Retro Review: Dario Argento’s Deep Red

By Tim Murr

In honor of Italian horror master Dario Argento’s 75th birthday this week, I wanted to take a look back at one my favorites of his films, Deep Red a.k.a. Profondo Rosso from 1975.

Deep Red is a giallo, or Italian murder mystery, starring David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi. It’s about a jazz musician (Hemmings) living in Rome, who witnesses a brutal murder and gets pulled into the mystery with a tough and tenacious reporter (Nicolodi).

Personally, I don’t care what Argento’s films are about, ever. I watch them for their gorgeous set design, the off kilter way they’re shot, the wonderful scores, and the colors. Does anyone do color the way Argento does (or used to at least)? Deep Red is a heady mix of all these elements and a leap forward in style from previous efforts The Bird With The Crystal Plumage and Cat O’Nine Tails.

Deep Red’s predecessor, Four Flies On Grey Velvet, is nearly as good in terms of story telling, but lacks Deep Red’s aesthetic richness. Not to mention Deep Red marked the beginning of Argento’s relationship with prog rockers Goblin.

The version of Deep Red that I own is the Anchor Bay VHS from 1999, which was a significant event as it was the first time Deep Red had been released in the US in its full, uncut 126-minute version. Not only is all the gore restored, but important plot points and character developments (including the relationship between Hemmings and Nicolodi) were, too. The restored scenes were never dubbed in English, which is a bit distracting, but worth it. It’s also the only version that is the most complete. The most recent reissue, from Blue Underground on Blu-ray is only 105 minutes long.

Argento’s subsequent film, 1977’s Suspiria is even more visually mind blowing, but Deep Red is where Argento fully matured as a director. With Deep Red he truly earned the title of “The Italian Hitchcock” and cemented his legacy as a master of the horror genre.