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Suspiria

Suspiria

List Price: $19.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chilling!
Review: Suspiria will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat from the moment it begins until its credits start to roll. You will not always know exactly what is going on...and some of the transitions between scenes lack transition...but all will unravel in bloody gore before your eyes!

The soundtrack to this film lures you into the film...it is like the feeling you get when fingernails scratch the chalkboard...it creates a suspense within you that actually heightens what is actually happening on the screen... Without the soundtrack, this film would not work...It is one of the best, maybe even the best use of a soundtrack with film.
I opted for the 3 disc Limited Edition set which gives you the film along with extras including a 52 minute interview with priciples of the film looking back 25 years...AND..best of all...
the chilling Soundtrack CD by Goblin. "La la la la la la la..."

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Caps and Heels and Hair ........
Review: There's just something about this movie that causes you to focus:-

[a] On the footwear - especially Jessica Harper's towering and totterting moments in the rain at the Airport; and

[b] Alida Valli's 'sensible clogs' - they rival the Lotte Lenya mules in 'From Russia with Love'.

[c] NOW about the hair - was the Oldman "Dracula" inspired by Valli's hair???

Then there's the pristine dental work - - - one has to behold that too!

However, this little GEM of a Thriller [Slasher? What Exactly Is it? It IS one of the best examples of a Collector's Series, all one ever wished to know about "Suspiria" is here!] It probably went on to inspire the look of "Diva", "TiTus", "Miami Vice" {?} AND was probably inspired by "Vertigo" - so similar in visual concept .... a subtle homage?

It's a noisy, atmospheric and almost irritating little [?] work and still is very, very effective after 25 years? Oh yes, and will continue to amaze and somewhat confuse everybody.

Color choices are superior - especially the day-glo blood, and nothing quite surpasses that original first homicide, except maybe the barbed-wire sequence ...... Very quriky and odd and totally original - just think what director DARIO ARGENTO could do if unleashed in Hollywood!

Miss Harper [rarely seen today - currently in "Minority Report"] is perfect as the innocent abroad, the Great Valli suitably terrorises as the 'assistant' to Joan Bennett's quaint Madame Blanc ..... nasty work afoot along the lines of the original "Fall of the House of Usher" complete with airborne drapes .... make sense? Not really, it's more of a totally visual [and sonic] experience. The dubbing IS dreadful, but somewhat appropriate, as if one has had just that one drink too many and the words seem to be slightly slurred and somewhat unintelligible.

Technically a very superior product - beautifully restored and the sound IS tremendous.

ALSO, quite superbly presented in the snap-case format - No fumbles, and there's absolutely no danger of damaging this collector's item .....

Highly recommended for the serious collector - a prize!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Hype Is As Mystifying As The Movie!
Review: Having seen reviewers that compared Dario Argento to Alfred Hitchcock and Kafka, I rented "Suspiria" and settled down for what I hoped would be a great movie experience. Having watched it twice now, I'm STILL not sure what to think of it!!!

Hmmm...I think that if Dario Argento purposefully wanted to focus more attention on psychological terror, and less on story, I think he should have gone ALL the way with it. It's a stylish, freaky film, but there are STILL boring moments of exposition and plot (I mean, really, who cares about the dance school?!). I thought that the first 10 minutes or so of the movie were fantastic...from the atmospheric shots in the airport, the cab ride in the rain, to the first couple of murders, all accompanied by that insane music...absolutely ground-breaking and great. But then after that, it all slows down. There's the silly dressing-room scene ("people with names that begin with 's' are really snakes"), the dance practice scenes, the getting-to-know-the-staff scenes, etc. Pretty boring.

Either make the plot better, or GO FOR IT, and abandon plot exposition entirely. Go all the way with the surrealism, or learn how to write a better script and story. That's my view.

