Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Enzo Sciotti...my unknown hero!

Ah bliss... I received a copy of the new Shriek Show edition of Joe D'Amato's classick gutmuncher ANTHROPOPHAGUS in the mail yesterday. While I'm eternally befuddled by the Slipcase phenomena that seems to be sweeping the DVD shelves it was with great pleasure that I get TWO more copies of what is one of my favorite images in ALL of horror posterdom. The great George Eastman (Luigi Montefiore) devouring his own guts on the blood red seashore can't be beat. This is from the German HardBox edition, which I like even MORE due to the really great "ManEater" logo with the gut eater enclosed.

For me, posters of this caliber give me the jolt of the experience a movie you love in one quick glance-and this image sure encapsulates everything D'Amato was going for (and does it BETTER for the most part!).
For years I've noticed that the image was signed, but never bothered to research any further. Well, staring at the slipcase and silently humming "ahhh..." and then opening the DVD and saying aloud "ooooohhh" finally did it. Turns out, the maestro of the macabre who designed is Enzo Sciotti-a fairly prolific artist who did work for Filmirage (D'Amato's production company) including the awesome GHOSTHOUSE image and other more mainstream pieces. Another classic from Sciotti is the Italian artwork for THE BEYOND that features always works for me (though I'm not sure how it actually ties into the film). AND, to top it off, the man is still out and about it seems-you can see his website here:
ENZOSCIOTTI.COM
I say we all drop him an email and say THANKS for the lovely gutrending AnthroImage, one I know I'll always adore. In todays digital environment I always enjoy the opportunity to simply say thanks to artists whose work has stayed with me over the years-and this is one of them.
I bet he doesn't expect to hear from fans of his horror work-and seeing one of the grisliest delights of them all in US chainstores should have a lot more people looking at that little signature...
Below are some more images to enjoy, click those thumbnails and tell Enzo we say hello from Tomb It May Concern!

These images and more can be found at the Japanese Society of Italian Horror Appreciation

Sciotti Gallery is here, because it sure isn't easy to navigate around that site!



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've owned a couple of Sciotti posters over the years, including The Beyond and Phenomena. His art is always appreciated.

David A. Zuzelo said...

I had no idea I had so many things by this one artist (Ator The Invincible comes to mind). And to think, I never knew his name...
While he isn't Jano, I'll put him up in the ranks of important horror poster designers any day.