Jazz pianist Marcus witnesses a murder, and becomes deeply involved with the investigation of the case. Something is odd, something feels wrong, but he just can't figure out what it is...
This is a review of the original, unedited widescreen (2.35:1) version of "Profondo Rosso", with a runtime of 126 minutes. Avoid all other versions.
Ah, beautiful deep red. Meaning yellow. "Profondo Rosso" is among the most giallo of gialli. It's the last movie of Dario Argento's initial row of classic mystery thrillers, and it's probably the best one. Maybe his older ones are a tad more cozy to watch, maybe Mario Bava's "6 Donne Per L'Assassino" ("Blood And Black Lace", 1964) is more spectacular in terms of visual style, "La casa dalle finestre che ridono" ("The House With Laughing Windows", 1976) is more subversively scary, and Sergio Martino's "Torso" (1973) is more viscerally effective - but "Profondo Rosso" is just the perfect mix of all of these attributes.
It begins with a hint of the supernatural, which sets the uncanny undertone for everything that is to come. So what is going on? Are we watching an actual horror movie? No, it's a giallo, it just very cleverly avoids the obvious, plays with some unusual characters, and some very creepy sets, turning the mystery element up to 11. It's really quite elaborate and presents the evidence in episode-like chunks, but it still feels dense and harmonious. It's not just mere storytelling - some effort was put into fleshing out some of the characters. Daria Nicolodi gives a nice performance as the quirky, but bright and charming reporter, and David Hemming's character has neat soft side, that is quite uncommon in giallo movies.
There is a bit of a "pure" horror element in "Profondo Rosso" - maybe pointing towards Argento's next movie projects ("Suspiria" (1977), "Inferno" (1980)) - and it works great in the context of the movie. A glimpse of gothic horror, a touch of the surreal...
Accompanied by some nicely unsettling music composed by Giorgio Gaslini and prog-rock group Goblin, "Profondo Rosso" has everything you'd expect from a good giallo, only it's more polished, it has a little more range and finesse, the writing is more detailed, and everything a little better tied together than in pretty much any other comparable production. The visuals aren't as daring and psychedelic as in some other films, but beautifully and very precisely composed clues to the mystery. When the gruesome murders happen, it's more than just an effect, it's another piece of the twisted puzzle you and the protagonists are trying to put together.
Some releases featured the tagline "Scarier than Jaws!" written on the cover artwork. That was probably a bit of a publicity stunt, but if you have only a tiny bit of love for giallo cinema, then this tagline is probably accurate. "Profondo Rosso" masterfully merges the classic, more grounded crime mystery story with some more horror, bizarre elements, and keeps you guessing, sweating, biting your nails until the hair-raising revelation. It's without a doubt in the top five of the genre.
As a sidenote, Salvatore Baccaro, of "La Bestia In Calore" (1977) (in)fame, makes a short appearance in it.
Verdict: Peak giallo cinema! 8.5/10
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073582/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Red
Trailer video:
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