Dario Argento Movies and Career Information

Dario Argento (born September 7, 1940) is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies. Argento was born in Rome, the son of film producer/executive Salvatore Argento and Brazilian-born photographer Elda Luxardo. He started his career in film as a critic, writing for various magazines while still attending high school. Argento did not attend college, electing rather to take a job as a columnist at the newspaper Paese Sera. While working at the newspaper, Argento also began to work as a screenwriter. His most notable work was for Sergio Leone; he and Bernardo Bertolucci collaborated on the story for the spaghetti western classic Once Upon a Time in the West. Soon after that film's release in 1969, Argento began work on his directorial debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, which was released in 1970 and was a major hit in Italy. Early in his directing career, he continued to concentrate largely on the giallo genre (more precisely known as "thriller" in Italy, as the word "giallo"--Italian for yellow-- usually