Suspiria
What?
The night is dark and stormy when Suzy Banyon’s (Jennifer Harper) flight arrives in Germany, she is there because she wants to further her career as a dancer by getting the best ballet training possible at the Freiberg Dance Academy. On her way to the Prestige Academy Suzy encounters an unhelpful taxi driver, and is greeted at the door by a frantic student, seemingly fleeing for her life. These incidents prove to be bad omens as the next day Suzy learns that the girl she saw has been murdered; the creepy school and the weird teachers do little to calm her nerves; but will Suzy’s investigations reveal the secret behind the strange shenanigans, and will she survive the ordeal to tell the tale?
The passing of time is not always kind to older movies, niggles that were no doubt apparent at the time; somehow seem to be exaggerated and more obvious, even humorous, in the here and now. The look - Fashion and hairstyles - is the most obvious example, but also production values and effects can date a movie horribly, as well as script contrivances - what we may have swallowed thirty years ago, we are apt to roll our eyes at today. Time cannot be used as an excuse for bad acting though and Suspiria is guilty, along with the above problems, of its fair share of plank like performances. Now, having said all of that Dario Argento's seminal seventies screamer is still the Grand Daddy of modern horror. Almost thirty five years on it still, some how, has the same power to shock and disturb as it did on release. Argento and his cinematographer Luciano Tovoli create a fantastically theatrical, almost operatic look - all acute angles and primary colours. The editing pulls the viewer all over the place, from extreme close up, to long shot, creating an unsettling atmosphere that is built upon by the incredibly effective score by experimental German rock outfit - Goblin. There are jumps and gore and even though the blood is of the luminous bright red variety and about as realistic as squirting tomato ketchup over the screen, it works within the context, look and style of the film. Everything feels creepy and weird, from the grotesque looking teachers, check out the knashers and crazy eyes on Miss Tanner, to the gothic, and yet garishly coloured buildings and interiors of the school. The plot is simple, but effective, building to a climax that involves our young heroine venturing into dark rooms that no body in their right mind would approach in reality. The performances, as mentioned, in the main are static, not helped by some barely serviceable dialogue, but Jessica Harper manages to shine, lifting Suzy from just a running and screaming turn, into a good solid character. Her innocent waif like qualities, making it easy for an audience to root for her, had me wondering why she didn't go on to have a more successful acting career. It is hard to explain precisely why the movie is so effective, the combination of all the individual elements result in an experience in terror that just works and one that will stay with you long after the end credits have rolled.
Optics:
Suspiria, at times, looks like it was filmed yesterday. For a movie that is nearly thirty five years old the image is simply stunning. One of the last movies to be filmed using the expensive Technicolor process, the colour reproduction is spot on, the primary hues bathing each scene adding a dream like quality to the rich transfer. It is not perfect, one or two shots, sometimes in an otherwise great looking scene, jump out with some visible grain or fuzziness, but these are few and far between - the blind man being escorted from the bar being one that springs to mind. However, on the whole detail and clarity is exceptional, and had me almost shaking my head in disbelief at how good things looked - for my money, especially bearing in mind the age of the source material, this is one of the best looking Blu-rays available.
Sonics:
Like the presentation, the soundtrack has no right to sound as good as it does. The Goblin’s score is exactly what a horror soundtrack should be - from the howls and screams, to the stripped down rhythmic drumming, to the spine tingling synth - it is an unsettling, sometimes thrilling experience. Dialogue is, in the main, clear and locked to centre, although the inherent synch issues still remain - Argento recorded almost all of the dialogue in post. Most of the action comes from the front sound field, but the room is filled to almost unbearable levels at times, elevating the on screen action to fever pitch.
Extras:
The extras, aside from the commentary, are something of a let down. The Cine Excess presentations are informative, though somewhat dated, and it would have been nice to have some new material and fresh views from contemporary voices on one of the most influential horror movies ever made. The commentary is not by Argento, but instead we have the pleasure of movie Journalist and horror enthusiast Kim Newman’s and Suspiria expert Alan Jones’ company, and I have to say that the track is one of the most informative and enjoyable commentary's I have ever heard, saving the day for the, otherwise, mediocre extras set.
Well?
Any horror fan worth his or her salt should have Suspiria in their collection. The Blu-ray is the best presentation of the movie you can get and, despite a far from exhaustive set of extras, should be purchased immediately regardless of whether you already own a copy or not, because until you see it in high definition, you haven't really seen it.
