Background and career
Dario Argento (Italian: [ˈdaːrjo arˈdʒɛnto]; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian filmmaker. His influential work in the horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the Thrill" and the "Master of Horror". His films as director include his "Animal Trilogy", consisting of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971); his "Three Mothers" trilogy, consisting of Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and The Mother of Tears (2007); and his stand-alone films Deep Red (1975), Tenebrae (1982), Phenomena (1985) and Opera (1987). He also co-wrote the screenplay for Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and co-produced George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978), as well as editing and scoring the European version of the latter film.
Argento was born in Rome in 1940. His father, Salvatore Argento (1914–87), was a film producer originally from Sicily. His mother, Elda (née Luxardo, 1915–2013), was a Brazilian fashion photographer of Italian descent. Argento attended a Catholic secondary school, but dropped out after two years and moved to Paris, where he lived for a year while working as a dishwasher. Upon returning to Italy in 1957, the 16-year-old Argento began working as a film critic, writing for magazines and as a columnist for the Rome-based newspaper Paese Sera, where he developed a reputation for promoting genre films.
While still working at Paese Sera, Argento also began writing screenplays. His first produced script was 1966's Pardon, Are You For or Against?, a comedy directed by and starring Alberto Sordi. One of his most notable works during this period was as the story writer (with Bernardo Bertolucci) of Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Western epic Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). His first directing contribution was as an uncredited assistant director on the 1969 Western The Five Man Army, directed by American filmmaker Don Taylor. That same year he founded a production company, SEDA Spettacoli, with his father Salvatore.
Argento began work on his directorial debut, the giallo film The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo, 1970), which was a major hit in Italy. Argento continued to concentrate largely on the giallo genre, directing two more successful thrillers, The Cat o' Nine Tails (Il gatto a nove code, 1971) and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (4 mosche di velluto grigio, 1972). Along with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, these three films are frequently referred to as Argento's "Animal Trilogy". The director then turned his attention away from giallo movies, filming two Italian TV dramas and a period comedy, The Five Days (Le cinque giornate, 1973). Argento returned to thrillers with Deep Red (1975), frequently cited by many critics as the best giallo ever made. The film made Argento known internationally and inspired other directors to work in the genre. John Carpenter has frequently referred to the influence Argento's early work had on Halloween (1978). Argento's next film was Suspiria (1977), a supernatural horror. Argento planned for Suspiria to be the first of a trilogy about "The Three Mothers", three ancient witches residing in three different modern cities. The second film of the trilogy was 1980's Inferno. The Mother of Tears (2007) concluded the trilogy. In 1978, Argento collaborated with George A. Romero on Dawn of the Dead, earning a producer credit and also providing soundtrack work for the zombie film. Argento oversaw the European release of the film, where it was titled Zombi, which was much shorter and featured more of the score written and performed by Goblin.
After Inferno, Argento returned to the more conventional giallo style with Tenebrae (1982). He then attempted to combine giallo and supernatural fantasy in 1985's Phenomena, also known as Creepers, which was one of Jennifer Connelly's earliest movies. Phenomena also showed Argento's predilection for using new technology, as evidenced by the film's several prowling Steadicam shots. Both films received a lukewarm reception upon their release (although each has been positively reappraised since). Argento subsequently took a break from directing to write two screenplays for Mario Bava's son, Lamberto Bava: Dèmoni (1985) and Dèmoni 2 (1986). Opera followed in 1987. Set in Parma's Regio Theatre during a production of Verdi's Macbeth, the production was beset by real-life misfortunes that Argento suspected were caused by the supposed traditional "curse" on the Shakespearean play. Argento's father died during its production, Vanessa Redgrave quit the project before filming began, he had problems working with his former long-time girlfriend and collaborator Daria Nicolodi on-set, and the cast and crew were plagued by several minor accidents and mishaps. In 1987–88, Argento produced a TV series called Turno di Notte, which had 15 episodes. Nine of the shows were directed by Luigi Cozzi, the other six by Lamberto Bava. Several of the episodes starred Nicolodi and Argento's daughter Asia Argento. Argento later produced and wrote the screenplays for two horror films directed by Michele Soavi, The Church (1989) and The Sect (1991).
In 1990, (CORRECTION: Two Evil Eyes was filmed in the Fall (Sept/Oct of 1989, in Pittsburgh, PA, because I worked on this movie for Tom Savini) - (It was RELEASED TO THEATRES IN 1990). Argento co-directed "The Black Cat" segment with George Romero directing the segment "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar", a two-story anthology film inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. In 1992, Argento filmed Trauma, starring his daughter Asia Argento, in Minneapolis, MN. It is largely a traditional giallo, but in an American setting. Like many of Argento's films, it contains an optical illusion witnessed by a character stumbling upon a murder, but he or she, like the audience, misinterprets the nature of the crime. This cinematic sleight-of-hand is one of Argento's recurring motifs. His 1996 film The Stendhal Syndrome, in which a policewoman (played by Argento's daughter, Asia) who suffers from Stendhal syndrome is trapped by a serial killer in an abandoned warehouse, was the first Italian film to use computer-generated imagery. Moreover, the film's opening scene was shot in Florence at Italy's famed Uffizi Gallery. Argento is the only director ever granted permission to shoot there. The Stendhal Syndrome was distributed in the U.S. by cult B-movie distribution company Troma Entertainment. In the early 1990s, Argento was interested in collaborating with Italian director Lucio Fulci on a horror film. Due to financial setbacks, the project was repeatedly postponed. In 1996, Argento was able to gather the funding, but was unable at that point to collaborate with Fulci, who died in March of that year. The film was later directed by Sergio Stivaletti as Wax Mask, with Argento and Fulci both receiving co-screenwriting credits. Argento later directed 1998's The Phantom of the Opera and 2001's Sleepless.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
