Director - Dario Argento
Arguably Argento’s masterpiece, this is a step away from his Giallo roots and into the world of full-on horror. An American ballet dancer turns up for her first day at her new school in Germany only to find that everything is a little upside down. Oh and a couple of students have been brutally murdered (in one of Argento’s greatest set-pieces). Witches, huge Goblin soundtrack, lots of rain, cinematography that you sink into and a script that only just hangs together. Horror films never looked this good again.
Director - Dario Argento
Argento’s first stone-cold classic, is this tale about a jazzer (David Hemmings) who witnesses one of his neighbours being offed, and sets about trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Argento makes a huge leap forward with his cinematography with elaborate tracking shots and incredible close ups. If you’re new to the big world of Argento you could do worse than starting here. Gorgeous score by Goblin too.
Director - Benjamin Statler
The Kurt Cobain documentary that no one is talking about but really should be. Centred around private investigator Tom Grant’s time working for Courtney Love and all the weird shit that went down during his time in her employ. You would wave a hand in the air and mutter ‘bullshit’ to yourself at the facts that emerge in this doc, if it weren’t for the fact that Grant taped all of his conversations with the key players. It’s a bit of a jaw-dropping OMG doc, and a real must see. You’ll be shocked by the time it finishes. In the hands of a better director this would have been even better. Which just goes to show how the fascinating the story actually is.
Director - Val Guest
Hammer always churned out more than just horror films and this twisty psychodrama is one of their better '60s efforts. Famous racing driver has a road accent and needs to unlock what happened with the help of a weird French psychoanalyst. Overlong, but worth sticking with as the last half hour is the business.
Director - Edward Dmytryk
One of a group of soldiers has committed a murder, but which one of them is it? Great post WWII American noir about bigotry. In typical ‘40s style the message is heavy handed, but a couple of great acting turns from Robert’s Mitchum (laid-back to the point of almost nodding off) and Ryan (at his most horrid) make this a bit of a must see.
