Giuseppe Bassan Movies

Dario Argento leaves a distinct and bloody impression with this Italian horror film that took the slasher genre to graphic new limits at the time of its release. Novelist Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) jets into Rome to promote his new book. Simultaneously, a killer obsessed with Neal begins a brutal series of murders that are followed by cryptic notes to the author. Inspector Germani (Giuliano Gemma) questions Neal, who then begins his own investigation into the bizarre case with the help of his assistant, Anne (Daria Nicolodi), and local youth Gianni (Christian Borromeo). Neal and Gianni follow leads to the home of a TV talk-show host (John Steiner), who is axed to death in front of Gianni while Neal is knocked unconscious. As they close in on the killer, flashbacks show the killer's murderous beginnings and an obsession with red shoes. Meanwhile, Neal's publicist, Bullmer (John Saxon), is revealed to be having an affair with the author's ex-lover, Jane (Veronica Lario), making them both potential suspects. Inspector Germani insists that Neal leave town, but even when he does, the killer strikes again, knifing Bullmer in broad daylight. At the same time, Gianni returns to the home of the dead talk-show host and recalls an important detail about the murder. However, he is strangled before he can tell anyone. At her apartment, Jane is brutally slain just as Inspector Germani arrives to discover the murderer's identity, along with the shocking, twist-filled truth behind the entire case. ~ Patrick Legare, Rovi

A combination of alchemy, architecture, and horror, director Dario Argento's Inferno is a pulsing thriller filled with murder and supernatural mayhem. The peculiar proceedings are set into motion in both New York and Rome when two young women, Sara (Eleonora Giorgi) and Rose (Irene Miracle), find a book called The Three Mothers, a tome of alchemy written by an architect named Varelli. According to the book, Varelli built a trio of resting places for the Three Mothers, an evil trio whose identities remain at the core of the film's mystery. Rose's brother and Sara's boyfriend is Mark (Leigh McCloskey), a music student in Rome who jets to New York after Sara is murdered and Rose disappears. He follows up Rose's research on The Three Mothers and, with the help of his sister's neighbor, Elise (Daria Nicolodi), comes to the realization that the building they are in is one of Varelli's. Along the way, Mark encounters a variety of quirky characters including Elise's butler (Leopoldo Mastelloni), the building's maid (Alida Valli), a cat-hating bookseller named Kazanian (Sacha Pitoeff), and the infirm Professor Arnold (Feodor Chaliapin) and his nurse (Veronica Lazar). After a series of murders and a revelation that the butler and the maid have been plotting to steal Elise's jewels, Mark discovers a secret series of passages within the building. They lead him to its core where he finds the wheelchair-bound Professor Arnold, who explains that he is really the architect Varelli. After a violent struggle, the dying old man confesses to Mark that he is merely a servant to the Mothers. The building begins to burn out of control, but before Mark can escape, he discovers the shocking identity of the Three Mothers. ~ Patrick Legare, Rovi

A candy-colored nightmare from Italian terror maestro Dario Argento, Suspiria weaves a menacing tale of witchcraft as a fairy tale gone horribly awry. From the moment she arrives in Freiberg, Germany, to attend the prestigious Tans Academy, American ballet-dancer Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) senses that something horribly evil lurks within the walls of the age-old institution. Ill at ease as the result of her fellow student's peculiar behavior and increasingly terrified following a series of gruesome and spectacular murders, Suzy slowly begins to unravel the dark history of the academy. Convinced that the occult roots of the school and the horrific tale of its founding mother may hold an unthinkable secret, she begins a hallucinatory journey into the black heart of one of the most powerful witches ever known to exist. As Suzy edges ever closer to a secret that may hold the answers to all of her nightmares, the coven's grip on her soul begins to tighten until there is seemingly no escape. Will Suzy solve the mystery of the cursed academy before the fearsome Black Queen consumes her, or will she finally reveal the secret that has forever haunted the lavish corridors of the academy and bring an end to the Black Queen's terrifying reign? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The premise of this film -- that many magistrates in the Italian system of justice are on the take from corporations, politician, and gangsters -- was soon overshadowed by real-life revelations of corruption in high places. One high point in this political melodrama is the humanity with which actor Fernando Rey endows the Chief Justice. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This sequel to Superfly has former drug dealer Youngblood Priest living in Rome with his lover. His life has become peaceful and he is utterly bored, so when a gun-smuggling African revolutionary shows up, he decides to help him overthrow the tyrant who is running the rebel's country. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi