Dario Argento Collection: Phenomena / Tenebre / Do You Like Hitchcock / The Card Player / Trauma

Lacking the baroque horror and much of the graphic brutality of Argento's other work, "Do You Like Hitchcock?" is, nevertheless, a fitting tribute to the Master of Suspense, even while channeling Brian de Palma via that director's frequent musical collaborator, Pino Donaggio. Beginning as a direct hommage to "Rear Window", "Do You Like Hitchcock?" finds nerdy film student, Giulio (Elio Germano) spying on his gorgeous neighbor across the way, a tantalizing young woman constantly berated by her mother. Is the mother simply a nagging scold, or is there some degree of validity to her behavior? Later events cause Giulio to ponder this question more deeply, especially after another beautiful young woman befriends his neighbor. Is it a coincidence that the women have recently rented "Strangers On a Train" from the friendly--too friendly?--clerk at the local video store? When a murder eventually does occur, Giulio, under the skeptical eyes of his down-to-earth girlfriend and flighty mother, decides to play amateur sleuth and get to the bottom of the mystery. But are events as clear-cut as them seem? Not in an Argento film, they aren't, and before it's all said and done, Giulio has placed himself in mortal danger, keeping one step ahead of the police investigation while the killer closes in. Of course, it's all pretty farfetched, but it's also beautifully filmed and extremely suspenseful.As he lusts after these mysterious femme fatales, gawky Giulio, who has such a lovely, lively, generous-hearted girlfriend, seems undeserving of her company; his constant spying, ostensibly to ferret out a murderer, seems to have an underlying motive that, initially, adds a certain element of creepiness to Giulio's character. Hitchcock didn't present Jimmy Stewart in quite the same light in "Rear Window" because there, Stewart's character was only too happy to shove uber-glam Grace Kelly into the background, not so he could spy on and lust after Miss Torso, but because his libido was the polar opposite of Giulio's in "Do You Like Hitchcock?". Stewart's Jeff was content to spy on his neighbors and imagine what they might, or might not, be up to; sex was the last thing on his mind. For the youthful, energetic Giulio, of course, sex is at the forefront of his thoughts, so even while he's bedding his girlfriend and chasing these long-limbed model-types around Turin trying to solve one murder and possibly prevent another (possibly his own), we're not completely sure what he really wants from these other women. Does he want to save them? Sleep with them? Prove their guilt or innocence? Maybe a little of all three. "Do You Like Hitchcock?" may be minor Argento, but it's still better than many "major" films ground out by the Hollywood film studios each year (and also better than some of Argento's recent work). The cast is quite good, and Pino Donaggio's score adds an elegant sense of menace to the goings-on. For me, it's as much an hommage to Brian de Palma as to Hitchcock.

NB: For no apparent reason Amazon have chosen to bundle together reviews for completely different Dario Argento films plus a boxed set collection. These reviews refer to The Car Player - 2/5 - and Do You Like Hitchcock? - 4/5Without revealing the killer's identity, Dario Argento's latest misfire actually climaxes with the villain chaining the heroine to a railway track where he forces her to play internet poker. Yep, as thrillers go this is a premise that needs to be seriously rethought.The Card Player is another two steps back for Dario Argento after showing signs of improvement in the flawed, very silly but nonetheless very stylish 'Sleepless.' On one level it should be interesting that he has abandoned the gore and the stylistics for a much more subdued style, but in this case for subdued read disinterested hackwork. If you didn't know this was an Argento film, you could easily mistake it for any one of the hundreds of schlock killer thrillers you'll find on some basic cable channels at two in the morning. The plot is serviceable only as a framework for setpiece filmmaking - Stefania Rocca has to stop a serial killer from torturing and murdering women by playing for their lives in a series of internet poker games - but the trouble is that the guignol is nowhere near grand here, let alone grand enough, and Argento films it all with an astonishing lack of panache. The potentially spectacular death of one major character is handled with pedantic disinterest while the other killings are almost thrown away. Plot developments are all exactly as expected and all too easily predicted.This wouldn't matter so much if the script were better constructed or the characters more interesting, but it's ticking boxes all the way. Heroine with a problem - cop whose father committed suicide over his poker debts: check. Hero with a problem - drunken Oirish cop exiled to the British embassy in Rome for killing a minor in a siege: check. Bit player who is so obviously suspicious it can't be him: check. Likeable character whose death is supposed to be a big surprise but isn't: check. Etc, etc, etc. It's a tame, unimaginatively directed, not terribly well acted movie that plods along for two thirds of its running time before briefly threatening to pick up a head of steam but not quite managing it. Looking at it, you can't help feeling that the only reason Dario made it was because he was running behind on the alimony checks. It's watchable, but nothing more.Surprisingly, Argento's Italian TV movie Do You Like Hitchcock? is a welcome return to form despite one of the worst DVD covers of all time and a pretty blah pretitle sequence that has no relevance to the film beyond padding out the running time and establishing the hero's voyeurism. Splicing Rear Window and Strangers On a Train, originality isn't on the menu (unless you count the killer wearing white gloves instead of the usual black ones that feature in Argento's previous films: who says he's afraid to try something new?) but along with a strong narrative, a good visual sense and an effective score from Pino Donaggio, you can really feel the playful enthusiasm with this one (somewhat borne out by some backstage footage of Argento getting caught up in the shoot).The plot makes a virtue of its familiarity: after seeing one of his neighbors and a stranger bond in a DVD store - which only stocks old movies, mostly Hitchcock, German Expressionism and the odd Argento (Dario and Asia) - over a copy of Strangers On a Train, our typically Hitchcockian mother-dominated voyeur's curiosity turns to suspicion that they may have been using it as a blueprint when the mother of one gets murdered. Mind you, I'd regard Elio Germano's lead with some suspicion himself if only because no self-respecting film student would watch silent German Expressionist classics in widescreen. From there on you can tick off the references - yes, our hero does end up with a broken leg while his girlfriend searches the killer's apartment, and yes, there is a Hitchcock blonde - but it's executed with some panache and a sense of fun that never descends into outright comedy.Unfortunately although, as usual for Argento, the film was shot in English and while at least a couple of the cast are more than passable in the language, for some reason the whole thing has been redubbed in London by what sounds like rejects from a Clearasil commercial: a couple in particular are so strikingly inept that they'll almost have you cursing the invention of talking pictures. They obviously couldn't get the rights to use the soundtrack of Strangers On a Train either, leading to one hysterically awful bit of dubbing when our hero watches the film with his girlfriend. Despite these and some casting quibbles, the film is strong enough to overcome. It's no all-time great but it is a surprisingly satisfying giallo - you won't be surprised, but you probably will be entertained. Suddenly the prospects for Argento's concluding part to his Three Mothers trilogy, The Mother of Tears, don't seem quite so bad...

