Rating: 
Summary: Stylish, beautiful, and mesmerising
Review: I first saw Suspiria a few years ago as a VHS rental but I couldn't remember too much about it. But suddenly, the world of Italian horror has been broken wide open so I picked up this three disk limited edition. Watching Suspiria is sort of like dreaming awake. Colored lighting is used to great effect and the sound track just sort of lulls one into submission. The plot makes about as much sense as a dream, that is to say, the movie all makes sense while watching but looses cohesion quickly once one returns to the "real" world. I think that is why I only remember watching the VHS rental but not too much of the movie.The three disc set includes a newly made documentary and a Goblin soundtrack from the movie. The documentary suffers from subtitles that are sometimes washed out against a light background. Otherwise, it is informative. The Goblin CD is a lot fun to listen to and I find myself humming the main theme all the time. Unfortunately, I do not find a listing for the names of the songs. The main disk also includes trailers and radio spots and a Goblin music video of Demonia, which appears to be the main theme song.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific DVD for a terrific movie
Review: What many claim is the definitive Dario Argento movie(some say "Deep Red" but I say this), has been put into a wonderful DVD. I waited for weeks for the limited edition. It was well worth the wait. The limited edition throws in everything, but the kitchen sink. While the laserdisc was in letterbox, the colors were washed out. Pity too, since that was they used a technique which enhanced the colors into a deeper, richer texture (in letterbox to show the entire picture). Thankfully, the DVD lets us see this wonderful enhancement beautifully. On the second disc, we see interviews with the filmakers and stars of the film. We also get a bit of a hint why we still haven't seen the conclusion of "Three Mothers" Trilogy. It also has an interesting interview of the composer of the bizarre music to the movie. The third disc is a CD soundtrack to the movie, which contains a terrific updated version of the theme song (a music video of the song is in the first disc). All in all, an excellent DVD set. Bravo to Anchor Bay!
Rating: 
Summary: Everybody Wants To Be A Movie Critic
Review: It amazes me that so many people can be so into their crappy Hollywood-ized "entertainment," under the erroneous assumption that feature length narrative filmmaking begins and ends w/ American studio movies which continually rip off foreign and underground /experimental films to no end. Furthermore, many viewers seem unable to understand or appreciate the fact that movies like "Suspiria" fall into the category of Surrealist Horror. Other films which easily fit into this genre would be Argento's "Inferno," Neil Jordan's "The Company Of Wolves," David Cronenberg's "Videodrome," Shinya Tsukamoto's "Tetsuo: The Iron Man," Andrzej Zulawski's "Possesion," Alexandro Jordorowsky's "Santa Sangre," & E. Elias Merhige's "Begotten."
And if anyone wants a REAL education exploring some of the cinematic/cultural connections between experimental film & extremist/violent/sexual imagery, I suggest you check out one of the FIRST OFFICIAL surrealist/avant garde films, "Un Chien Andulou", directed by Salvador Dali & Luis Bunel, which Argento refrences w/ a cinematic nod in a scene from his own "Suspiria". If you want to be a movie critic, then learn how to put a movie in it's PROPER historical & creative context when writing about it. "Giallo..... Italian horror.... gory, ultraviolence.... oh, my!" Give me a break! There's more than one historical and cultural "entry point" when learning about horror films, or any other kind of movie making, for that matter! Don't be so narrow and limited, for crying out loud!
Rating: 
Summary: Pitiful attempt at horror
Review: This was, without a doubt, one of the most pathetic excuses for a horror movie I've ever seen. I'd say about three quarters of it was nothing but some girls fartin around yapping about nothing. There are just a few very short killing scenes, which aren't that great. The soundtrack everyone seems to rave about sounds like a few kids in a basement banging on trashcans. I wouldn't reccomend this movie to anyone. I'd suggest movies by Lucio Fulci, such as The Beyond, House by the Cemetery, or Zombie, to name a few.
