Profondo rosso (1975)

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (written by)
Bernardino Zapponi (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 June 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The maker of "SUSPIRIA" now takes you on a journey through the macabre, the bizarre. . . the unnatural.

Plot:

A musician witnesses the murder of a famous psychic, and then teams up with a fiesty reporter to find the killer while evading attempts on their lives by the unseen killer bent on keeping a dark secret buried.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Dark | Cut | Suspicion | Hit By Car

Awards:

1 win

Cast

David Hemmings	...	Marcus Daly
Daria Nicolodi	...	Gianna Brezzi
Gabriele Lavia	...	Carlo
Macha Méril	...	Helga Ulmann
Eros Pagni	...	Supt. Calcabrini
Giuliana Calandra	...	Amanda Righetti
Piero Mazzinghi	...	Bardi
Glauco Mauri	...	Prof. Giordani
Clara Calamai	...	Marta
Aldo Bonamano	...	Carlo's father
Liana Del Balzo	...	Elvira
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	Cop taking notes
Dante Fioretti	...	Police photographer
Geraldine Hooper	...	Massimo Ricci
Jacopo Mariani	...	Young Carlo (as Iacopo Mariani)
Furio Meniconi	...	Rodi
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Agent Mingozzi
Lorenzo Piani	...	Fingerprint cop
Salvatore Puntillo	...	Police agent
Piero Vida	...	Fat cop
Nicoletta Elmi	...	Olga
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dario Argento	...	Murderer's Hands (uncredited)
Salvatore Baccaro	...	Fruit vendor (uncredited)
Bruno Di Luia	...	Concerned man in restroom (uncredited)
Attilio Dottesio	...	Florist (uncredited)
Tom Felleghy	...	Surgeon (uncredited)
Glauco Onorato	...	(uncredited)
Franco Vaccaro	...	Pietro Valgoi (uncredited)

Directed by
Dario Argento

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dario Argento		written by
Bernardino Zapponi		screenplay

Produced by
Claudio Argento	....	executive producer
Salvatore Argento	....	producer

Original Music by
Giorgio Gaslini
Goblin
Walter Martino		(as Goblin)
Fabio Pignatelli		(as Goblin)
Claudio Simonetti		(as Goblin)

Cinematography by
Luigi Kuveiller

Film Editing by
Franco Fraticelli

Production Design by
Giuseppe Bassan

Set Decoration by
Armando Mannini

Costume Design by
Elena Mannini

Makeup Department
Giuliano Laurenti	....	makeup supervisor
Giovanni Morosi	....	makeup artist (as Gianni Morosi)
Nicla Palombi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Carlo Cucchi	....	assistant production manager
Angelo Jacono	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stefano Rolla	....	assistant director

Art Department
Maurizio Garrone	....	assistant to art director
Aldo Taloni	....	construction foreman

Sound Department
Nick Alexander	....	sound editor
Mario Faraoni	....	sound recordist
Eugenio Fiori	....	boom operator (as Eugenio Fiore)

Special Effects by
Germano Natali	....	special effects
Carlo Rambaldi	....	special effects

Stunts
Giorgio Ricci	....	cinematic stunt team

Camera and Electrical Department
Antonio Annunziata	....	assistant camera
Francesco Bellomo	....	still photographer: action stills (as Franco Bellomo)
Sergio Coletta	....	gaffer
Sergio Emidi	....	chief grip
Ubaldo Terzano	....	camera operator
Antonio Tonti	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Angela Viglino	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Piero Bozza	....	assistant film editor
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist
Pietro Sozza	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Agostino Marangolo	....	musician: drums (as Goblin)
Antonio Marangolo	....	musician: piano (as Goblin)
Walter Martino	....	musician: drums
Massimo Morante	....	musician: guitar
Fabio Pignatelli	....	musician: bass guitar
Claudio Simonetti	....	musician: keyboards

Other crew
Luciano Anzellotti	....	studio effects
Carlo Du Bois	....	production accountant
Cesare Jacolucci	....	production coordinator
Ernesto Triunveri	....	cutting room assistant
Vivalda Vigorelli	....	continuity
Corrado Gaipa	....	voice dubbing: Furio Meniconi (uncredited)
Luigi La Monica	....	voice dubbing: David Hammings (uncredited)
Emanuela Rossi	....	voice dubbing: Nicoletta Elmi (uncredited)
Wanda Tettoni	....	voice dubbing: Liana Del Balzo (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Rizzoli Film
• Seda Spettacoli

