With the exception of die-hard aficionados of European or Italian horror cinema, most people may not have heard of giallo cinema or have seen many films in this subgenre of horror. Most academic film studies tend to ignore horror cinema in general and the giallo specifically. Critics often deride these films, which reveal more about the reviewers' own prejudices than any problem with the works themselves. As a counter to such biases, Mikel J. Koven argues for an alternative approach to studying these films, by approaching them as vernacular cinema—distinct from "popular cinema." According to Koven, to look at a film from a vernacular perspective removes the assumptions about what constitutes a "good" film and how a particular film is in some way "artistic." In La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film, Koven explores the history and evolution of this aspect of cinema, and places these films within the context of Italian popular filmmaking. He addresses various themes, motifs, and tropes in these films: their use of space, the murders, the role of the detective, the identity of the killer, issues of belief, excess, and the set-piece. In addition to being the first academic study of the giallo film in English, this book surveys more than fifty films of this subgenre. In addition to filmmakers like Mario Bava and Dario Argento, Koven also looks at the films of Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino, Pupi Avati, Umberto Lenzi, and others. In all, the works of twenty-five different filmmakers are considered in this book. Also explored are the inter-relationships between these films: how one influences others, how certain filmmakers take ideas and build off of them, and how those ideas are further transformed by other filmmakers. Koven also explores the impact of the giallo on the later North American slasher genre.

To his legion of admirers Dario Argento is a horror legend of the greatest magnitude. And to his genre filmmaking contemporaries he's an inspiration and an icon. Now the maverick auteur, lauded as the Italian Hitchcock and the horror Fellini, has written his autobiography, revealing all about his fascinating life, his dark obsessions, his talented family, his perverse dreams and his star-crossed work. With candour and honesty, 'Fear' lifts the lid on the trials and tribulations of Argento's glittering career during the sensational golden era of cinecitta.

Beloved among cult horror devotees for its signature excesses of sex and violence, Italian giallo cinema is marked by switchblades, mysterious killers, whisky bottles and poetically overinflated titles. A growing field of English-language giallo studies has focused on aspects of production, distribution and reception. This volume explores an overlooked yet prevalent element in some of the best known gialli--an obsession with art and artists in creative production, with a particular focus on painting. The author explores the appearance and significance of art objects across the masterworks of such filmmakers as Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino, Umberto Lenzi, Michele Soavi, Mario Bava and his son Lamberto.

An in-depth look at the films of Dario Argento, Italy's acknowledged master of horror and suspense, has made a career out of exploring the macabre poetry of images of violent death. He did not, however, set out to be a filmmaker. He established himself early on as a progressive voice in film criticism-lavishing praise on directors like Sergio Leone, who had yet to receive their due from the Italian critical establishment. His efforts attracted the attention of Leone himself, who invited the young critic to help develop the story for his next feature. The end result, Once Upon a Time in the West, is often cited as a masterpiece-and from there, Argento went on to enjoy success as a screenwriter before making the all-important switch to directing. His directorial debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, became a major hit and helped to popularize the floundering genre of Italian thrillers, also known as gialli. In the years since, Argento has established a high profile as one of Italian cinema's most commercially successful artists, earning a level of celebrity which is almost unheard of among film directors. His filmography includes such beloved gems as Deep Red, Suspiria, Inferno, and Phenomena, as well as more hotly-debated titles like The Stendhal Syndrome, The Phantom of the Opera, Sleepless, and Mother of Tears. Murder by Design: The Unsane Cinema of Dario Argento explores the full scope of his work as a writer, a producer, and a director. Lavishly illustrated and with newly conducted interviews with Dario Argento, as well as such colleagues as actress (and daughter) Fiore Argento, actress Sally Kirkland, actress Irene Miracle, composer Claudio Simonetti, and cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, the book provides a comprehensive overview of Argento's life, career, and rich cinematic legacy.

Dario Argento is the undisputed master of Italian horror cinema. His films disrupt what is often perceived as an inflexible divide between the artistic and the commercial, high art and exploitation, forging a surprising, exciting, inimitable signature style.

They were calling it the Twentieth Century -- "She is a little animal, surely" -- "He's my son, and I'll break his neck any way I want to" -- "The locomotive of juveniles" -- A little hell-raising Huck Finn -- The boy who couldn't be damaged -- "Make me laugh, Keaton" -- Speed mania in the kingdom of shadows -- Pancakes at Childs -- Comique -- Roscoe -- Brooms -- Mabel at the wheel -- Famous players in famous plays -- Home, made -- Rice, shoes, and real estate -- The shadow stage -- Battle-scarred risibilities -- One for you, one for me -- The "darkie shuffle" -- The collapsing façade -- Grief slipped in -- The road through the mountain -- Not a drinker, a drunk -- Old times -- The coming thing in entertainment -- Coda: Eleanor.