- In the newly released film Suspiria,
acclaimed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino weaves a cinematic
phantasmagoria centered around a dance academy in Berlin
and the sinister goings on behind its doors.
Though it is widely known and publicized
that the film's plot concerns witches and witchcraft,
did you know that the movie Suspiria is based on,
a 1977 film of the same name,
has a unique connection to the tropes
of the modern slasher movie?
Dario Argento, the creator and filmmaker
behind the original Suspiria,
made his name as a master of a particular subgenre
of Italian suspense cinema that inspired movie killers
of a new generation to be more lethal
and far more artistic.
Greetings and welcome to History of Fright.
I'm your host Michael Varrati.
This week, I'm serving up a heaping helping
of Horror Italiano as we take a deep dive
into the world of giallo.
(screams)
(retro music)
An often brutal subgenre of film and literature,
the concept of giallo, or gialli, in plural,
rose to prominence in the 20th century in Italy.
Though initially rooted in the world of crime fiction
and thrillers, the giallo's tendency to lean into grotesque
and garish murder sequences,
as well as occasionally engaging in supernatural content,
soon made it synonymous with the European horror movement.
But what does it mean?
And what sets gialli apart
from the Freddys and Jasons of the world?
The word "giallo" itself
is literally the Italian word for "yellow,"
and early on got attached in a somewhat mocking fashion
to a series of cheaply printed mystery novels
featuring yellow covers selected by the publishing imprint
in post Fascist Italy.
This range of books primarily featured
Italian translations of already popular English
and American novels, including adaptations of works
by Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, and Raymond Chandler.
Due to the low cost and high demand,
other Italian publishing houses began creating
their own giallos featuring original stories
by Italian authors and they made sure to mimic
the popular yellow covers
of the original line in the process.
Pretty soon, the color yellow became intertwined
with the Italian notion of murder most foul,
and the moniker, which began as a mockery, stuck.
In the world of literature,
the term "giallo" became something of a catchall
for any subgenre of crime fiction or mystery thriller.
However, when giallo made its leap to the cinema,
the term took on a much more specific meaning.
Initially, gialli on screen served as literal adaptations
of some of the more popular novels.
But, when a new school of Italian filmmakers
saw the potential to take the genre to new
and terrifying territory using the techniques
and magic of the movies,
the subgenre and its definition were forever changed.
(screaming)
Widely considered to be the first "true" giallo film,
Mario Bava's 1963 The Girl Who Knew Too Much
established early trademarks
that would become fixtures of the movement.
Themes of brutal crime, paranoia, sexuality,
and madness interwoven with a story of a protagonist
who is uncertain of the world around them,
suddenly beset by psychological trauma and mortal danger,
the giallo sought to play with our perceptions
of what we did or did not know.
- [Michael] A hyper violent whodunit,
Bava took his cues from the mysteries of Agatha Christie
and suspense of Hitchcock,
but dialed up the violence and danger 10 fold.
And a year later, when Bava made the switch to color
with 1964's Blood and Black Lace,
the final element of the giallo was set into place.
- [Announcer] Suddenly, these lace curtains
ignite a trauma that will lacerate your emotions.
Blood and Black Lace.
(screams)
- [Michael] Hyper colors and psychedelic imagery
gave the giallo the look it would become known for
by audiences the world over.
This was a world where murder was as elegant as fashion
and style trumped all else.
From Bava's trailblazing, a new school of filmmakers
trying their hand at blood red art cinema would follow,
including the aforementioned Dario Argento.
(screaming)
Announcing himself with 1970's
Bird with The Crystal Plumage,
Argento's output over the next decade
would push the limits of what horror could be
with extravagant and extended sequences of gore
shot with an intense and stylized lens.
With movies like 1972's Four Flies on Grey Velvet.
- Announcer] An evening of darkness becomes an eternity
of terror and suspense.
- [Michael] And 1975's celebrated Deep Red,
Argento's brutal mysteries featuring unseen
leather gloved murders and grotesquely beautiful set pieces
realigned what giallos could be,
but also left a major impact on horror in general.
(hissing)
In 1977, when Argento created
the supernatural thriller Suspiria,
he brought elements of the giallo style to the proceedings,
telling the story of an American dancer
at a German dance academy driven to paranoia
and madness because of her belief that the matrons
of the school were witches.
- I just wanted to talk to you about some of the things
that have been happening here lately.
- [Michael] By pulling the giallo style out of the realm
of shadowy killers and giving it a dose of the supernatural,
Argento proved that the themes of tension, paranoia,
and sexuality were bigger than the mere trappings
of genre and that fright can be universal.
Beyond redefining how horror could look
and showcasing the artistic power of aesthetic in genre,
the work of individuals like Mario Bava
and Dario Argento had an undeniable impact
on the American slasher movie era that would follow.
(screaming)
Mario Bava's 1971 masterpiece, Bay of Blood,
about brutal murders set at a remote bay in the woods,
served as an admitted direct inspiration for the creation
of the original Friday the 13th.
What's more, two of the kill sequences
in Friday the 13th Part 2
are purposeful homages to the murders in Bava's film.
The Italian era of masked and menacing killers
with escalating body count in the 70s clearly
paved the way for the American slasher movement of the 80s.
Furthermore, when Slashers made their triumphant return
in the 90s with the release of Wes Craven's Scream,
the film's reliance on keeping the identity of the killer
hidden hearkened back to the whodunit foundations
of the giallo, bringing the murderous mayhem full circle.
- [Man] Here it comes.
(shouting)
- [Michael] In the wake of Scream, many horror movies,
like Urban Legend and Valentine,
followed this mystery aspect,
forcing audiences to question the killer's identity
alongside the characters,
all the while buckling up for the carnage.
And this brand of lethal mystery is undeniably giallo.
(screaming)
As you may gather,
the notion of the giallo has a very rich history,
and a vast, colorful assortment of films
that we can barely scratch the surface of in one video.
But thanks to the work of a generation of Italian filmmakers
who saw the potential of bringing horror
out of the dark and giving it a full spectrum
of color to terrorize,
the genre has mercifully never been the same.
- [Announcer] You won't be able to close your eyes.
- Beautiful and brutal,
stylish and savage,
the Giallo is the genre that sought to bring the art house
and the grindhouse together as one,
and changed the look and feel
of a whole genre in the process.
So, next time your favorite movie slasher
makes the blood run red,
remember it's likely due in part
to a healthy dose of yellow.
Until next time.
Hey everyone, thanks for watching History of Fright.
We will be back next week for more spookiness
For more horror, follow our friends at Dread Central
and don't forget to follow Gamma Ray across the web.
For more infomation >> Why do you love God? Answered by the Public | Mind Niggles - Duration: 1:51. 
For more infomation >> HP 14" 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC Laptop with Microsoft Office 3... - Duration: 11:54. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét