Shit! I read this one too fast. (Oh well, I'll just have to read it again.) James Gracey's book on Dario Argento is a fun to read and in-depth study of the director's entire career from The Bird With the Crystal Plumage to Giallo. Each film is presented with a brief history of the production, discussion of its themes, music, trivia, and more. Even if you've read other books on Argento, you'll still want to check out this one as Gracey approaches the material with energy and intelligence. I guarantee you'll be dusting off your Dario Argento DVDs to reevaluate even the titles you didn't think you liked before (yeah right, like your Argento DVDs ever collect any dust). One thing I thing I really like about this book: The Mother of Tears gets a positive review! And the only thing I didn't like about the book was some shit talking about Fulci on page 192. Unacceptable! Okay, I guess calling Fulci a "bandwagon jumper" is fair but I love both directors' work equally, damn it.
Gonna have to check this one out. How does it compare to Alan Jones' "Profondo Argento"?
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting read. I'll definitely give it a go if I get my hands on the book.
ReplyDeleteCome on, payday...
ReplyDelete@Alex B. - Profondo Argento is pretty massive and very thorough but it is also kind of uneven. I like it but it's not a favorite. Gracey's book is a more digestible read than Jones'. It's also shorter, smaller, and cheaper. They seem to compliment each other well, I think. I'm glad I've read both. I also like Art of Darkness.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite so far is Broken Mirrors Broken Minds
ReplyDelete@Justin - Yeah, Broken Mirrors, Broken Minds is great. I need to check out the new edition and see what McDonagh has to say about Argento's more recent flicks.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like Art of Darkness and prefer it to Jones' book of which I am not a big fan. Jones compiled his old reviews in Profondo Argento without adding much fresh stuff. The pictures in that are nice, though:)
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