Post date: 23-Oct-2017 08:09:17
Suspiria, by Dario Argento (1977)
This week, special Halloween suggestions!! Horror movies is a much underrated genre according to me, and deserves a lot more attention from cinema lovers. Indeed, highly codified styles of cinema such as horror are very interesting to watch, as directors must respect codes in terms of scenario, and must then prove their originality only through filmmaking. Hence, even though storylines are most of the time "clichés", these movies are often the source of amazing visual creativity. In that sense, Dario Argento's cinema, the king of Giallo, is a must-see. This Italian guy popularized this genre, which defines all Italian thrillers of the 70s characterized by a highly stylized directing, expressive lighting and intense soundtrack. Suspiria is probably the quintessence of the genre: rarely a horror movie went to this level of esthetic refinement. Every scene are invaded by shades of red, blue, green, yellow, and are expressing in a visceral way the feelings of the characters. Every scene is a colorful nightmare, accompanied by the brilliant music of Goblin, the Italian progressive band responsible for the soundtrack of most of Dario's movies. Even though the acting and some special effects are outdated, the tension is brilliantly built by Argento's innovative directing: the framing, the lighting, the camera moves, the music, these are the elements suggesting the evil's presence. Even though I probably prefer some other Argento's movies because of their audacious long tracking shots (Tenebrae in particular is mind-blowing), Suspiria is definitely the most consistent of his movies, where every pieces of the film responds to a logic. It is definitely the best introduction to one of the most visually audacious filmmaker I know. To complete your Halloween night, here are some worth-of-attention horror movies: Halloween by John Carpenter (probably my favorite horror movie ever), A nightmare on Elm street by Wes Craven, The Texas Chainsaw massacre by Tobe Hopper, The Fly and Videodrome by David Cronenberg (any of his old movies actually), Rosemary's baby by Roman Polanski, Antichrist by Lars Von Trier, any Brian de Palma's thrillers...
Brain Salad Surgery, by Emerson, Lake and Palmer (1973)
To remain consistent with the Halloween theme, I went into this strange task of looking for a "scary" album. What defines a scary music? While I was wondering such question, the cover of the album Brain Salad Surgery, by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, came into my mind. Let's talk about these three guys. ELP is actually one of the most famous supergroup as we call them, which are bands constituted of previously famous members. In particular, Greg Lake came from King Crimson, a band I will talk about later this term. Often accused of being pretentious music, I would rather say that it is radical, probably one of the most radical progressive rock band indeed. Let's state it now: these three guys are virtuoso. And if only of them had to be remembered, it would definitely be Keith Emerson, who clearly revolutionized keyboard playing with its Moog Modular. He was a stage beast, would undertake insane solos both in length, technique and stage play (e.g. playing upside down, etc.). Carl Palmer on drums and Greg Lake on bass, guitars and singing, are the best support the Emerson beast could find. Even though I may have a little preference for their previous album Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery is their most impressive and radical album. It is among these albums where you just feel in a boat in the middle of a sea storm, being thrown away in all directions without even understanding how the music is made. The time signature changes, the uninterrupted flow of drums, the overwhelming bass lines and the 3000 sounds coming out of the Moog Modular and Emerson's brain, are among these mysteries you don't want to decipher. Just accept the experience, and you'll have a 40 minutes long glimpse of what the 70s tremendous musical creativity was.