American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 68
Luciano Tovoli, ASC, AIC recalls the details of his approach to Dario Argento’s legendary horror film Suspiria. by Stanley Manders •|• Technicolor he horror film is stylistically rooted in German Expressionism of the 1920s, but the 1970s found the genre in transition. Smash Hollywood hits such as The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), Carrie (1976) and The Omen (1976) not only offered graphic shocks, but also transformed or completely shed the genre’s traditional trappings of ghouls, ghosts and goblins. Instead, the characters and situations became somewhat familiar, the settings were contemporary and even homey, and the films’ largely naturalistic cinematography firmly grounded the fantastic in reality. A world away, in Italy, filmmaker Dario Argento had carved out a unique niche in the fright-film business with such thrillers as The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970) and Deep Red (1975). These atmospheric stories, populated with demented killers and boasting grotesque set pieces, drip with equal parts gore and suspense — pop-culture products of the changing times. Flush with success, yet seeking a new creative direction, Argento then decided to envelop himself in the macabre lore of Old Europe. Working with fellow screenwriter Daria Nicolodi, he concocted a heady tale of witchcraft and the occult set in a ballet academy poised on the edge of Germany’s Black Forest. There, a young American student, Suzy ( Jessica February 2010 Terror in T Harper), becomes the target of Mater Suspirium, the Mother of Sighs, a demonic headmistress whose murderous minions dispatch those around Suzy with operatic aplomb. Their elaborate, Grand Guignol-style deaths unfold in a series of bloodchilling sequences. The evocatively titled Suspiria (1977), photographed by Luciano Tovoli, ASC, AIC, is a feast of intensely expressive images and sound. A creative touchstone among horror aficionados, the picture stands as an example to all filmmakers seeking to create tangible onscreen synergy between story, design, direction and cinematography. Inspired in part by the Technicolor grandeur of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Argento wanted to achieve a palette rich with primary hues and deep blacks. Tovoli notes that when Argento approached him about the project, “I had not seen any of his films, but, of course, I knew him as a very successful director.” At the time, Tovoli was perhaps best known for his work in Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger (1975). “Horror films did not interest me at that moment of my professional life — I was a very impressionable guy, you see,” he continues. “But I do remember one summer afternoon in my apartment, when I heard a American Cinematographer
American Cinematographer - February 2010
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2010
American Cinematographer - February 2010
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: What’s in the Box?
Production Slate: Fish Tank • Dollhouse
Bad Moon Rising
Artistry and Conscience
Working With the Red
Terror in Technicolor
Post Focus: Offhollywood Digital
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoriam: Marc E. Reshovsky, ASC
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Paul Cameron
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - American Cinematographer - February 2010
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 9
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 11
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Short Takes: What’s in the Box?
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 13
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 14
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 15
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 16
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Production Slate: Fish Tank • Dollhouse
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 19
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 21
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 22
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 23
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 24
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 25
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 26
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 27
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 28
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 29
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 30
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 31
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Bad Moon Rising
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 36
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 36A
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 36B
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 42
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 43
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 44
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 45
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Artistry and Conscience
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 47
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 48
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 49
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 50
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 51
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 52
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 54
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Working With the Red
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 57
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 58
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 59
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 60
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 61
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 62
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 63
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 64
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 65
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 66
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 67
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Terror in Technicolor
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 69
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 70
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 71
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 72
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 73
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 74
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 75
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 76
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 77
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Post Focus: Offhollywood Digital
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 79
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 80
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 81
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 83
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 84
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 85
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 86
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 87
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 89
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 91
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - In Memoriam: Marc E. Reshovsky, ASC
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 93
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - 95
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - ASC Close-Up: Paul Cameron
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - February 2010 - Cover4
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