Inferno (1980).

Review #2627: Inferno (1980).

Cast: 

Leigh McCloskey (Mark Elliott), Irene Miracle (Rose Elliott), Eleonora Giorgi (Sara), Daria Nicolodi (Elise De Longvalle Adler), Sacha Pitoëff (Kazanian), Alida Valli (Carol), Veronica Lazar (The Nurse/Mater Tenebrarum), Gabriele Lavia (Carlo), Feodor Chaliapin Jr (Prof. Arnold/Dr. Varelli), Leopoldo Mastelloni (John), Ania Pieroni (the music student/Mater Lachrymarum), Paolo Paoloni (Music Teacher), and Fulvio Mingozzi (Taxi Driver) Directed by Dario Argento (#2461 - Suspiria)

Review: 

Suspiria, as released in 1977, was a hell of a hit for 20th Century Fox when the States got it under "International Classics". Dario Argento and his partner Daria Nicolodi decided, well, it was only the first of a trilogy that clearly revolved around "The Three Mothers", which refers to a triumvirate of witches that deal in magic on a great scale to try and rule the world that took loose inspiration from Thomas de Quincey's collection of essays with Suspiria de profundis. Fox did co-finance the film along with Italian interests that saw a majority of filming in Rome, albeit with a brief amount of time spent in location shooting in New York. Mario Bava was hired to serve as a supervisor on the matte/maquette effects that saw him work for a few weeks (his son Lamberto served as an assistant director) on the condition by Bava himself to not receive credit (various descriptions of what he did and how it got done can be found here). Bava did a bit of second-unit work when Argento suffered a bout of hepatitis that knocked him to the point of doing work while lying on his back; Bava died of a sudden heart attack in April 1980 at the age of 65. The movie had a normal release in its native Italy in February 1980 but didn't get a normal American release due to management issues involving the studio (i.e. new management didn't care for the decisions made by old management) that instead saw it not released until 1986. John Carpenter was inspired by the film and what it did in its freedom in the face of narrative cohesion for what became Prince of Darkness [1987]. 27 years later in 2007, after years of planning (Nicolodi claimed they had done a script in the 1980s that wasn't utilized), Argento returned with the last witch film of the trilogy with Mother of Tears. 

It's an odd little movie with the maneuvering required to make things stick with its strange plotting and atmosphere, but it works out more often than not. It starts, naturally, by telling you of a book called "The Three Mothers" that was written by an alchemist that tells you about evil sisters that rule the world in sorrow, tears, and darkness that live in separate houses around the world (Freiburg, Rome, and New York City, with an emphasis on the latter). Within a maze of water-filled ballrooms, weird gazing students, deadly pets, and a fiery climax that may or may not close things out with definitive flourish. Basements within odd antiques shops, a few neat deaths and plenty of visual curiosity to basically carry a movie that mostly is a trip through the nightmare scope. Comparing it with Suspiria is a futile exercise, mainly because one likes to switch around the lead focus (it takes a considerable amount of time to stick with McCloskey in its 107-minute runtime) that dances around logic but also happens to go further out in logic and also its sequences of gore, which probably sticks out the most with the guillotine. That, or either sequence spent in water (the scene with a sudden tease of a corpse or the other one where an attempted drowning leads to rats). It's a movie where you really can play the reveal of the "death card" for the climax and still have a crashing trick up your sleeve. Within the blues and reds is a film that goes for a game of throwing off the viewer and mostly succeeding with a hearty chuckle that might as well be the type of sleight of hand fit for watching maybe without thinking about the dialogue at all, as if it was a fever nightmare despite what happens with the ending. As a whole, Inferno is an infernal feature that dances through logic with plenty of flourish and nightmare qualities for an oddball experience of hokum and fun.

Song of the day!

There were a few movies that we couldn't quite get to in 2026's 38 days of horror whether due to time or other unspecified reasons: Clayface, Other Mommy, Misery, Drag Me to Hell, Tenebrae (1982), Kalifornia, Popcorn, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, The Toolbox Murders, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, The Frighteners, Nomads, and 31. See ya later.

