Suspiria

Rating:
Summary: Genuinely Creepy!
Review: This classic film from Argento stars Jessica Harper as a dance student who begins to discover that the school she is attending has a darker side. Featuring an excellect soundtrack by frequent Argento collaborators Goblin, a great performance by Harper, and some of Argento's best death scenes. This film is well worth your time.

I have not had the privaledge of viewing the DVD yet, but I have a feeling Anchor Bay will deliver as usual. Although, some earlier reviewers complained about the sound quality, hopefully this is just a defect in small amounts of discs. I have read a larger amount of positive reviews about the sound, rather than negative.

If you have never seen Suspiria, you should seriously consider picking up a copy, and if you don't care about the documentary or the CD soundtrack, then you would probably be just as happy with the cheaper copy.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Musical Score; Unintelligible Plot and Dialogue
Review: In 1977's SUSPIRIA, cute actress Jessica Harper--introduced to horror fans three years earlier in Brian De Palma's wonderful PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE--stars as an American ballet student studying abroad at a German dance academy. Soon after her arrival at the school, she learns that a covert evil is in operation just beyond the facade of reality. Beyond that, it is nearly impossible to follow any sort of coherent story line in Italian director Dario Argento's purported and much-hyped "masterpiece."

In spite of all the hoopla, this movie is really little more than a series of cheap thrills tenuously tied together with a thin plot. And even by the standards of the decade in which SUSPIRIA was filmed, the cheap thrills don't measure up: the stage blood LOOKS like stage blood, a bat that appears in one scene could easily pass for a prop from TV's THE MUNSTERS, and many other effects are hardly more frightening than department-store window decorations at Halloween. The only death scene that truly evokes any sense of realism is one that takes place near the beginning of the film, and even then, suspension of disbelief is spoiled by the use of the aforementioned bargain-basement stage blood.

It is difficult to intelligently comment on the acting in the film. The dialogue is too incomprehensible and the plot too flimsy, and outside of the cues for excessive emoting whenever a scene involves death and blood, there is little in the script for the actors to work with. Even able thespians such as Ms. Harper and Joan Bennett (from TV's DARK SHADOWS) don't seem to do much more than deliver their lines by rote.

The one worthy element of the film is the musical score, performed by Argento's rock group Goblin. At times ethereal and moody, while at other times harsh and grating, the music does evoke a real sense of unease and gothic ambiance. Certain passages are very reminiscent of Mike Oldfield's tubular bells music for THE EXORCIST, and that's definitely a good thing in a horror flick. Paired with a better movie, the score would most certainly be listed among the horror music greats.

If you're a fan of movies such as Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD films for reasons OTHER than watching the delightfully charming and funny Bruce Campbell, you just might like SUSPIRIA. However, if you're looking for great chills and thrills in a literate film, you might want to seriously consider a different movie.

Rating:
Summary: beautiful
Review: I've rented the old vhs copy of this movie several times before.. it's one of my favorite horror films. The music, the atmosphere, everything. But, if you're even curious about this dvd, then chances are, i don't have to sell you on the film itself. How does the dvd look and sound? Its almost like watching a completely different movie from the one that i've rented. The transfer is near perfect. With the masterful composition of the images in this film and the vivid colors used, you owe it to yourself to see this disc. The film shouldn't be seen any other way, unless you find it playing on the big screen.. but even then, i doubt you'll get a better looking image than this.
The ingenious score, by Goblin (who does the music for many of Argento's films), has been beautifully remastered. The mix itself is incredible. i guess i can't quit saying good things about this disc. just buy it. i promise you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Dario Argento's finest work gets the treatment it deserves!
Review: This is, by far, one of the best suspense-horror films of all time. And the new dvd transfer does a perfect job of capturing the color, clarity, and most important, the sound. Dario Argento is at his peak in this tale of murder and madness, and this two-disc set showcases the master of the giallo. The bonus sountrack by Goblin provides the perfect background for Halloween night, or any other dark and stormy eve. Get your copy today!!

Rating:
Summary: Horribly dubbed dialogue ruins flick
Review: This DVD does not offer subtitles and instead has the dialogue dubbed. This is also the case with the Opera dvd. I returned both. I watched it with a group of people and we all agreed it ruined the viewing experience. ...

Rating:
Summary: I gave it 1 star, only because zero was not available.
Review: Absolutely one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Read all the reviews about how great and scary the movie was and considered buying it based on them alone (but rented it first to make sure). Well, I am still kicking myself 2 days later for wasting 2 hours to watch it. Gory? Scary? How about embarassing and ridiculous. Acting was dreadful, plot was horrible, and I caught myself wanting to turn it off 30 minutes into it. One of the best horror movies? The horror is that I actually spent money to rent it. This movie does not even come close to horror classics such as The Exorcist or Halloween. Toss this one in the category bin of: outgoing garbage.

