Quattro Film Di Dario Argento
Suspiria / Inferno / Phenomena / Opera
The Gap Theatre - Wind Gap, PA
The front row crew at the Mahoning has become the back row crew at The Gap. I was joined in this screening by John, Dave, and Mike in the back row of the theater.
There's no filmmaker that I'm more interested in studying than Dario Argento. Every film of his that I've had the opportunity to see has absolutely fascinated me. I can't claim that I understood all of them as fully as a more experienced giallo fan, but every film of his that I've seen has made me want to see it again. This quadruple feature was an opportunity to do just that.
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| Photo by Sergio Valentino |
Rosalie Kicks and Benjamin Leonard from Movie Jawn were on hand to sell merch and copies of their excellent zine. If you haven't read their work yet, I highly recommend it. Check out their interview with Harry Guerro, the co-founder of Exhumed Films and head dude in charge of The Gap.
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| Photo by John Wheatman |
The front row crew at the Mahoning has become the back row crew at The Gap. I was joined in this screening by John, Dave, and Mike in the back row of the theater.
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| Photos by Sergio Valentino |
It's a little difficult to see, but that back row against the wall in between the two exits is one of the premium spots at The Gap. The seats seem to be a bit cushier than the rows in front, and there's a ton of leg room.
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| Photo by Sergio Valentino |
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| Photo by Sergio Valentino |
The night kicked off with the 1977 film and the first film of Argento's Three Mothers Trilogy, Suspiria. I saw this movie for the first time three years ago at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater. It's a stunning film that overwhelmed my senses like nothing else that I had ever seen before. For as much as I enjoyed it the first time that I saw it, I was able to understand and appreciate it on a deeper level on this second occasion.
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| Photo by Sergio Valentino |
Next up was the second of The Three Mothers Trilogy; the 1980 film Inferno. This is another movie that I saw for the first time three years ago at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater. I had less trouble keeping up with the plot last night than I did on the first occasion that I saw it, but it was still challenging. It was my least favorite movie of the four that we got to see last night, but it's definitely worth seeing.
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| Photo by Sergio Valentino |
The third film of the night was the 1980 giallo classic, Phenomena. This was my first time seeing this film in its original, uncut form. I had seen the American cut (Creepers) when it was screened on 35mm during Mondo Argento at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater. Although I loved Creepers, I learned from other folks on the lot that it was butchered by its American distributors who cut the film down from 116 minutes to 83 minutes and changed the order of several scenes.
The 35mm print of Phenomena that we saw at Quattro Film Di Dario Argento was the full 116 minute uncut film in Italian. Harry told us during the third intermission that the film that we just watched is a few seconds longer than the uncut version that had been released on Bluray. The print didn't have subtitles, but the team at The Gap synced up a separate projector to add the subtitles to the film. The end result was flawless. I never would have known that the 35mm print didn't have the subtitles if they didn't tell us.
For as much as I enjoyed Creepers, Phenomena was on another level. This film is a masterpiece, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to see it on 35mm.
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| Photo by Sergio Valentino |
The last movie of the night was the 1987 film Opera. This was the last movie screened at Mondo Argento in 2022, but both my wife and I were pretty tired and we left the drive-in during the second intermission, so last night was my first time seeing it. It's an excellent murder mystery film that I'd recommend to anyone who likes that sort of thing, but be prepared to be disturbed.
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| Photo by Sergio Valentino |
And that's a wrap on Quattro Film Di Dario Argento at The Gap Theatre. I apologize for the lackluster writeups on the films. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not nearly as good of a writer as my loved ones have led me to believe, and that is never more evident than when it comes to writing about movies that I've seen. I can't really explain why I like the movies that I like, and I get frustrated when the thoughts I want to express just aren't coming together.
