Il gatto a nove code (The Cat o'Nine Tails). 1971. Written and directed by Dario Argento

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Il gatto a nove code (The Cat o’Nine Tails). 1971. Written and directed by Dario Argento. Courtesy of American Film Genre Archive.

Il gatto a nove code (The Cat o'Nine Tails). 1971. Italy/France/West Germany. Written and directed by Dario Argento. With James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Catherine Spaak. 4K digital restoration by Cinecittà; courtesy Cinecittà. In Italian, English; English subtitles. 112 min.

Dario Argento’s erotic thriller has all the requisite elements of a good giallo: murder, phallic symbolism, stylized blood, an obsession with the gaze, a crackpot story about criminal genes, and enough red herrings and MacGuffins to throw even James Franciscus’s newspaper reporter and Karl Malden’s blind crossword-puzzle writer off the scent. Composing the second of his avant-garde scores for Dario Argento (in between The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Four Flies on Grey Velvet), Ennio Morricone slyly moves between cool jazz and schizoid dissonance.

This film accompanies Ennio Morricone and Ennio Morricone.

Past events

Sat, Dec 30, 2023, 1:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2
Thu, Dec 28, 2023, 4:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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