Rating:
Summary: Hypnotic, dream-like, visually arresting horror-thriller...
Review: "Suspiria" is arguably Dario Argento's best film. Although his films are not known primarily for their narrative cohesion, "Suspiria" is the one that makes the most narrative sense... Jessica Harper captures the right balance of sweetness and strength as Susy Banyon, an American ballet student who enrolls at the Tann Akademie, a prestigious ballet school in rural Germany. From the very first moment of her arrival (in the film's first memorable sequence: a long,atmospheric taxi ride through the nightttime rain, made even more sinister by the Goblins' now-classic score), she is plunged into terror. She witnesses a mysterious girl rushing from the school, who is later murdered in the film's second memorable (and much-discussed) sequence. As she finally gets settled into the school, Susy meets and gets to know several characters: Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett), the school's diva vice-directress; Ms. Tanner (Alida Valli), the stern and butch head teacher; and Sarah (Stefania Casini), as a high-strung fellow student who befriends Susy and may know more about the school than she is telling. After the school pianist is attacked and killed by his own seeing-eye dog(another memorable segment), Susy and Sarah begin to suspect something is amiss at the Academy. When Sarah vanishes (following a harrowing chase through the school's attic by a mysterious hooded figure in yet another terrifying sequence), Susy really begins to worry and delves into the school's past, uncovering stories of witchcraft and occult rites. The remainder of the film rachets up the suspense as Susy finds herself alone in the school while all the other students are gone attending a ballet. This leads to a confrontation with the Academy's directress, the head witch herself. If this film has a flaw, it's the way it ends so abruptly. But it is a minor quibble considering everything that has come before. All in all, "Suspiria" is a collection of terrifying sequences held together by a solid-enough plotline, Argento's unique visuals, and the scariest score ever.

Rating:
Summary: It's different, and worth a look, but...
Review: when it's all said and done, I felt like I COULD'VE done something else. It's the kind of movie that I don't regret watching, but really have a small need to see very often, but may want to in about 10 years. The first attack was the best. The rest of them were noticeable to kinda silly. It has a good use of sound, color, and atmosphere, and recommended for viewing, but not more than the initial time, which took 3 viewings before I was able to reach the end. Worthy of credit, but a high level of acclaim is not what I would bestow to this title. Maybe I just saw it too late in my life(2001 vs. early 80s).

Rating:
Summary: the lights have it
Review: on of my favorite films i dont know why i just like the atmosphere and the music and the lighting its a must.

Rating:
Summary: The soundtrack from hell?
Review: In a short essay which accompanies Anchor Bay's special three-disc edition of Dario Argento's "Suspiria" (1976), Travis Crawford offers the following observation: "For the small minority who may be experiencing the full-throttle sensory assault of Dario Argento's...horror masterpiece 'Suspiria' for the first time...I envy your innocence." As it turns out, Travis' envy is wholly misplaced. It breaks my heart to say it, but Anchor Bay's disc - prepared under the auspices of Lucasfilm's much-vaunted THX program - is one of the biggest disappointments in the short history of DVD.

Of the four soundtracks on the disc which I was able to access through my my 5.1 audio equipment (I'm not DTS-equipped), only the French version - in lowly 2.0 surround - has anything like the kind of sonic impact which Argento originally intended. Several layers of music on all the others, including the Dolby Digital EX track, have been mixed so low that they might just as well not be there at all! Crank up the audio as much as you like, but it won't make a blind bit of difference...

My main point of reference has always been the (in)famous double-assault which takes place near the beginning of the film, one of the most genuinely frightening set-pieces in movie history. But much of the scene's effectiveness depends heavily on Goblin's deafening music score, which adds electric guitars (I'm assuming that's what they are) to a soundtrack filled with drums and screaming vocals. Here, several vital musical elements sound like they're buried under tons of cotton wool, completely diluting the overall effect. Just LISTEN to the difference in the French version, where the soundtrack has a depth and clarity which explodes out of your speakers like the Crack of Doom! But even this sounds a little muffled beside the old Image laserdisc (released in the late 1980s), which featured a -literally! - room-shaking surround track, providing a level of reference that Anchor Bay's DVD doesn't even begin to approach. Strangely, AB's disc is also missing a number of significant music cues, sound effects and (apparently) some stray lines of dialogue which all appeared in the laserdisc edition.

Two things add insult to injury: First, the DVD's picture quality is ABSOLUTELY SUPERB - Anchor Bay has delivered an utterly stunning print of the film, and the Technovision frame is perfectly preserved on this anamorphic (2.35:1) disc. Secondly, there are dozens of reviews all over the Internet which praise the DVD's soundtrack for its strength and vitality, presumably written by people who are largely unfamiliar with the way it SHOULD sound. Frankly, their enthusiasm is completely baffling! Listening to the old laserdisc over this DVD is akin to having an obstruction suddenly removed from your ears - the difference is obvious and immediate. Perhaps the DTS version is better, I don't know, but the Dolby tracks are extremely poor and should never have been allowed onto the disc in this condition. What on earth were the guys at THX listening to when they approved this appalling travesty?!

Simply put, this disc represents only half the movie that Dario Argento intended you to experience. And if you ARE seeing the film for the first time and you think it sounds OK - believe me, you ain't heard nothing yet!