Distributors

• CFM Filmverhuur (1976) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Howard Mahler Films (1976) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Ambassador Film Distributors (1977) (Canada) (theatrical) (edited US version) (dubbed)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Blue Underground (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Catcom Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (video)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• EastWest Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (video)
• Medusa Home Entertainment (2004) (Italy) (DVD)
• Platinum Media Distribution (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Quality Video Inc. (video)
• Redemption Films (1993) (UK) (VHS) (subtitled)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (video)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Seven Keys Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Videocast (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Works Editora (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2002) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Germano Natali

Also Known As:

Deep Red (International: English title)
Dripping Deep Red (USA) (pre-release title)
La tigre dai denti a sciabola (Italy) (working title)
The Deep Red Hatchet Murders (USA) (DVD box title)
The Hatchet Murders (USA) (censored version)

Runtime:

126 min | USA:98 min (R-rated version) | Japan:106 min (theatrical version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 (re-rating) (2006) (uncut) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1982) (cut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Sweden:15 | Italy:VM18 (director's cut) | Chile:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (Original rating) | France:X (Original rating) | Australia:R | France:-16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:18 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Rizzoli Film

Trivia:

The closeup shots of the killer's hands, clad in black leather gloves, were performed by director Dario Argento himself.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The notes being played during Marc and Carlo's duet in the bar sound nothing like what they appear to be playing (the high notes sound much faster than what the actors are miming).

Quotes:

Carlo: Look, maybe you've seen something so important you can't realize it.
Marc: But... I'm just trying to understand, because... Carlo You know, sometimes what you actually see and what you imagine... get mixed up in your memory like a cocktail... from which you can no longer distinguish one flavor from another.
Marc: But I'm telling you the truth! Carlo No Marc. You think you're telling the truth, but in fact... you're telling only your version of the truth. It happens to me all the time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Deep Shadows

Deep Red is a simply brilliant masterpiece.

Profondo Rosso is really the gem among Argento'a work, a film that managed to revolutionize the giallo and at the same moment become the ultimate giallo at that. You may ask what is a giallo? Well, it is basically a genre that combines mystery and horror, so it is basically a violent triller. It is the most plausible and well written film of his career to date and is the film that introduced us to the music of Goblin, a group that has become world renowned for their work on such classics as Suspiria and Dawn of the Dead. But what is really brilliant about Profondo Rosso is that it is the first film we see Dario experiment and gain more confidence. His camera becomes more fluid and gains more movement and elegant, while the angles he chooses become more strange. He begins to pay more attention to color, submerging the film in deep reds and greens which makes this one a feast for the eyes. It is truly a beautiful film to behold, even when the killer's victims are been stabbed and whatever else. Dario in this film also pays attention to architecture. Helga Ulmann's apartment is lushly decorated in black and white marble, plants and also a star shaped table (we later learn she is Jewish so the star is in fact the Star of David). But the true masterpiece of the sets in Profondo Rosso is Dario's replica of the bar in Edward Hopper's Nighthawks. This is in a sense a homage to Edward, as is the school in the film which is called the Leonardo da Vinci. Dario incorporates the style of art nouveau into this film predominantly, which can be in seen the windows of the villa and Giordani's apartment. And I'm not forgetting the black gloves, one of Argento's trademarks. The Performances in Profondo Rosso are very good. David Hemmings and Dario Nicolodi provide great performances. Their chemistry is very evident and they are very believable. Hemmings is able to get across his character's insecurities, especially in the scene where he arm wrestles Daria's character. It is very clear that he is insecure about his masculinity, which is evident in the scene in Gianna's car where the seat breaks and drops and so it seems that Gianna has become the bigger person, much to Marcus' embarrassment. Daria puts in an excellent performance considering this was about only her third or fourth film. She definitely gets across Gianna's independence which provide the film with some comedy. Gabrile Lavia is also good as the alcoholic Carlo, clearly getting across Carlo's drunkenness with his constant movements, such as stumbling. Meril I found fantastic in the conference scene, especially when she says the line: "You have killed and you will kill again." When she revolts back it is so realistic and her hand movements really make us believe she can sense evil in the room, like as though she is feeling the presence. This is Goblin's first score and it is truly a masterpiece. The theme is brilliant and is really driving and fits the film perfectly. It is a really mesmerizing as is the infamous lullaby, a disturbing piece. Profondo Rosso is truly a brilliant piece of art. A great plot, fantastic music, breath-taking visuals, great performances and perfect direction. Not to be missed! 10/10