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Dario Argento

Dario Argento
Dario Argento (born September 7, 1940) is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as Giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies.

Argento was born in Rome, the son of film producer/executive Salvatore Argento and Brazilian-born photographer Elda Luxardo. He started his career in film as a critic, writing for various magazines while still attending high school.

Argento did not attend college, electing rather to take a job as a columnist at the newspaper Paese Sera. While working at the newspaper, Argento also began to work as a screenwriter. His most notable work was for Sergio Leone; he and Bernardo Bertolucci collaborated on the story for the spaghetti western classic Once Upon a Time in the West. Soon after that film's release in 1969, Argento began work on his directorial debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, which was released in 1970 and was a major hit in Italy. He's since gone from strength to strength creating dark and disturbing yet beautiful thriller/horror masterpieces.





What members say | Filmography

Dario Argento - what members say


  • Suspiria
  • Suspiria review by McClennan from St Helens, Home of The Challenge Cup Holders
    Rated - 4.0 stars Technically good but not a masterpiece 27 March 2005
    ...Revered Dario Argento horror classic, which I saw for the first time last. Laced with tension and a revamped 5.1 sound mix making it a lot creepier than it would have been. ...   Read customer review
  • Deep Red
  • Deep Red review by A customer from london
    Rated - 5.0 stars dario magic 4 January 2007
    ...for me, the best Dario Argento film. Hyperreal, silly (but not down right ridiculous like, everything he did from 1980 onwards), arty and very cool. start here then do Teneb...   Read customer review
  • Phenomena
  • Phenomena review by from Manchester
    Rated - 3.0 stars The Ugly Bug Ball 30 May 2004
    ...Dario Argento's golden period were his three supernatural horrors - 'Deep Red', 'Suspiria' and 'Inferno'. 'Phenomena', a Swiss-set suspenser, is a long way behind them. Even...   Read customer review

