Dario Argento, soupirs dans un corridor lointain, directed by Jean-Baptiste Thoret, alternates critical reflection with words and images of the maestro at work. As ever, in interviews Argento comes across as benevolent and elusive. Like his cinema, he balances naivety with a conscious awareness of his style, its effects and his status as a latterday mannerist, simultaneously celebrating the spontaneity of his visions and the absolute narrative and emotive necessity of his directorial choices, all the while tirelessly defending the expressive primacy of his caméra stylo. Thoret’s commentary is densely theoretical to an extent rare in such documentaries, and it illuminates the interviews, proposing the point-of-view of a passionate and competent spectator complemented by sumptuous film extracts. We also see enticing images of Argento on the set of his new film, Non ho sonno, which recuperates both the giallo theme and the Turin setting of Deep Red.

Serge Chauvin, Dario Argento “Les Inrockuptibles.com”, 2001