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Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered Volume One (2008)
When it comes to prolific directors there are very few out there that represent that term as well as Lucio Fulci. The Italian "Godfather of Gore" was pretty much discovered in the United States throughout the 1980s as the video boom came about. From there I think it's safe to say that a legend was born. Fulci is loved by as many as he is hated, from his detractors who dislike his films because of the lack of a clear narrative, to his fans who find his films to be genius I think it's safe to say that Fulci brings out emotions in people. Not even his films but his personality, attitude, and work ethic made him the director that people love, or love to hate. Either way though this director has certainly made his mark on the landscape of cinema and he's one of the biggest reasons why I'm a horror fan to this day.
"Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered Volume One" is a memorial DVD of sorts dedicated to the late director. It's split up in three categories entitled "Accomplices", "Peers", and "Victims". The "Accomplices" portion of the disc is very informative as far as the people that have worked with Fulci on set in a technical manner. This part has a lot to do with the kind of person that Fulci was on set and what it was like to work with him. From there you have the "Peers" section which gives a first hand account of what Fulci means to a lot of the major players during the time period. The "Victims" portion of the disc is the longest and unfortunately the most exhausting of the categories, although there is some really good stuff from some of the actors that he worked with.
I have to admit that I was really looking forward to seeing this from the moment I heard about it and what it was actually going to be. Awhile back I read a great book from author Stephen Thrower called "Beyond the Terror" about Fulci's career and his films. It's one of the greatest books I've ever read and it's truly insane how much information is in the book. But this disc is a perfect companion piece for that book. They go hand and hand with each other and if you have both, you'll find very little need for any more information on Fulci and that's coming from someone who is a diehard Fulci fan.
The list of people that were tracked down for this project is seriously mind boggling as it features interviews of 88 different people that managed to work with Fulci in some capacity, or other filmmakers that give their impression of his work. It's incredible to see this much work go into a project and I have to give it's creator Mike Baronas a ton of credit for being able to do it. He tracked all of the people (or most anyway) while working for Media Blasters and traveling to do the interviews for the supplemental materials for the DVD's.
The stories are plentiful and it's certainly worth a look if you are a remote fan of Fulci's. I also have to give Mike Baronas credit for not making this a simple Lucio Fulci vanity project as well. Most of the people on the disc have nice things to say, but in no way is Fulci passed off as a saint either. The people genuinely give good accounts from Gino De Rossi honestly coming across as touched for working with the man, to Dakar singing a song to his friend who is no longer with us, and Luca Ventanini talking about being slapped in the face by Fulci on a set at the ripe age of 8 years old.
Overall this one is a must own for all fans of Fulci as well as people who enjoyed the Fab Press book entitled "Beyond the Terror". Mike Baronas did a great job getting this one together and I for one am very satisfied that something like this was made about one of the most influential and important genre directors of all time. Thank you Mike.
Rating - ***1/2
-Ed Demko
