The most courageous speak of horror films, other wiser moviegoers place them in the genre of fantastic films.
But above all,
Danse macabre
by Antonio Margheriti and Sergio Corbucci is one of those little Gothic jewels that should not be allowed to disappear.
The March 9 screening at the Cinémathèque française, masterfully directed by the filmmaker Costa-Gavras, where the 4K restoration of the work was presented to a full and enthusiastic audience, was the best proof of this.
Read alsoCosta-Gavras: “Restoring a film means making it exist”
Alternately praised and decried when it was released in 1963, this adaptation, both free and explicit of the atmosphere of Edgar Allan Poe's tales, quickly became cult by virtue, of course, of superb photography, the work of the talented Riccardo Pallottini, but also thanks to the magnetic presence of Barbara Steele, the English muse of the fantastic transalpine.
In 2021, the poor condition of the original elements prompted the film's French rights holder to launch a restoration project which quickly interested the Center National du Cinéma and the Cinémathèque française, but also the publisher Artus Film and the distributor Les Acacias, which will be released on Blu-ray and in theaters respectively, the film.
Danse Macabre
(
Danza macabra
or
Castle of Blood
) by Margheriti and Corbucci, after Edgar Allan Poe, with Barbara Steele, Georges Rivière...
This crowdfunding campaign, launched in 2022, was created to complete the budget which is currently short of €9,476.
Following the complete restoration of the French and Italian image and sound, a return to film will preserve this work for the long term, while the creation of an audio description for the visually impaired and subtitles adapted to the hearing impaired will make it accessible to all.
More than one hundred contributors have already given their support and the campaign continues until March 16, 2023 with the objective of raising the remaining amount.
Don't be afraid to contribute, this
Danse macabre
deserves it...
*To participate in the participatory financing of the restoration of
Danse Macabre,
click on this link