But I should say that I'm intrigued now, not only by this film, but by all the hype that surrounds Argento, his movies, and even his daughter. Looking at reviews for his other "masterpieces," I see frequent disclaimers about his convoluted and poorly executed plots, but he's still called the "Lovecraft of horror films." I saw his "Phantom of the Opera" and was shocked at how ridiculously HORRIBLE it was. I mean, really pathetic. I haven't seen "Deep Red" or "Inferno" yet, but they've GOT to be better than that!

In the end, "Suspiria" doesn't strike me as a "beautiful" "art" film...it's a supernatural slasher flick! But the music, strange sets, and weird, colored lighting do add up to a strangely satisfying horror experience, far more interesting than any of the "Friday The 13th" sorts of movies.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The "definitive version of Suspiria?"
Review: First, there are many reviews pertaining to this films content so I will skip that except to say that the film is indeed quite pretty and stylishly shot.
The main point I want to address is the complete lack of subtitles. I was very disappointed to find that despite the fact that the original language track is included on this disc there are no subtitles to allow those with no understanding of Italian to view and comprehend the film this way.
I do wonder, however, if perhaps this was a decision made based on the idea that reading the subtitles would distract the viewer from the films hailed visuals. Anyway, just a word of warning for the purists out there as I was rather shocked and upset by this intiailly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not a film for the Scream generation...
Review: The reason why younger horror fans don't appreciate Suspiria is that it is completely unlike the mainstream horror they've been fed since childhood...Scream, I Know What You Did, etc.. Interestingly, while all of those modern "horror" films are so easily parodied, I think Argento's 1977 masterpiece is in quite a different class. It's pretty hard to make fun of or mock Suspiria. It's not for the squeamish...especially the opening scene of the murders in the school, and the sequence with the blind man and his murderous dog. Still, Jessica Harper is absolutely gorgeous, the colours and the soundtrack are mesmerizing, the plot irrelevant...in short, typical Argento.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What is this??
Review: After I finished watching this I could only wonder why "Suspiria" attained such a cult status. There were a few brief periods of suspense, and the mood and atmosphere make it somewhat interesting; however, you need more ingredients than this to come out with a decent movie. Not horrible, but mediocre at best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dario Argento's 1977 horror masterpiece Suspiria
Review: Oh yes this is scary no i mean it it's real scary you'll love it Dario Argento is a brilliant & frightening master of Horror his movies are true nightmares this movie is about a girl Suzy Banyon a ballet dancer that arrives at a prestigious european dance academy run by Witch's this movie is in dts 5.1 sound and is one of most frightening movies that i have ever seen
buy it now

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Confusing, But Definately Scary
Review: I don't know what I expected from this film...I've seen one Argento film before this, and I must have forgotten that the most important thing in his films is not plot but style. The music is intensely creepy, the lighting is enough to drive you nuts, and several of the scenes made me jump. Not to mention that I'll never forget some of the scenes as long as I live (raining maggots, anyone?) In other words, the film is effective and very impressive--who needs a solid plot anyway?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great cult film - just don't watch it on a playstation 2
Review: Most of you probably already know whether or not you want to own this flick. So i'm just going to offer a few words of advice: DON'T WATCH IT ON A PLAYSTATION 2!!! About 4 minutes and 10 seconds into chapter 6 the screen will turn green and digitized and remain that way until you either eject the disc or hit "reset." Ironically, the film is psychedelic enough without the inclusion of this odd glitch. I have tried two copies of the disc on the machine and both suffered from the same problem. If you fast forward through the 4 minute 10 second mark in chapter 6 you will be able to bypass the problem, however.

Other than that, this hallucinatory and dreamlike film is quite cool, but definitely not for everyone. Mainstream audiences (don't expect anything resembling "Scream") will probably be put off by glaring displays of illogic and a lack of concrete explanations for everything that transpires in the film. What you can expect is a trippy rollercoaster ride through a colorful funhouse of various shocks.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: what can you say?
Review: This is as good as horror films get.That's all.


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