Suspiria (Two-Disc Special Edition)
by Dario Argento
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alida Valli, Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Stefania Casini, Udo KierDirector: Dario Argento
Brand: WEA DES Moines Video
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Blue Underground
Product features:
- Jessica Harper (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) stars as Suzy Banyon, a young American ballet dancer who arrives at a prestigious European dance academy run by the mysterious Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett of DARK SHADOWS) and Miss Tanner (Alida Valli of KILLER NUN). But when a series of bizarre incidents and horrific crimes (including what Entertainment Weekly calls the most vicious murder scene ever filmed
Movie Reviews of Suspiria (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Movie Review: Argento's masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Suspiria is one of the horror classics that seems to divide horror fans; some cite Suspiria as a masterpiece of the genre and one of the greatest horror movies ever made, while others see it as boring and nowhere near the hype it has gotten. And at first I was one of those who would state it as boring and over hyped. Upon my first viewing I was like this is the classic Argento movie people hail as one of the greats? At the time I wasn't really into Argento. While I didn't dislike him I can't say I was a fan.
But than I went back and gave his films another chance and suddenly found myself loving these movies I originally thought were about average. So I figured might as well give Suspiria another chance; and watching it the 2nd time I hoped my opinion would change, but I still expected the absolute worst. But my 2nd viewing I just fell in love with this movie and now I'm one of those people who praise it as a masterpiece of the horror genre.
Dario Argento has a very strong visual style and more often than not the plot takes a backseat to his visual style and I understood that going into this film and all his others. But for some reason I just couldn't get into his work where as now you'll be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of Argento than me. I would recommend to anyone out there who didn't like Suspiria to give it another chance. If you still dislike it than maybe it's just not for you, but I know besides myself a lot of people disliked Suspiria at first and now love the movie. Suspiria really is one of those movies that gets better and better on multiple viewings.
The screenplay was written by Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi and if you were to find any flaws with Suspiria this would be it. While not badly written at all the script is the only weak point of the film. I always mention in my reviews for Argento movies that he at times can be a good writer. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Deep Red had very solid scripts and even though I thought The Cat o' Nine Tails was about average the script wasn't bad. The only problem though is in my opinion Argento has never written a really iconic character even in his better scripts. Around the time of Suspiria is when the writing took a backseat to his visual style and use of colors.
The script wasn't bad, but just suffers from weak characters; while I wouldn't say the characters are bad or anything they do lack of depth and aren't fully developed, but oddly enough I'd rate Suzy Bannion played by Jessica Harper as one of Argento's better characters despite any lack of depth. The script does mostly work, but this is the kind of movie that without the right director would be a boring disaster of a flick. Sometimes you have movies that while aren't poorly written or anything like that, but could be very boring.
As director Dario Argento crafts a masterpiece of a film; the opening act is downright chilling and after that Suspiria does slightly slow down, but Argento's visual style keeps Suspiria creepy and interesting even if it's a bit slow. The use of colors in this movie is just simply amazing. Suspiria just might be the best looking movie I have ever seen, but you can actually make a case for several Argento movies, but Suspiria just might be the best. The look of Suspiria is very much like a nightmare and that is something most Argento movies have going for it. It's also like this twisted fairy tale and all these elements are what elevate Suspiria to a classic of the genre. The best way to describe Suspiria is it's like a nightmare that may not make a whole lot of sense, but is quite chilling.
There is so much that goes into directing besides simply storytelling. Granted that is the most important aspect, but there is more to it than that. Dario Argento may not be the best storyteller in the case that his flicks sometimes have a weak plot and maybe characters that lack a little depth, but what he might lack in that area he more than makes up for with suspense, tension and plenty of scares. And again I go back to Dario's visual style, which is what makes him stand out so much and again that is what makes Suspiria so brilliant. As I stated before the opening act is downright chilling and while the movie might slightly slow down it never loses the eerie feeling. The visual aspect and use of colors are the most amazing I have ever seen. Again Suspiria is simply a beautiful movie to look at.
Another thing Suspiria has going for it is the score by Goblin; these guys are just amazing and have worked with Argento several times and Claudio Simonetti of Goblin has worked with Argento on almost all his movies and he's probably my favorite composer of all time. The score by Goblin is just mind-blowing and their score adds so much to the movie and makes it downright chilling! It's really hard to say, which score by Goblin is their best these guys have done such great work with Argento and with other filmmakers as well, but in the case of Suspiria, well this could easily be rated as their best score.
As I stated earlier in my review if you've seen Suspiria and didn't like it give it another chance and if your opinion doesn't change than the movie just isn't for you. But Suspiria is a movie that might take a couple of viewings; many fans of this movie disliked it at first and like I said I was one of those people as well. Forget the plot and all that and watch Suspiria for its visuals and you might just start to like it.
Suspiria in my opinion is a classic horror flick and deserves all the hype it gets. Many hail this as Dario Argento's best flick and while I understand why I'm not sure I would rate this as my favorite by him, but no doubt it's in my top 5 and in my top 20 favorite horror flicks of all time. For those new to Dario Argento I would recommend you check out his work in order; this way you can see how he evolved as a filmmaker. Suspiria is a movie you'll love or hate, but I urge people who disliked this to give it another chance and if you still dislike it that's fine, but Suspiria is very much a movie that takes more than one viewing.
Summary of Suspiria (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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