Rating: 
Summary: Unearthly Science in Suspiria
Review: Argento has a talent for inserting subtle clues in his movies (maybe the best example being the initial scene in Deep Red). In Suspiria he inserts at least two intriguing clues, by willingly subverting science, as a way to alert us to the presence of unearthly evil. Just a few seconds before the scene in which maggots fall from the ceiling, we see some water draining from a sink, and rotating clockwise. This contradicts the myth (if not the reality) of the fact that in the upper emisphere the Coriolis force would impose a counterclockwise rotation (...). It seems to me that the deliberate choice of rotation in the sink is not casual, but rather a clue that Argento is giving us that 'not all is well' in the school. A second clue comes towards the end of the movie, when we see water spurting from in a gutter, in an apparent violation of basic principles of pressure. Once again, this violation of physics occurs just a few seconds before the horror begins. I am not a fan of this particular movie (though it is quite rich in atmosphere, and the use of color -from the very beginning- is intriguing), but I did found these subtle uses of science to be interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific DVD for a terrific movie
Review: What many claim is the definitive Dario Argento movie(some say "Deep Red" but I say this), has been put into a wonderful DVD. I waited for weeks for the limited edition. It was well worth the wait. The limited edition throws in everything, but the kitchen sink. While the laserdisc was in letterbox, the colors were washed out. Pity too, since that was they used a technique which enhanced the colors into a deeper, richer texture (in letterbox to show the entire picture). Thankfully, the DVD lets us see this wonderful enhancement beautifully. On the second disc, we see interviews with the filmakers and stars of the film. We also get a bit of a hint why we still haven't seen the conclusion of "Three Mothers" Trilogy. It also has an interesting interview of the composer of the bizarre music to the movie. The third disc is a CD soundtrack to the movie, which contains a terrific updated version of the theme song (a music video of the song is in the first disc). All in all, an excellent DVD set. Bravo to Anchor Bay!
Rating:
Summary: Suspiria
Review: Suspiria is an amazingly artsy and entertaining movie.Dario Argento does a fantastic job.The Goblin made a wonderful soundtrack that was suspenseful and added to the movie alot.(la, la, la, la, la)Jessica Harper does a fairly good job as Suzy Banyon.The dialogue is great.The character's are memorable.The plot is written beautifully.I love many of the shots and death scenes.Suzy Banyon, a young American ballet dancer who arrives at a prestigious European dance academy run by the mysterious Madame Blanc and Miss Tanner.But when bizarre incidents and horrific crimes turn the school into a waking nightmare of the damned, Suzy must escape the academy's unspeakable secret of supernatural evil.(SPOILERS)The death scene in the beggining scared the crap out of me.I wasn't expecting that from such an old film.The Black Queen was really cool and scary.I think the soundtrack added alot to this 1977 film.Any true horror fan will love this film.Make sure to check this one out.(9/10) "It's a classic that all genre fans should see."
-- Mike Bracken, MIKE BRACKEN'S HORROR FILMS
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the greatest Italian horror movie.
Review: Suspiria is not only one of the greatest Italian horror movies of all time, but one of the greats of horror, full stop. For years, the British censors cut material from this film which they deemed as being offensive. Fortunately, they have had a change of heart over the past few years and are now allowing movies previously too controversial to now be released. Suspiria is one of them. I won't reveal the scenes which were cut as it might spoil your first time viewing, but if you want to watch some good horror that doesn't have any of the typical 'masked killer stalks good-looking teenager' which dominates the modern horror movies then Suspiria will provide you the frights.
Rating:
Summary: Menacing airport doors are only the beginnnig...
Review: Suspiria is able to overcome a plot that makes little sense, bad dialogue, questionable acting, and bad dubbing and still be one of the best horror films you may ever see. That is a true testament to Argento's talent at creating an overwhelming atmosphere. This film is difficult to describe. I can say: go and see it. Heck, go and buy it. It's really one of a kind. (Okay, maybe other Argento films approach it.) The key word is atmosphere, which is a key element in a good horror film. Since the film is about witches, and the supernatural, etc, you know it's fantasy, so it needs another factor: atmosphere. The film is literally bleeding with color. It's a real, expressionistic horror film. The lighting is the first thing to hit you, and it stays. I've never seen a film use lighting like this since. The composition of the shots, the insane music of Goblin, and the overall weirdness catapult this flick into legendary status. A young American ballet dancer visits a prestigious German dance academy. She soon realizes something very strange is going on, and sure enough, it's some kind of witch haven. Several students and a staff member die bizarre (but stylish) deaths. The opening is truly macabre and sets the tone. Argento hasn't matched this film yet. It's part one of a supposed trilogy, the sequel being the inferior but still creepy Inferno. After some of his recent work though, it doesn't seem like investors are flocking to Argento's door. Highly recommended, this film looks and sounds gorgeous on DVD. There's also a special set with a disc of extras as well as the demented soundtrack CD included.
Rating:
Summary: Dario Argento`s best!
Review: This is probably one of the most artistic film from the italian master of horror Dario Argento. The colors are so beautiful and the atmosphere keeps you into a really scary and strange tension from the beginning to end. The music is also great and it fits really well with this witches story that is not very surprising but well directed and very interesting and the murders scenes are very horrifying. If you want to buy this masterpiece, I really recommanded this special edition because it contains a 25th anniversary interview with the people who worked on this film and also the great soundtrack from the Goblins. You won`t be disappointed!!!!!!!!!
|
