COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - IL TEMPO DEL SOGNO: DREAM TIME (RUSTBLADE BLU-RAY)
North America has a monopoly on horror documentaries. It seems like whenever a new retrospective on the genre is released, the focus is largely on American movies or English-speaking films with other countries only being mentioned on occasion. It’s a shame really, because the world of horror is most certainly not revolving around the US and there have been a deluge of great horror films from South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Germany, Poland, etc. One country that has been woefully absent of coverage is Italy, and we don’t think we need to explain why this omission is so noticeable. Some of the best genre films of all time have come from Italy, as well as some of the best filmmakers. So when a copy of Il Temp Del Sogno: Dream Time came into the crypt we had to check it out. Is this Italian horror documentary the missing piece of a greater horror tapestry, or is it a wasted opportunity to shine a light on one of the Italian contributions to the genre?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
The Dream Time is a docufilm that will take you back to the golden age of Italian Horror cinema in the 80s and 90s, with interviews with the protagonists who marked that wonderful period, such as Lamberto Bava, Michele Soavi, Luigi Cozzi, Claudio Simonetti, Fiore Argento, Fabio Frizzi, Sergio Stivaletti, and many others. The film offers an authentic journey through the atmosphere of that period, guided by the engaging Davide Pulici (Nocturno) and skillfully directed by filmmaker Claudio Lattanzi (Zombi 5, Aquarius Visionarius, Everybloody's End). It is an exciting visual experience that will encourage you to rediscover the secrets of a now-lost cinema.
HOW IS IT?
Given the popularity of the horror genre and the increased awareness of global cinema due to the technological advancements of the last two decades, it’s almost shocking that there hasn’t been a documentary like Il Tempo del Sogno yet. While some attention has been paid to Italian genre cinema in broader, more surface-level documentaries like the In Search Of Darkness series they have only mentioned Italian horror as a tertiary part of the film as opposed to being the main focus. Much like another documentary before it, Fulci For Fake, “Il Tempo del Sogno” (“Dream Time” for short) blends documentary with flairs of narrative-driven storytelling to create something informative and different than what we typically define as a documentary in North America. While it can be occasionally distracting and unintentionally funny, it doesn’t rob the film of some outstanding interviews and perspectives right from the mouths of the Italian legends who were part of the last great cycle of Italian genre films.
The thesis at the center of the documentary is this, the last great Italian horror film was 1994’s Cemetery Man and the peak of Italian horror cinema was Demons in 1985. Our narrator/host, Davide Pulici, then travels across Italy to speak to various filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, composers, and SFX artists to get their perspectives on whether they agree with the thesis, and why. For those well-versed in Italian genre films, it is easy to agree with the film’s point from the jump. Despite being a fairly obvious point to those in the know, what is most intriguing about “Dream Time” is that while many of the interviewees agree, they all have varying degrees of reasons as to why this period between 1985 and 1994 was the swan song of horror productions. The interviews are conducted in a way that may be odd to North American audiences used to the objective and unseen interviewer as “Dream Time” shares time with the person being interviewed as well as cutting back to Pulici for reaction shots or musings about what is being said. What will throw some folks for a loop are the forced dramatic bits that don’t always land with the level of seriousness they are intended at. In some cases, it slows down the pace of the discussion or makes it unnecessary to see Pulici just standing there silently observing and listening. The other perspective here is how endearing and committed everyone is to blending the narrative and the facts to create something more dramatic than your average information-laden documentary.
What really makes “Dream Time” stand out though is just how much ground is covered and the intimacy to which the interviews are conducted. The talent interviewed are brutally honest about their work and the work of their peers and those unfamiliar with how Italian filmmakers of this era often talk will surely get a kick out of how confidently they will defend or degrade things seemingly blind to their foibles and missteps. Still, there is so much history within these conversations that it is almost impossible to keep up. Clocking in just under 2-hours, there are times in the last third when things do tend to drag, but again, it is an embarrassment of riches concerning context about this time, these films, and the filmmakers behind them. Of all the interviews, the most fascinating had to be with SFX artist Sergio Stivaletti. His work on films like Wax Mask, Phenomena, The Church, and Cemetery Man (just to name a few) is vast and impressive, and given how much he worked with different filmmakers he has a lot of stories and a novel perspective on different approaches filmmakers would take and how we worked with them on designing the effects. The other notable interview is with the composer Fabio Frizzi who many would know from his work on Lucio Fulci’s The Gates of Hell Trilogy. Fabio is happy, humble, and has great stories about working with the now departed filmmaker. Together, “Dream Time” is not to be missed by anyone who has even a faint appreciation of Italian genre film and is keen to know more about the beginning of the end of Italian horror dominance.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
“Dream Time” is a 2023 release, and as such isn’t a candidate for a fancy remaster or upgrade. That said, “Dream Time” looks as good as to be expected from digital film today and is presented in 1080p with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio. There is a lot of use of gel lights to add color to the scenery and backgrounds which light up nicely on the disc, although this isn’t a visual effects feast so there aren’t many opportunities to take advantage of contrasts and lighting behind what is done for the background of interviews. Images from this disc are used throughout the review and can be seen below.
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
There are two audio options to choose from, both in Italian language with the option for English subtitles. The first is a 2.0 Stereo track and the other is a 5.1 surround sound track. We opted for the 5.1 track and for the most part it sounds great. We say, “for the most part” because the music balancing is occasionally way off. There are times when the music, which is propulsive and synthy in the best way possible, feels like it is going in the red and noticeably louder than everything else before and after it. It’s not a big deal and doesn’t distract too much, but it can give you a startle if you like to watch with the volume loud.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
Given how in-depth and detailed the documentary is, it was nice to see that some additional features were included to complement this release. The one that we watched was a 12-minute interview with Davide Pulici himself talking about how the film came together, and what it was like working with Claudio Lattanzi on the film as a collaborator. What was most interesting was that they didn’t really know what to focus on from the start, and kind of happened upon the thesis for the film based on different conversations they were having about collaborating. It is a short interview, but it covers a lot of the backstory between Claudio and Davide while also providing ample space to talk about what was missed and their overall affection for the films and filmmakers they featured. A full list of special features is listed below.
Bonus Materials
INTERVIEW WITH DAVIDE PULICI (NOCTURNO)
INSIGHT BY FEDERICO FRUSCIANTE
TRAILER
LAST RITES
“Il Tempo del Sogno: Dream Time” is a sleeper documentary that every fan of Italian genre cinema should be seeking out. Not only is it exhaustive with the breadth of talent and topics they cover, but it fills a gap in horror documentaries by putting emphasis only on Italian films rather than them being third wheel to other English-speaking films. High-recommend and instant buy!
THE GORY DETAILS
Thank you to the fine fiends over at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy for the crypt! Il Tempo Del Sogno: Dream Time is available NOW and can be purchased via MVD DIRECT!
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
