Dario Argento's Jenifer and THE THIRD MOTHER
January 17th 2007 05:39
In one of my early posts (August last year) I talked about how Dario Argento had finally succumbed to the pressure of fans and was in production on the final part of his witchcraft trilogy known as "The Three Mothers".
Last night I watched his contribution to the first season (2005) of the US cable television series Masters of Horror (13 hour-long tales each concocted and directed by a so-called master of horror). Argento’s was called Jenifer, based on a short story by Bruce Jones, with a screenplay by the lead actor Steven Weber.
Often Argento works from one of his own (or collaborated) screenplays, and generally throws all narrative cohesion and logic out the window. That’s not to say his films suffer from this (on the contrary some of his best work operates like a feverish dream). However on this occasion by working from someone else’s story and script this has lead Argento to deliver some of his most concise and effective work in years.
Jenifer is one Hell of a lady; a carnal creature of carnage and corruption. In fact, the very basic theme of a man being lured and put under the spell of a siren-cum-succubus of a woman reminded me very much of one of my own feature screenplays; Tattoo. It was very a twilight zone moment.
Jenifer is easily the best of what I’ve seen so far of the Masters of Horror first season, the efforts of directors John Landis, John Carpenter, Lucky McKee and Stuart Gordon were all way below par for these talented, and now pronounced “academics”.
Dario Argento is currently in post-production on La Terza Madre (The Third Mother). The first part was Suspiria (1977, Mother of Sighs). The second part was Inferno (1980, Mother of Darkness).
La Terza Madre is set in Rome and stars his daughter Asia Argento. It also stars his ex-wife and mother of Asia, Daria Nicolodi (who co-wrote Suspiria, and a screenplay for the third part of the trilogy with Argento back in 1984!) Other cast members include two actors from Suspiria; Jessica Harper and Udo Kier. As for the crucial role of Mater Lacrymarum (Mother of Tears) and another young witch, the drop dead Morian Atias and Araba Dell’Utri have been cast respectively. Eeek!
The Mother of Tears is one very powerful and malevolent witch indeed. And the fans have been nervous (especially if Argento’s track record over the past few years is anything to go by) that this final part won’t live up to the incredible cult following generated by Argento’s early filmography, in particularly Suspiria and Inferno, both of which exhibit a vivid and surreal visual and thematic style.
Intense nightmarish sounds and images, chaos and violence, bombard the viewer during Suspiria and Inferno. One can only hope that Argento throws all caution to the Heavens, and instead unleashes Hell!
--- excerpt from “Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow” by Thomas De Quincy (legendary opium smoker and visionary writer), an essay which contains the essential notions that underlie Dario Argento's trilogy.
Below is an excerpt from an online interview journalist Staci Wilson had with the two American screenwriters who were stationed in Rome (to get a feel for some of the ghostly locales) where they collaborated with Argento on La Terza Madre (wow, what an honour and what a challenge indeed!)
Staci Wilson: I love Dario Argento; he’s one of my favorites. But I must say, lately his work has not been the vintage Dario. It's been a little more... subdued. Of course it’s good he's not remaking Suspiria ten times over, but some fans want to see a return to the really twisted stuff. So I'm wondering, was your script … ?
Adam Gierasch: To say this movie is gory is an understatement.
Jace Anderson: He told us in the beginning that he wanted it to be the cruelest movie he's ever made. And we were like, "OK! That's a tall order."
Adam: We've been directed not to say much about the plot, but we can that it's very bloody, very twisted, with some heavy duty elements of surrealism. It's pretty fast paced. And the other thing I will say is that it's really nothing like Suspiria or Inferno.
Staci: Really? So how does it tie in as a part of a trilogy?
Adam: There are plot points that link [all three movies].
Staci: I know from talking to you guys in the past, that you were big fans of Dario's before you ever met him. You already knew the source material to begin with. Do you think that that's part of why he chose you guys?
Jace: I think that a lot of it was just that he met us, we clicked, he liked our writing. He seems like the kind of person who, once he sort of gets a feel that he can work with someone, he goes for it. Certainly the fact that we knew his work well and were huge fans helped. We could reference things [without going] "Hey, this would be great," and then finding out he already did it in a movie. We put a lot of work into getting the job. We wrote two 28 page treatments before anything came about. We were just so excited to be able to wok with Dario and get his feedback. It was a really wonderful experience.
Adam: The one thing I am always a little tentative about doing, I want to try so hard not to do stuff that's been done before. Some of the stuff we've written and some of the stuff we've gotten made hasn't exactly been the most original stuff in the world. And I want to really try to tell stories in a new way. It's a goal. We're just so grateful that we get to do this and make a living at it.
Well, sounds like a screenwriting horrorphile’s dream come true to me.
And below is some early footage of the movie which was aired on an Italian/American entertainment news show.
* interview excerpt courtesy of www.horror.about.com
image of Dario Argento on set courtesy of www.bloody-disgusting.com
Often Argento works from one of his own (or collaborated) screenplays, and generally throws all narrative cohesion and logic out the window. That’s not to say his films suffer from this (on the contrary some of his best work operates like a feverish dream). However on this occasion by working from someone else’s story and script this has lead Argento to deliver some of his most concise and effective work in years.
