| When I think of my first experience
of Italian horror it was seeing Suspiria
in an old downtown cinema
on a rainy night. There was something
truly momentous about that
first experience which went way
beyond the plot and storytelling.
My emotions were shocked to their
foundations and I was hooked !
There was a bizarre use of colour
and form, unusual camera angles
and the strangest of concepts, but
primarily what stood out was a
truly innovative use of textured
sound.
This approach to the use of music
and sound in Horror film is in many
ways uniquely Italian. Whether we
are discussing the works of Dario
Argento, the Cannibal classics of
Deodata or the Zombie films of
Fulci, they all made use of music
in a way which was very different
from that in Hollywood horror films.
It could be said that while mainstream
US soundtracks used music
to tell a story, the Italian horror
film allowed music to be the story.
While horror developed in Hollywood
using convoluted plots and
stories, Italian horror seemed to
explore unconscious territory, with
non lineal storytelling, textured
mood and layered environmental
sound.
Soundtracks of such music are
always hard to come by and when
you find a collectors gem such as
Cinecocktail 4: The Italian Horror
Show you know you have hit it big
time. The first thing you notice
about this release is its superior
presentation.
It looks great and has an eyecatching
horror cover, it has a full
colour insert which slips into the
front and is in Italian and English.
This is clearly a product made for
the world market and includes
English translations of all text and
information.
With some many “re issued
soundtracks” of various degrees
of quality, this is a true surprise,
not only is the quality of the recording
impeccable but there are
lots of never before released
tracks.
not only rare and unusual Italian
horror music but never released
tracks from all manner of films from
Zombie Holocaust through House 3
to April Night. The music has a
groovy, cocktail sound, lounge music
for the dark soul. Smooth, yet
edgy, dreamy yet with a slice of
night. There are pieces which are
reflective and silky, others which
have a more traditional horror texture,
there is lounge, piano, electronic
and orchestral.
If this was all there was, there it
would still be great for both soundtrack
lovers and horror aficionados,
but it also comes with a DVD documentary
on Italian horror by Paolo
Fazzini called “Hanging Shadows”.
Hanging Shadows is a high quality
documentary of approximately one
hour, it is nicely edited with rare
footage and packed with interviews.
It is in Italian with clear and easy to
follow English subtitles which are
well translated. It offers an excellent
overview of Italian horror, fantasy
and fantastic cinema through
focused interviews with a range of
major directors and those connected
to their work such as special
effects co-ordinators, sound technicians
etc.
Along the way we also come to appreciate
the unique characteristics
of the various directors, such as
Argento, Bava and Fulci and what
makes them tick. For example,
there is a fascinating discussion of
the research Argento undertakes
before a film. When developing
Phenomena (Creepers), he came
across a news item discussing how
insects could be used in solving
crime and this then formed one of
the major aspects of the film. Further,
he even based the illness of
the “monster child” on a real condition
(Patau Syndrome) and used
medically accurate information.
Argento also has very specific rules
for his filmmaking which make his
style unique. He has consciously
decided to locate brutal murders in
wealthy neighbourhoods, for example,
because he believes that in
such an environment the impact of
the imagery of the killing is more intense.
One of the other interesting discussions
is the issue of class within Italian
cinema. It seems that due to the
great success of major directors in
Italy that these Maestros are seen
as representatives of high art and
fantasy and horror is seen as somewhat
low brow. Indeed, at times,
high art directors are called artists
while others are simply classified as
Artisans. It is argued that this elitist
approach is based in a misjudgement
of the artistic merit of the medium
and has in many ways stifled
modern fantasy and horror film production
(except in independent productions).
It is also a strange occurrence,
since worldwide Italian horror
is celebrated as the epitome of style
and art.
Hanging Shadows covers so much
territory including discussions of
censorship, social issues and the
the nature of violence of cinema.
Ruggero Deodata offers some fascinating
insights into the problems
he experienced with his Cannibal
films due to the fact that they focuses
on potentially real events
rather than supernatural horrors.
He also discusses how he encoded
social themes, such as a criticism
of journalistic extremism, into Cannibal
Holocaust.
We also receive a solid discussion
of the development of independent
cinema with a special reference to
the work of Roger Fratter. Hanging
Shadows is an excellent documentary,
well presented, superbly edited
with some excellent clips and
footage and very insightful interviews.
It is astonishing that it comes as part
of a package ! Together these two
products form a literal collectors
goldmine ! A high quality collectors
Italian Horror CD with many never
before recorded tracks and a DVD
offering one of the very best documentaries
on Italian Horror on the
market.
All I can say is what a find !!!
Sure, you may have to make a bit of
an effort to get it, but it is well worth
it.
Visit Beat Records website today !
Web: http://www.beatrecords.it
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