italians tend to focus less on narrative, and place more weight on artful visuals, esoteric concepts, the building of atmosphere and memorable set pieces. The plot exists, but is usually just a thread upon which to hang these elements. These tend to be disregarded in western films, just as narrative gets disregarded in Italian cinema, so I like watching Argento's films to sort of re-calibrate my movie radar. His films do tend to polarize people, for reasons given above. It's no biggie if you don't like his films. You're not alone.

[bassman]

I believe there are quite a few of us here that don't necessarily enjoy Argento's work. I don't think it's absolute garbage, but for the most part its definitely overrated. Don't get me started on Fulci.

[Mike70]

I'm a fan of argento. granted, his movies usually make little to no sense, but they are so beautifully made, artistic, and atmospheric that I can forgive the relative lack of plot.

[Mr.G]

Thanks guys....different strokes for different folks. The only movie of his that I can watch and enjoy is Deep Red.