Dario Argento - filmography


  • Giallo on DVD (2009)
    Starring: Adrien Brody,  Elsa Pataky,  Emmanuelle Seigner
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: £3.49
    An English-language throwback to the type of distinctly Italian thriller that earned him the international reputation as The Italian Hitchcock, Dario Argento's Giallo once again teams the director with producer and younger sibling Claudio Argento to tell the tale of a serial slasher with a penchant ..read more »
    2 stars out of 5 43% from 346 members
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  • Mother of Tears on DVD (2007)
    Starring: Asia Argento,  Cristian Solimeno,  Adam James
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Mother Of Tears is the finale to the saga that began with the international blockbuster Suspiria and continued with the classic Inferno from Italian horror maestro Dario Argento. In the heart of modern Rome, an urn is found and brought to a young archeologist, Sarah Mandy. But what Sarah doesn't ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 50% from 875 members
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  • Sleepless on DVD (2001)
    Starring: Max Von Sydow,  Max von Sydow,  Stefano Dionisi
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    One of the major innovators of the horror film, Italian director Dario Argento (TENEBRE, SUSPIRIA) was one of the first auteurs to raise the previously dismissed genre to the level of art. Known for his striking visuals and elegant approach to gore and violence, Argento teams up with acclaimed ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 53% from 840 members
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  • Stendhal Syndrome on DVD (1996)
    Starring: Asia Argento,  Thomas Kretschmann
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    The title affliction causes sufferers to react to paintings in extreme and bizarre ways. In the case of police detective Anna Manni, she swoons and feels herself entering hallucinatory versions of the artwork she sees. This Italian psychothriller contains dark elements of horror as Manni tries to ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 52% from 665 members
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  • Trauma on DVD (1993)
    Starring: Christopher Rydell,  Asia Argento,  Laura Johnson
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    From the acclaimed Italian horror master Dario Argento comes an eerie, unforgettable tale of terror. Aura (Dario's daughter, Asia), a suicidal anorexic preparing to jump off a bridge, is rescued by David (Christopher Rydell), an artist whom takes an interest in the beautiful girl, and makes it his ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 51% from 942 members
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  • Two Evil Eyes on DVD (1990)
    Starring: Adrienne Barbeau,  E.G. Marshall,  Harvey Keitel
    Director: George A. Romero,  Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    George A. Romero (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) and Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA) each try their hand at a tale by Edgar Allan Poe in this feature comprising two hour-long segments. In Romero's THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MR. VALDEMAR, Adrienne Barbeau is Jessica Valdemar, a former stewardess who marries an ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 50% from 679 members
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  • Terror At The Opera on DVD (1988)
    Starring: Cristina Marsillach,  Ian Charleson,  Urbano Barberini
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Italian horror master Dario Argento pays homage to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which he would remake a decade later, with this film about a hooded killer who torments the opera diva whom he adores. Cristina Marsillach stars as Betty, a young understudy who gets a chance to star in a production of ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 61% from 999 members
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  • Phenomena - Blu-ray (1985)
    Starring: Jennifer Connelly,  Daria Nicolodi,  Dalila Di Lazzaro
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Released in the US in heavily edited form as CREEPERS in 1986 (though this is the loger, European cut), Italian horror master Dario Argento's masterpiece manages to be involving and interesting while providing a steady stream of funhouse style shocks. Jennifer Corvino (Connelly) is attending a ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 58% from 274 members
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  • Phenomena on DVD (1985)
    Starring: Jennifer Connelly,  Daria Nicolodi,  Dalila Di Lazzaro
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Released in the US in heavily edited form as CREEPERS in 1986 (though this is the loger, European cut), Italian horror master Dario Argento's masterpiece manages to be involving and interesting while providing a steady stream of funhouse style shocks. Jennifer Corvino (Connelly) is attending a ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 54% from 1,694 member
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  • Tenebrae on DVD (1984)
    Starring: Anthony Franciosa,  John Saxon,  Daria Nicolodi
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    A virtual style-fest from Italian horror mastermind Dario Argento, TENEBRAE was originally released in butchered form in the United States as UNSANE. Anthony Franciosa portrays Peter Neal, an American mystery novelist promoting his latest release in Rome. It's not long, however, until a killer is ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 2,048 members
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  • Tenebrae - Blu-ray (1984)
    Starring: Anthony Franciosa,  John Saxon,  Daria Nicolodi
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    A virtual style-fest from Italian horror mastermind Dario Argento, TENEBRAE was originally released in butchered form in the United States as UNSANE. Anthony Franciosa portrays Peter Neal, an American mystery novelist promoting his latest release in Rome. It's not long, however, until a killer is ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 63% from 210 members
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  • Inferno - Blu-ray (1980)
    Starring: Ryan Hilliard,  Jr. Feodor Chaliapin,  Eleonora Giorgi
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    The tenants of a Manhattan apartment are terrorized by deadly spirits. Among other equally gruesome things, they are decapitated, clawed to death by cats, burned, and attacked by a knife-wielding killer. Another stylish horror opus from the incomparable Argento. INFERNO acts as a semi-sequel to his ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 57% from 346 members
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  • Suspiria (1977)
    Starring: Jessica Harper,  Stefania Casini,  Alida Valli
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) is an American ballet student, travelling to Germany to study at an exclusive dance academy in the Black Forest. After one of the students and her friend are hideously murdered in the first of Argento's breath-catching set-piece killings, Suzy discovers that the ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 62% from 524 members
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  • Suspiria on DVD (1976)
    Starring: Jessica Harper,  Stefania Casini,  Alida Valli
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    A candy-colored nightmare from Italian terror maestro Dario Argento, Suspiria weaves a menacing tale of witchcraft as a fairy tale gone horribly awry. From the moment she arrives in Freiberg, Germany, to attend the prestigious Tans Academy, American ballet-dancer Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) senses ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 59% from 5,377 members
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  • Deep Red - Blu-ray (1975)
    Starring: David Hemmings,  Daria Nicolodi,  Gabriele Lavia
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    An English pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal hatchet murder of his neighbor, a psychic. With the help of a tenacious young reporter he tries to discover the killer using very unconventional methods -- and the two are soon drawn into a shocking web of dementia, savagery and violence.
    3.5 stars out of 5 66% from 247 members
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  • Deep Red on DVD (1975)
    Starring: Giuliana Calandra,  Piero Mazzinghi,  Glauco Mauri
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    An English pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal hatchet murder of his neighbour, a psychic. With the help of a tenacious young reporter he tries to discover the killer using very unconventional methods and the two are soon drawn into a shocking web of dementia, savagery and violence.
    3.5 stars out of 5 68% from 1,566 member
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  • The Cat O'Nine Tails - Blu-ray (1971)
    Starring: James Franciscus,  Karl Malden,  Catherine Spaak
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Italian master of horror Dario Argento's second directorial effort (and the centerpiece of the "animal trilogy" of giallos--or mystery/thrillers--which includes BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET) is a suspenseful murder mystery infused with the filmmaker's trademark ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 83 members
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  • The Cat o'Nine Tails on DVD (1971)
    Starring: James Franciscus,  Karl Malden,  Catherine Spaak
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Italian master of horror Dario Argento's second directorial effort (and the centerpiece of the 'animal trilogy' of giallos--or mystery/thrillers--which includes BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET) is a suspenseful murder mystery infused with the filmmaker's trademark ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 754 members
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  • The Bird with the Crystal Plumage on DVD (1970)
    Starring: Tony Musante,  Suzy Kendall,  Enrico Maria Salerno
    Director: Dario Argento
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    This trend-setting thriller put its director, Dario Argento, on the international map and began a flood of imitative mystery-horror hybrids which dominated Italian genre output in the early 1970s. Tony Musante, best known for the television series Toma, portrays an American who witnesses the murder ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 69% from 154 members
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Dario Argento facts

5 most recent films

Giallo - 2.0 stars
Mother of Tears - 2.5 stars
Masters Of Horror - Series 1 - Vol.2 - 3.0 stars
The Card Player - 2.5 stars
Sleepless - 2.5 stars

5 highest-rated films

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage - 3.5 stars
Deep Red - 3.5 stars
Four Flies On Grey Velvet - 3.5 stars
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars
Deep Red - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

The Interview - Documentary - 2.0 stars
Five Days Of Milan - 2.5 stars
Door Into Darkness - 3.0 stars
Giallo - 2.0 stars
The Phantom Of The Opera - 2.5 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Daria Nicolodi - 14 times - show films
Gabriele Lavia - 10 times - show films
Jonathan Tucker - 7 times - show films
Giuliana Calandra - 7 times - show films
Steven Weber - 7 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Larr - 7 times - show films
Tobe Hooper - 7 times - show films
Takashi Miike - 7 times - show films
George A. Romero - 2 times - show films
none - 1 times - show films