Jenifer is one Hell of a lady; a carnal creature of carnage and corruption. In fact, the very basic theme of a man being lured and put under the spell of a siren-cum-succubus of a woman reminded me very much of one of my own feature screenplays; Tattoo. It was very a twilight zone moment.
Jenifer is easily the best of what I’ve seen so far of the Masters of Horror first season, the efforts of directors John Landis, John Carpenter, Lucky McKee and Stuart Gordon were all way below par for these talented, and now pronounced “academics”.
Dario Argento is currently in post-production on La Terza Madre (The Third Mother). The first part was Suspiria (1977, Mother of Sighs). The second part was Inferno (1980, Mother of Darkness).
Intense nightmarish sounds and images, chaos and violence, bombard the viewer during Suspiria and Inferno. One can only hope that Argento throws all caution to the Heavens, and instead unleashes Hell!
"The Three Mothers: Our Ladies of Sorrow
Mater Lachrymarum, Our Lady of Tears, the eldest of the three ... She it was that stood in Bethlehem on the night when Herod's sword swept its nurseries of Innocents, and the little feet were stiffened forever ... She glides a ghostly intruder into the chambers of sleepless men.
Mater Suspiriorum, Our Lady of Sighs ... Mutter she does, but it is in solitary places that are as desolate as she is desolate, in ruined cities, and when the sun has gone down to his rest ... All that are betrayed and all that are rejected walk with Our Lady of Sighs.
Mater Tenebrarum, Our Lady of Darkness, the youngest of the three ... She is the defier of God, she is the mother of lunacies and the suggestress of suicides ... She moves with incalculable motions, bounding, and with tiger's leaps, she storms all doors."
Mater Lachrymarum, Our Lady of Tears, the eldest of the three ... She it was that stood in Bethlehem on the night when Herod's sword swept its nurseries of Innocents, and the little feet were stiffened forever ... She glides a ghostly intruder into the chambers of sleepless men.
Mater Suspiriorum, Our Lady of Sighs ... Mutter she does, but it is in solitary places that are as desolate as she is desolate, in ruined cities, and when the sun has gone down to his rest ... All that are betrayed and all that are rejected walk with Our Lady of Sighs.
Mater Tenebrarum, Our Lady of Darkness, the youngest of the three ... She is the defier of God, she is the mother of lunacies and the suggestress of suicides ... She moves with incalculable motions, bounding, and with tiger's leaps, she storms all doors."
--- excerpt from “Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow” by Thomas De Quincy (legendary opium smoker and visionary writer), an essay which contains the essential notions that underlie Dario Argento's trilogy.
Below is an excerpt from an online interview journalist Staci Wilson had with the two American screenwriters who were stationed in Rome (to get a feel for some of the ghostly locales) where they collaborated with Argento on La Terza Madre (wow, what an honour and what a challenge indeed!)
Adam Gierasch: To say this movie is gory is an understatement.
Jace Anderson: He told us in the beginning that he wanted it to be the cruelest movie he's ever made. And we were like, "OK! That's a tall order."
Adam: We've been directed not to say much about the plot, but we can that it's very bloody, very twisted, with some heavy duty elements of surrealism. It's pretty fast paced. And the other thing I will say is that it's really nothing like Suspiria or Inferno.
Staci: Really? So how does it tie in as a part of a trilogy?
Adam: There are plot points that link [all three movies].
Staci: I know from talking to you guys in the past, that you were big fans of Dario's before you ever met him. You already knew the source material to begin with. Do you think that that's part of why he chose you guys?
Jace: I think that a lot of it was just that he met us, we clicked, he liked our writing. He seems like the kind of person who, once he sort of gets a feel that he can work with someone, he goes for it. Certainly the fact that we knew his work well and were huge fans helped. We could reference things [without going] "Hey, this would be great," and then finding out he already did it in a movie. We put a lot of work into getting the job. We wrote two 28 page treatments before anything came about. We were just so excited to be able to wok with Dario and get his feedback. It was a really wonderful experience.
Adam: The one thing I am always a little tentative about doing, I want to try so hard not to do stuff that's been done before. Some of the stuff we've written and some of the stuff we've gotten made hasn't exactly been the most original stuff in the world. And I want to really try to tell stories in a new way. It's a goal. We're just so grateful that we get to do this and make a living at it.
Well, sounds like a screenwriting horrorphile’s dream come true to me.
And below is some early footage of the movie which was aired on an Italian/American entertainment news show.
* interview excerpt courtesy of www.horror.about.com
image of Dario Argento on set courtesy of www.bloody-disgusting.com
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Comment by David my David
Fuck man you can write ...
David ...
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Horrorphile
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Horrorphile
yeah, this is one hotly anticipated horror movie indeed ... I so hope Argento doesn't feel swayed to deliver an American "R" rated theatrical version which the rest of the world would most probably get ... Have you watched Profondo Rosso yet?