The Stendhal Syndrome

Rating:
Summary: Impressive DVD of Argento's Thriller
Review: Troma's DVD of "Stendhal Syndrome" is quite a nice package. Although there is some slight graininess and very minor artifacting during the film, the image actually looks really Nice, especially considering Troma put it out. I was very relieved it looks as good as it does. The film itself is better on a second viewing and, although it's not amongst Argento's best, it is definitely a superior thriller by the italian maestro. The excellent Ennio Morricone score is also a major plus. And Asia is quite effective as the young woman subject to the hallucinatory nightmarish condition brought on by works of art. A psycho rapist with a razor-blade smile is killing women in Italy and Asia's art-visions lead her into his clutches. Yes, this is the film where Argento filmed his own daughter's rape scene. Extras on the disc include two interviews with Dario (the Lloyd Kaufman one and another on the set of "Phantom" which is a lot more interesting) not to mention some "hidden" interview footage of Argento in Stockholm (accessed by hitting the "9" to get the razor blade). There's also an interview with Sergio Stivaletti and for some reason, there's an interview with Ruggero Deodato who discusses "Cannibal Holocaust" (don't really know why it's on this disc) The interview with Deodato has really bad translated subtitles....he talks and talks, but the subtitles are really basic and abbreviated. Better than nothing, I suppose. The film "bios" on Dario and Asia are simply filmographies (it amusingly lists "Four Patches on Grey Velvet" instead of "Flies"! ). The disc also contains all that superfluous Troma stuff (games - trivia - Troma tours- etc.). All in all, a great disc for Argento fans!

Rating:
Summary: Seriously good psychological thriller
Review: CONTAINS ONE MINOR SPOILER
The Stendhal Syndrome was the second movie I saw by Dario Argento. Since then I've become a huge fan of his work. Many people find this multi-layered thriller to be one of his failures and I find that hard to believe. Granted, it's more character driven than most of his movies tend to be and the movie's pace and athmosphere change dramatically in the second half. Still, I found out that it's got a lot of his trademarks (having now viewed all his movies except Four flies on grey velvet, which I can't find anywhere). It's stylish as hell, with great use of artworks (as metaphors that is; the scene where Asia covers herself in paint had me wondering), the music score is excellent (by Ennio Morricone; not Goblin) and the violence is at times extreme (the rape scenes particularly, since you know Asia's father is directing them).
The real difference with this film considering Dario's other films is the psychological undertone. I have watched this movie now three times and I'm always seeing something I didn't figure out the last time. That's what great complex thrillers do, they always keep you wondering. This is without a doubt Dario Argento's most complex film, it demands the audience pay attention to what's happening. As far as psychological thrillers go, this one ranks high.

Rating:
Summary: deep but disturbing
Review: I am a little torn on how to judge Dario Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome". The movie is about a Rome police inspector Anna Manni (director Dario's daughter, Asia Argento; who seems a bit young to play a police detective), who is assigned to the anit-rape unit. Manni's current case is to track down a serial rapist and killer who is stalking girls in Rome and Florence. The killer finds her in an art museum. While she is there, she falls victom to the stendhal syndrome (that is, having a physical reaction to a powerful emotional piece of art) which catches the attention of the killer. Shortlyu there after, Anna is captured and savagly raped and beaten by the killer. The attack leaves her seriously damaged mentally and emotionally. She now must hurt and mutalate herself just to feel. While on vacation, Anna is captured and tortured again by the killer, but this time mangaes to escape and kill the man. But this only leads to deeper despair. "Stendhal" has it's good points and it has it's bad points. Well, first the good. This is a powerfully disturbed movie; unflinching and brutal. I must praise Ms. Argento for having the guts to play such a demanding role; what she lacks in talent (and she dose lack), she makes up for in courage and effort to play on such raw emotions. She has made a career out of playing victoms who, after they are damaged in whatever way, can only respond to new world with equal amount of venom. The violence is very disturbing, not so much the amount of gore (although there is plenty of that), but because it is so mean spirited. However, if you're a Dario Argento fan, you're probably, um, if not used to it, at least you're expecting it. Now onto the bad. Structurely, the movie seems disjointed. At first it is a serial killer movie, and then it is a tour through the mind of victom turned killer Anna. The twist of having Anna turned into the killer at the end seemed a little strange, but I guess it isn't too terrible a streach. The acting is pretty bad, but I blame dubbing the language from Italian to English. The movie also has long straches where seemingly nothing happens. This scene is the most offensive: Manni's partner and sometime lover comes over and tries to suduce her right after her first rape. How insensitive can the jerk be! But as if that wasn't bad enough, Anna turns the table on him and psudo-rapes him! How very disturbing. All in all, this is an Italian horror film, so it is intensly violent and gory. But it is Dario Argento, who knows that the more scary violence is done to the mind, not nessisarily the body.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible DVD Quality, Interesting Movie
Review: Troma should feel ashamed by the horrible quality of this DVD. Argento's films are usually released on Anchor Bay, who does a stellar job with the transfers. This DVD, though, is so full of artifacts in dark scenes that it felt like I was watching a 5 year old video from a rental store. It also didn't feel like it was a FULL letterbox version as parts of the opening credits were cut off on the left and right edges.
One of the interviews was OK, but it was really an interview all about Argento's 'Phantom of the Opera'. The other interviews were extremely cheesy as they weren't even done in person -- it was just Dario holding a microphone answering questions that were coming to him over the phone.
The movie is quite interesting and better than I expected. It deserves a much better DVD than this extremely cheesy production from Troma, though. Movie gets a 4/5, DVD gets a 1/5.