Argento has long been known as the Italian Hitchcock. Here he pays homage to the legendary director with this made for television thriller. Although slow paced, it's still a fairly interesting detective story and disturbing example of voyeurism. It's a low budget affair that lacks much of Dario's trademark inventive camerawork, suspense, or bloody mayhem. But for Argento fans, you could do alot worse.This film most notably gives praise to Hitch's Rear Window. It also pays respect to some German Expressionist horror films, and possibly even Peeping Tom.Here we have Giulio, a film student with a lifelong penchant for spying on the ladies. He kind of evolved from a curious little kid to quite the little perv. His voyeurism eventually gets him in trouble, as there is a murder conspiracy that occured across the street. Giulio just can't resist the urge of investigating this puzzling case.Okay, so it's not the most original idea. But Do You like Hitchcock? showcases some barenaked beautiful women (my favorite kind) along with one bloody murder sequence. Watching the protagonist spy on his neighbors falls a bit short of the creepy, uncomfortableness it might have been aiming for (at least it didn't bother me, go figure). Still this is way above average for a television movie, and a solid change of pace for the Argento fan.

Dario Argento’s The Card Player (Uncut) Import Blu-ray.Excellent 2nd hand copy from Momox, almost as good as new. Disc and inlay are immaculate.Product review & info:This is a 2013 German Blu-ray release on the LFG label. Region B (Europe).Uncut 103 mins.Actual time: 1 hour/44 mins/ 4 seconds.DTS-HD Master Audio & 2.0 Dolby Digital in both English and Deutsch.Subtitles in Deutsch only but they are not hard coded and can be removed.Full HD 1080p 24fps.Screen: 1.85:1 Anamorphic 16:9 (Full screen on a widescreen TV without any black bars).Picture and audio are fantastic on both a standard Blu-ray player and a 4K upgrading one.Menus are in Deutsch but easy to navigate.Extras are:International Promo (11:54 mins)- the first 7 mins are rough cut extended footage followed by behind the scenes footage and interviews with Dario Argento & Stefania Rocca only in Italian.Behind The Scenes (8:50 mins)- on set footage set to soundtrack music from Dario’s films including Suspiria, Demons (Remix), Deep Red (original & remix) and The Stendhal Syndrome. I totally geeked out when I watched it as I love the soundtracks for Dario’s films!Alternate Scenes (7:30 mins)- different opening sequence, alt takes and end credits all in English.English Trailer (2:03 mins)Deutsch Trailer (2:03 mins)The inlay is reversible, the only difference is the blue age restriction logo box on one side and not on the other. Most writing is in Deutsch.The disc is printed with alternative artwork to the inlay/cover.Excellent edition on Blu-ray for any UK Dario Argento fan if you don’t mind not having the artwork and bonus features not being in English.

Good Dario flick but nothing too amazing. The blu ray transfer is acceptable at best and I fear it may have some cuts to it but not like Sleepless which is heavily cut on blu ray.

Yes I do. I also like this movie. While my son. Who is a major fan of early Dario. Did not. He loathed it.

A GOOD SERVICE< I WOULD USE AGAIN

awesome.controversial.