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| Credits |
Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Jessica Harper,
Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé,
Barbara Magnolfi, Susanna Javicoli, Eva Axén,
Alida Valli and Joan Bennett.
Screenplay: Dario Argento
and Daria Nicolodi
Music:Goblin
Tagline: The only thing
more terrifying than the last five minutes of
this film are the first 90!
Country: Italy
AKA: Dario Argento's
Suspiria; Suspiria - In den Krallen des Bösen |
Dario Argento, with the possible exception
of Lucio Fulci, is probably the most well known
of the Italian directors. His films have the reputation
of being stylish, violent and superbly crafted. Suspiria is no exception and
has been given a lavish DVD treatment by Anchor
Bay.
Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) arrives in Germany
on a horrendously windswept and stormy night and
hails a cab to take her to the ballet school where
she is to enrol and take up classes. However,
upon arriving at the school she finds that she
is denied access. She gets back in the taxi and
on the ride back she sees a girl running through
the surrounding forest.
The following day, Suzy returns to the dance
academy and is allowed entrance to the building.
Suzy quickly discovers that the girl who was fleeing
the previous night is dead and so the mystery
begins. It soon becomes apparent to Suzy that
things are not as they seem and she soon finds
herself on a perilous path to solving the puzzle.
More murders are committed and played out with
Argento's strong visual style and he manages
to keep us guessing right up to the final frames
of the film – even though the film is literally
littered with visual clues.
Suspiria is hailed by many critics
as being his finest film – and indeed it
is a superb film. Maybe not quite as good overall
as the immensely satisfying Deep Red,
but an impressive work nonetheless. Argento literally
commits to film a waking nightmare. The all-encompassing
sound, the saturation of prime colours across
the screen and the highly stylised – and
brutally vicious – murders all add up to
create a cinematic feast for the senses. Stylistically
this is probably Dario's most accomplished
film to date. The set designs are impeccable and
impressive, the locations faultlessly chosen,
and a superb cast all combines to bring Argento's
nightmarish vision to breathtaking life. This
is not the work of a mere hack – but the
work of one who truly knows and loves his craft.
There is little more to be said about this film
than has already been said by so many other writers.
Those familiar with horror cinema will undoubtedly
also be familiar with the work of Argento. Whether
you love or loathe his films, there is no doubting
the technical excellence of his productions –
and it's this excellence that sets him apart
from so many of his peers. Suspiria is visually sumptuous and aurally impressive work
that is experienced more than viewed. It's
a rollercoaster ride of striking visual compositions
and assaulting sound – few films will involve
you so completely as this one.
If you haven't seen this film before, then
this disc from Anchor Bay and distributed in Australia
by Simitar is the best way to see it. The disc
is faultlessly mastered, completely uncut and
has an incredible sound mix that will simply astound
you. |