Kris Williams
The night is dark and stormy when Suzy Banyon’s (Jennifer Harper) flight arrives in Germany, she is there because she wants to further her career as a dancer by getting the best ballet training possible at the Freiberg Dance Academy. On her way to the Prestige Academy Suzy encounters an unhelpful taxi driver, and is greeted at the door by a frantic student, seemingly fleeing for her life. These incidents prove to be bad omens as the next day Suzy learns that the girl she saw has been murdered; the creepy school and the weird teachers do little to calm her nerves; but will Suzy’s investigations reveal the secret behind the strange shenanigans, and will she survive the ordeal to tell the tale?
The passing of time is not always kind to older movies, niggles that were no doubt apparent at the time; somehow seem to be exaggerated and more obvious, even humorous, in the here and now. The look - Fashion and hairstyles - is the most obvious example, but also production values and effects can date a movie horribly, as well as script contrivances - what we may have swallowed thirty years ago, we are apt to roll our eyes at today. Time cannot be used as an excuse for bad acting though and Suspiria is guilty, along with the above problems, of its fair share of plank like performances. Now, having said all of that Dario Argento's seminal seventies screamer is still the Grand Daddy of modern horror. Almost thirty five years on it still, some how, has the same power to shock and disturb as it did on release. Argento and his cinematographer Luciano Tovoli create a fantastically theatrical, almost operatic look - all acute angles and primary colours. The editing pulls the viewer all over the place, from extreme close up, to long shot, creating an unsettling atmosphere that is built upon by the incredibly effective score by experimental German rock outfit - Goblin. There are jumps and gore and even though the blood is of the luminous bright red variety and about as realistic as squirting tomato ketchup over the screen, it works within the context, look and style of the film. Everything feels creepy and weird, from the grotesque looking teachers, check out the knashers and crazy eyes on Miss Tanner, to the gothic, and yet garishly coloured buildings and interiors of the school. The plot is simple, but effective, building to a climax that involves our young heroine venturing into dark rooms that no body in their right mind would approach in reality. The performances, as mentioned, in the main are static, not helped by some barely serviceable dialogue, but Jessica Harper manages to shine, lifting Suzy from just a running and screaming turn, into a good solid character. Her innocent waif like qualities, making it easy for an audience to root for her, had me wondering why she didn't go on to have a more successful acting career. It is hard to explain precisely why the movie is so effective, the combination of all the individual elements result in an experience in terror that just works and one that will stay with you long after the end credits have rolled.
Optics:
Suspiria, at times, looks like it was filmed yesterday. For a movie that is nearly thirty five years old the image is simply stunning. One of the last movies to be filmed using the expensive Technicolor process, the colour reproduction is spot on, the primary hues bathing each scene adding a dream like quality to the rich transfer. It is not perfect, one or two shots, sometimes in an otherwise great looking scene, jump out with some visible grain or fuzziness, but these are few and far between - the blind man being escorted from the bar being one that springs to mind. However, on the whole detail and clarity is exceptional, and had me almost shaking my head in disbelief at how good things looked - for my money, especially bearing in mind the age of the source material, this is one of the best looking Blu-rays available.
Sonics:
Like the presentation, the soundtrack has no right to sound as good as it does. The Goblin’s score is exactly what a horror soundtrack should be - from the howls and screams, to the stripped down rhythmic drumming, to the spine tingling synth - it is an unsettling, sometimes thrilling experience. Dialogue is, in the main, clear and locked to centre, although the inherent synch issues still remain - Argento recorded almost all of the dialogue in post. Most of the action comes from the front sound field, but the room is filled to almost unbearable levels at times, elevating the on screen action to fever pitch.
Extras:
The extras, aside from the commentary, are something of a let down. The Cine Excess presentations are informative, though somewhat dated, and it would have been nice to have some new material and fresh views from contemporary voices on one of the most influential horror movies ever made. The commentary is not by Argento, but instead we have the pleasure of movie Journalist and horror enthusiast Kim Newman’s and Suspiria expert Alan Jones’ company, and I have to say that the track is one of the most informative and enjoyable commentary's I have ever heard, saving the day for the, otherwise, mediocre extras set.
Well?
Any horror fan worth his or her salt should have Suspiria in their collection. The Blu-ray is the best presentation of the movie you can get and, despite a far from exhaustive set of extras, should be purchased immediately regardless of whether you already own a copy or not, because until you see it in high definition, you haven't really seen it.
Kris Williams
Director:
Dario Argento
Starring:
Jennifer Harper
Joan Bennett
Alida Valli
Best line:
Tagline:
"The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of this film, are the first 92."
Description:
Nouveaux Pictures
UK
Region free
Rated 18
1Hr 44 Mins
2.35:1
AVC/MPEG4
Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English
Subtitles: Eng
'Fear at 400 degree’s'
'Suspiria Perspectives'
Audio commentary by Kim Newman and Alan Jones
Ratings: (Out of 10)
Film 10.0
Optics 9.0
Sonics 8.0
Extras 7.0
Overall 9.0
