Lucio Fulci Vs. Dario Argento

[WilliamWeird1313]

I did a forum search and didn't find any threads the same as this one, so I thought I'd go ahead and do it. If there was a thread like this before and I missed or something, well then sorry. Just the same... here goes:

Okay, so we all know that Italy has a long and storied (as well as sordid) history in the horror genre, and, to many, Italian horror is a genre all it's own (I don't just mean Giallo here) and I realize that Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava are widely considered to be the father figures of Italian horror. And, yeah, I know there's a ton of notable Italian horror directors, some whose merits may be considered debatable, like Ruggero Deodato, Umberto Lenzi, Antonio Margheriti, Joe D'Amato, Michele Soavi, Lamberto Bava, Andrea Bianchi, and so on and so on and so on, and the list just goes on and on. But I think it's safe to say that the two most famous/infamous, well-known, and prominently displayed names in Italian horror are Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento. Some people don't like either of them. Some people love them both. Some people love on but loathe the other, and some people are indifferent. But the virtues and flaws of both men are often hotly discussed and compared against one another. Me? I'm curious. I wanna know what you guys think of both of these fellas. Which one do you prefer? Now, I'm not asking you to tell me which director you think is the superior filmmaker, technically speaking. I'm asking which of these two do you personally enjoy more than the other.

And, heck, while you're at it, when you case your vote, why don't you tell me which of your choice director's films is your favorite, and why?

[Psycho Circus]

Both great film makers, but I had to lean towards Fulci. I love the "Zombie Flesh Eaters" series and "House By The Cemetary", but when it comes to Argento, I only really like Suspiria, that's a classic. 

[Cthulhu]

Hey! I can't make that choice. Demons vs The city of the living dead? Tenebre vs The beyond?
They are both geniuses.

[Torgo]

People usually only know of Fulci due to his horror films like Zombie, City of the Living Dead, House by the Cemetery and The Beyond.  Some of his earlier films like Don't Torture a Duckling are actually quite good from both an aesthetic and story telling point of view.   It's too bad that he got pigeonholed into being a horror director and then what people consider a hack due to cinematic atrocities like the Italian sword and sorcery rip off. Conquest.

I used to be a huge Argento fan and still love his movies from The Bird with the Crystal (his 1st film) through Opera (his 1987 film and his last truly good film IMO).  But his out put from Trauma on has been terrible.  In particular, Mother of Tears is one of the worst films that I've ever seen.

But between the two, I would have to go with Argento.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egUxn_bb448

[voltron]

I've only seen a couple of Fulci films and I think he's a bit overrated. He has his moments (Zombie Flesh Eaters, House By The Cemetary), but I think prime Argento (up to say, Phenomena) beats Fulci hands down. Fulci has the gore but I think he lacks the style and atmosphere of Argento.

[Eyesore]

I'm a fan of both, but chose Fulci. I'm colorblind, so I think a lot of Argento's "atmosphere" must be lost on me. I also wonder how much I'm missing by watching poorly edited versions of their films, as well.

[akiratubo]

Hmm.

Argento - I like Inferno (sort of) and Phenomena (kinda).  I think Phantom of the Opera is hilarious.  I've tried to watch Suspiria and Deep Red and found them both to be unbearable.

Fulci - I like Zombie.  The uncut version of House By the Cemetary is decent.  I hate The Beyond.

This is hard.  I guess I have to go with Fulci.  Zombie has given me more enjoyment than any of the Argento movies I've seen.

[The Burgomaster]

Argento is a much better director than Fulci.  Fulci's movies are usually pretty gory, but they aren't very scary or suspenseful.

[ToyMan]

i voted fulci because i feel that the quality of his films is much more consistent. argento's tenebre, profondo rosso, and suspiria are among my favorite films, but opera and inferno were very disappointing.

[Jack]

I didn't vote because I don't think I've ever seen anything by Fulci.  But, since you're asking for opinions, I think Argento is just about the most overrated directer ever.  Sure, his stuff has got atmosphere, usually far less of it than it thinks it does, but pretty much nothing else.  Story and character don't  matter at all to him.  I don't even think he's a director, but just a cinematographer.

I think Mario Bava is quite good, he's done some excellent stuff, and some not too interesting but cool to look at stuff, but my interest in Italian horror pretty much begins and ends with him. 

[peter johnson]

I'm discovering I don't really care for either of them -- I've inherited a bunch of Criterion/uncut/original VHS special edition tapes of many films by both directors, and am slowly getting through them all more out of a sense of duty/need to educate myself than anything else.  I find scenes that are enjoyable to look at in all of them, but ultimately find that I wouldn't watch them again, unlike Hammer films, which I can look at dozens of times and not get tired of.  I guess I just don't like Italian --
peter johnson/denny crane

[ToyMan]

i'm about 30 minutes into fulci's aenigma. it's seriously causing me to rethink my vote, and i'd already seen demonia, if that tells you anything...

[Paquita]

I love them both, but after seeing the Mother of Tears I have to go with Fulci.  I really love Fulci's underdramatic actresses and unrealistic gore.
Anyway, the fact that Asia Argento always shows at least one boob in her dad's movies kind of creeps me out.

[Caronte]

Argento knows how to direct a movie better than Fulci buy I enjoy more Fulci's movies for its nonsenses scenes, and for things like the eye-gauguin scene of zombi 2 

[Jack Slater]

I used to be a huge Argento fan and still love his movies from The Bird with the Crystal (his 1st film) through Opera (his 1987 film and his last truly good film IMO).  But his out put from Trauma on has been terrible.  In particular, Mother of Tears is one of the worst films that I've ever seen.

Agree with everything you said except I haven't seen mother of tears, thankfully. Argento has fallen hard, really hard.

I voted Argento as well. A bit unfair as i've seen the bulk of his output and not Fulci. Visually Argento's style is stunning to the senses While Fulci is Rubish to them.