Rating:
Summary: SERIOUS TROMASONE DAMAGE
Review: Despite an incredible opening 20 minutes, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME
soon meanders into tedium and never manages to recover. Although initially disappointing Argento titles such as TRAUMA, for example, have blossomed with the passage of time, this film seems particularly resistant to reappraisal. Certain elements work extremely well, with Thomas Kretschman's forceful performance, Morricone's repetitive score and Asia Argento's hypnotic visit to the Uffizi Gallery being the major assets. Unfortunately, the film soon abandons it's one truly original idea - the "Stendhal Syndrome" itself - and heads in a more mundane killer vs. police direction. Of course, Argento tries to spice this up with abherrent psychology, grotesque sadism and narrative trickery, but the end result never approaches the high standard set by classics such DEEP RED or TENEBRAE. Scenes between Anna (Asia) and the police psychiatrist are interminably boring, whilst the less said about the unconvincing family relationships and romantic scenes, the better. Although this is my least favourite Argento film, it certainly didn't deserve the humiliation of being released by Troma! Lloyd Kaufmann's inane, ill-informed introduction claims the DVD contains the digitally re-mastered director's cut. What this actually means is a BADLY transferred version of the TRUNCATED export print. Compared to the luminous image quality of the French DVD, the Troma disc's muddy, washed out colours are extremely unimpressive. The largely irrelevant extras and promos for idiotic junk only add to the bargain basement atmosphere. If you're an Argento completist, wait for a more definitive release - shelling out for this contemptible mess from Troma would be murder.

Rating:
Summary: Impressive DVD of Argento's Thriller
Review: Troma's DVD of "Stendhal Syndrome" is quite a nice package. Although there is some slight graininess and very minor artifacting during the film, the image actually looks really Nice, especially considering Troma put it out. I was very relieved it looks as good as it does. The film itself is better on a second viewing and, although it's not amongst Argento's best, it is definitely a superior thriller by the italian maestro. The excellent Ennio Morricone score is also a major plus. And Asia is quite effective as the young woman subject to the hallucinatory nightmarish condition brought on by works of art. A psycho rapist with a razor-blade smile is killing women in Italy and Asia's art-visions lead her into his clutches. Yes, this is the film where Argento filmed his own daughter's rape scene. Extras on the disc include two interviews with Dario (the Lloyd Kaufman one and another on the set of "Phantom" which is a lot more interesting) not to mention some "hidden" interview footage of Argento in Stockholm (accessed by hitting the "9" to get the razor blade). There's also an interview with Sergio Stivaletti and for some reason, there's an interview with Ruggero Deodato who discusses "Cannibal Holocaust" (don't really know why it's on this disc) The interview with Deodato has really bad translated subtitles....he talks and talks, but the subtitles are really basic and abbreviated. Better than nothing, I suppose. The film "bios" on Dario and Asia are simply filmographies (it amusingly lists "Four Patches on Grey Velvet" instead of "Flies"! ). The disc also contains all that superfluous Troma stuff (games - trivia - Troma tours- etc.). All in all, a great disc for Argento fans!

Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE! Brilliant and disturbing.1 of Argento's Best!
Review: Italian "Master of Horror",Dario Argento brings us one of his most frightening and realistic films to date. Argento's own daughter, the very beautiful Asia Argento gives an amazing and very chilling performance as a policewoman working with the Anti-Rape league in Rome,Italy.While tracking down a serial rapist in an art museum she succumbs to an illness known as the "Stendhal Syndrome", an actual affliction named after one of the first reported cases. The illnes causes certain people to become emerced in and hallucinate when in the presents of works of art. After fainting from such an experience, Anna(Asia Argento) is attacked by the rapist she was on the trail of in an extremely unnerving scene,which may be too much for some viewers. The film then takes a drastic change from Dario Argento's early works, which mainly focused on the search for a serial killer knocking off victims one by one. Instead this movie focuses on the victim of a horrible crime and how it dramatically alters and overwelms every aspect of their lives from then on. As the suprises and shocks hit you one after the other Argento showers the screen with some amazing vsual effects and the breathtaking scenery of his beloved Italy. The director apparently took this film as an opportunity to showcase and show-off Italy's proud and wonderous art history (and who could blame him?). Great works of art whirl by you in such a way that you may even experience a case of the Stendhal Syndrome yourself. A beautiful and dark modern "film noir" with an enchanting score by the legendary Ennio Morricone, Stendhal Syndome is truly a one of a kind film exprience from a great director who proves he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Asia Argento SHOULD have won an Academy Award for her outstanding performance. She is without a doubt one of the best young actress working today.

Rating:
Summary: deep but disturbing
Review: I am a little torn on how to judge Dario Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome". The movie is about a Rome police inspector Anna Manni (director Dario's daughter, Asia Argento; who seems a bit young to play a police detective), who is assigned to the anit-rape unit. Manni's current case is to track down a serial rapist and killer who is stalking girls in Rome and Florence. The killer finds her in an art museum. While she is there, she falls victom to the stendhal syndrome (that is, having a physical reaction to a powerful emotional piece of art) which catches the attention of the killer. Shortlyu there after, Anna is captured and savagly raped and beaten by the killer. The attack leaves her seriously damaged mentally and emotionally. She now must hurt and mutalate herself just to feel. While on vacation, Anna is captured and tortured again by the killer, but this time mangaes to escape and kill the man. But this only leads to deeper despair. "Stendhal" has it's good points and it has it's bad points. Well, first the good. This is a powerfully disturbed movie; unflinching and brutal. I must praise Ms. Argento for having the guts to play such a demanding role; what she lacks in talent (and she dose lack), she makes up for in courage and effort to play on such raw emotions. She has made a career out of playing victoms who, after they are damaged in whatever way, can only respond to new world with equal amount of venom. The violence is very disturbing, not so much the amount of gore (although there is plenty of that), but because it is so mean spirited. However, if you're a Dario Argento fan, you're probably, um, if not used to it, at least you're expecting it. Now onto the bad. Structurely, the movie seems disjointed. At first it is a serial killer movie, and then it is a tour through the mind of victom turned killer Anna. The twist of having Anna turned into the killer at the end seemed a little strange, but I guess it isn't too terrible a streach. The acting is pretty bad, but I blame dubbing the language from Italian to English. The movie also has long straches where seemingly nothing happens. This scene is the most offensive: Manni's partner and sometime lover comes over and tries to suduce her right after her first rape. How insensitive can the jerk be! But as if that wasn't bad enough, Anna turns the table on him and psudo-rapes him! How very disturbing. All in all, this is an Italian horror film, so it is intensly violent and gory. But it is Dario Argento, who knows that the more scary violence is done to the mind, not nessisarily the body.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible DVD of an impressive film
Review: The Stendhal Syndrome is an effective, stylish thriller from horror maestro Dario Argento. The film alone would rate at least 4 (out of 5 stars)but the Troma DVD is pretty appalling. The audio is hissy and the volume low and the picture is incorrectly letterboxed and riddled with digital artifacts. If the DVD weren't bad enough it's made even worse by having a horrible, embarrassing introduction and foolish, faux interviews with Troma president Lloyd Kaufman. A good film is severely cheapened by a garbage presentation. A big, fat ZERO for the disc. Hopefully, Blue Undergroud or Anchor Bay will be able to obtain the rights soon.

Rating:
Summary: Consuming
Review: Exact acting made the the character of woman being portrayed as strong and can take care of her self. The scene with the woman in the window, then being subjected could have been more lengthy, along with other women, whom the attacker should have been with, with more sexy swear words. Although we all probably wanted to hear the REAL Asia Argento's voice!!!