In what seems like news from a completely different dimension, a musical version of Dario Argento’s classic 1975 thriller Profondo Rosso (known to US fans as Deep Red) was recently performed in Italy. Although this isn’t exactly current news as the musical’s performance ceased in March, Cinevox recently released the soundtrack CD.
I found out about the musical a few months back and just didn’t understand how the film could be transformed onto the stage, and honestly I still don’t. Argento and the Italian movie market are a source of pride for the country, so in comparison to our Broadway versions of Billy Joel songs and Disney films, in a way it kind of makes sense. The reviews seem to be glowing, and many of the film’s infamous scenes are said to have been included; there’s still the windup dummy, the head still gets decapitated (somehow) by the car at the end, and even the bizarre mirror tricks of the movie have been incorporated.