Moonstruck.

Review #1484: Moonstruck.

Cast:
Cher (Loretta Castorini), Nicolas Cage (Ronny Cammareri), Olympia Dukakis (Rose Castorini), Vincent Gardenia (Cosmo Castorini), Danny Aiello (Johnny Cammareri), Julie Bovasso (Rita Cappomaggi), Louis Guss (Raymond Cappomaggi), John Mahoney (Perry), Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (Grandpa Castorini), and Anita Gillette (Mona) Directed by Norman Jewison (#127 - Rollerball, #273 - The Cincinnati Kid, #544 - In the Heat of the Night, and #691 - The Thomas Crown Affair)

Review:
"Directing, in many ways, is manipulation because you're dealing with a lot of egos. You have to manipulate people into thinking it was their idea, to get them to do what you see as being the best, to edit them without their knowing they're being edited."

Norman Jewison is one of Canada's most notable directors, made evident by the fact that he made a honest career of mostly successful films for four decades. He rose his way up from work in television in both Canada (with the CBC) and the United States (on NBC) before being inspired to branch into film, with his first few films being comedies for Universal Pictures, such as Forty Pounds of Trouble (1962) with Tony Curtis, or Send Me No Flowers (1964) with Doris Day. His first true breakthrough came with The Cincinnati Kid (1965), the first of his numerous challenging dramas, described by him as his "ugly duckling" film, which occurred after he was brought in for the fired Sam Peckinpah. Numerous highlights would follow in the next couple of years, such as the Cold War comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), In the Heat of the Night (1967, winner of Best Picture), the musical Fiddler on the Roof (1971), and the period drama A Soldier's Story (1984). The year after the release of this film, he founded the Canadian Film Centre, dedicated to helping Canadian professionals further work in advanced school training from film to digital media. Jewison was nominated for seven Academy Awards in his career (four for Best Picture, three for Best Director), and while he did not win any of them, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1999 for his body work as a creative producer, with his final work being The Statement (2003).

Sometimes there just comes a romance or comedy that hits you right where it matters most, and this is one of those films. Honest but sweet with a tremendous cast and direction, Moonstruck is a film that was surely destined to be a favorite that would make audience brim with warmth and mean every moment of it. There is just something in that script by playwright John Patrick Shanley that Jewison saw as fitting for these actors and these settings that are prime for entertainment of the heart. It is exactly the kind of family film for folks who enjoy dedicated material without overt sentimentalism but instead fair honesty. One might know where it could go with its romance, but it doesn't stop the fun. In a busy year for Cher, it should figure that her third role of that year was the one that received the most acclaim. She does a pretty good job with this role, inviting one in with modesty and good timing that resonates well whenever with Cage or with others, pulling off a compelling performance without artifice. Equally as compelling in energy and spirit is Cage in an early breakthrough role for the actor (having started his career just five years prior under his birth name of Coppola), one that reaches our attention and our passion without having to really do much (his whole bit with the story of how he lost his hand is a good example of that). Dukakis proves just as comforting in amusement in a solidly charming turn with a handful of lines to go with a well-rounded performance. Gardenia also proves just as endearing in his own way of humor. Aiello, even without much time on screen, is enjoyable in generating amusement for a well-meaning dope, while Chaliapin Jr nearly steals the show with reserved amusement. Film and stage actor (alongside acting coach) Bovasso proves a worthy supporting presence, both in charm alongside in helping Cher and Dukakis in doing Brooklyn accents. By the time the film rallies everybody to the kitchen table for its last turn under the sun, it already has proven a worthy time about detailing what it means to be struck in love, or at least the complications that can arise from what the heart and mind wants most. It brings itself together with charm without sacrificing any moment for a cheap gag or a cheap pull at the heart, which makes for a resounding winner to seek out as one of Jewison's best.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.