Product Details

• Actors: Asia Argento, Cristian Solimeno, Adam James, Moran Atias, Valeria Cavalli
• Directors: Dario Argento
• Writers: Dario Argento, Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson, Simona Simonetti, Walter Fasano
• Producers: Dario Argento, Claudio Argento
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Weinstein Company
• DVD Release Date: September 23, 2008
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001AR0D6I
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,061 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Mother of Tears" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After waiting 28 years for the third feature in Dario Argento’s Mother trilogy, die-hard fans (like myself) flocked to theaters to catch Mother of Tears. The anticipatory set-up, for example reconciling in advance that the film will look entirely different, and probably less sexy, than the first two Giallo classics, Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980), induced anxieties in viewers that many of us hoped would enhance the film’s horror and suspense. So revered are Suspiria and Inferno that one needs an extremely open mind to avoid instantly turning Mother of Tears off, now that it’s available on DVD, and chucking the disc out the window, insulted by its comparison to the previous two movies. From scene one, in which a psychotic, villainous monkey stalks Asia Argento, playing protagonist Sarah Mandy, through Rome’s Natural History Museum, one realizes this film can only go downhill. Without the colored lights, the stylized 1970s horror aesthetic, or the terrifyingly fetishtistic speed metal/electronica soundtrack pounding during the chase, the mood is simply corny. Regarding the monkey, try to remember that an oddly elegant and intelligent crow ate an eyeball to great effect in Argento’s, Terror at the Opera. Argento has always favored animals to represent unwilling witnesses. The plot itself is also typically Argento and does follow-up: After a tainted red tunic is discovered in a cemetery, the third and last witch, Mother Lachrimarum (Moran Atias), is awaken from her catacombs beneath a mansion that she and her two deceased witch consorts, Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness/Shadows, and Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs, long ago recruited an architect to build. The Mother of Tears has beef with Sarah Mandy, due to Sarah’s heritage, and the unholy black witch relentlessly pursues Mandy until Mandy is forced to fight head-on. Mandy’s boyfriend, Michael Pierce (Adam James), is not much help, nor is Padre Johannes (Udo Kier), which makes sense; Argento’s films are all about empowered female characters, vengeful victims and ruthless criminals alike. Perhaps the flaw here is Argento’s casting of his daughter, and her inability to render that illicit sexual tension that the puerile Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) once did in the halls of her bewitched boarding school. Even Mother Lachrimarum’s young recruits, such as the Gothic and Lolita-style Katerina (Jun Ichikawa), are dumb-looking with their colored contacts and peacock hairstyles. There is only one character, the elder white witch Marta Colussi (Valeria Cavalli), who has the sexual draw to enchant Argento style, but she is short-lived. The CG effects employed throughout, especially in regards to the ghoulish antics happening amongst the Goth witch posse, are just plain bad. Only a few shots of gore really spook, and to be fair, they are lasting images. But the only semi-interesting this about the Mother of Tears DVD is the interview extra with the man himself, who is still master even if he makes a few stinkers. --Trinie Dalton

Product Description

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 09/23/2008 Rating: Ur

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Mother made me shed tears alright... tears of joy!, September 28, 2008

By 

D. Wilson "SonRisedInTheEast" (NY by way of Cali) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mother of Tears (DVD)

If there is one thing that two seasons of the often underwhelming TV series Masters Of Horror gave us, it was a rejuvinated Dario Argento. The Italian director delivered a pair of entries(Jenifer and Pelts) that stand not only as some of the best from the series, but also some of the best material(and most extreme) that he had done in nearly 10 years(Opera from 1987 being his last great work in my opinion), and showcased that he still had the ability to disturb and entertain. Gone was much of his famous trademarks-- inventive camerawork, use of heavy colored lighting, and artistic quirkiness; which were now replaced with more straightforward and solid pacing and scenes of shocking grue. With Mother Of Tears, Argento uses that same aforementioned formula from his Masters Of Horror episodes, except now stretched into full-length form AND used to complete his 28-years-in-the-making "mothers" trilogy of films(begining in 1977 with Suspiria, and it's sequel Inferno from 1980). The movie follows Sarah(poorly acted by Dario's own daughter Asia Argento), a museum worker who unwittingly unleashes the evil of the Mother of Tears on Rome when she opens an ancient cask... hijinx ensue and feature some of the Italian maestro's most excellent moments of depravity ever, including(but not limited to) stangulation by one's own intestines, baby cannibalism, and impalement(Cannibal Holocaust style!). Throw in some solid atmoshere, brisk pacing, tons of nudity(even some full-frontal for the gents), and a fantasic jump scare towards the middle of the movie(so good I had to watch it twice in a row), and we have a definite winner here(all that was missing was a soundtrack by Goblin). Between the joy of seeing Dario Argento's return from Hacksville(where Tobe Hooper and George Romero unfortunately still reside) and the amount of fun watching this provided, I have no choice but to deliver a rare 5 star rating... not to mention that I feel the film does catch some unnecassarily harsh critism due to Argento being the director; let's face it, if this was some nobody fresh out of film school he'd be heralded as the "next big thing" in horror cinema. Still, this isn't a true return to form for Argento as far as his classic style is concerned... it IS a return for Argento to making a great horror movie though(and that's a start right?)-- ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED!

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Suspiria, but a lot of fun., September 10, 2008

By 

Puzzle box "smockey_421" (Kuwait) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother of Tears (DVD)

There seems to be alot of mixed reviews for Dario Argento's Mother Of Tears, the latest conclusion to the trilogy of the three mothers which began with Susperia and followed up with Inferno. It's the type of film that you either love or hate, while the film wasn't exactly perfect I still thought it was quite enjoyable and very entertaining. The main reason why some people were complaining was because of the acting was horrible, I also agree with this but then again Argento's films are known for their bad acting so I'm already used to that and the storyline was incoherent and there were a couple of weak characters but what really makes this film great was the stylish cinematography and over the top death and gore scenes which were just amazing, there was some stuff in here that was truly shocking even for me and I didn't even expect that.
Dario Argento still knows how to create an artistic death scene, he definitely has not lost his touch. I honestly thought it was way better than most of his recent stuff. And to think that some Argento fans were disappointed by this, the film was great but it did have a few flaws but all these flaws aside I have to admit that it was his best film in years. Anyway the film was about a mysterious urn, which is dug up during an excavation. The urn is then sent to Rome Italy for study where an archeologist named Sarah (Asia Argento) gets her hands on the mysterious object and proceeds to study it alongside her friend Giselle. However when Giselle is brutally murdered before Sarah can even start the background check on the artifact, she begins to realize that something sinister lurks within the urn and it has it's sights set specifically on her. Terror and chaos is unleashed upon Rome and Sarah who is very skeptical of the occult discovers that she has some exceptional powers. After witnessing a grizzly murder, the ominous kidnapping of a friend's son and a group of witches that seem intent on killing her, she goes on a quest to find the cause behind the madness and discover the extent of her powers. The plot might sound cheesy but its not, the film had a very weird and dark atmosphere and it had a couple of creepy and horrific scenes that are guaranteed to satisfy any hardcore Argento fan. Theres this one scene that starts off at the beggining of the film where Gisele who is Sarah's friend gets disembowled then gets strangled by her own intestines while being stabbed repeatedly in the mouth and stomach and its all shown in graphic detail, that basically shows how gory this film is. There is also a short but amusing cameo from Udo Kier as a priest who helps out Sarah.
Mother Of Tears definitely feels and looks like an Argento film. It has the Italian setting, the use of some Italian dialogue and alot of bloody moments. Then there's also the strange, creepy and weird moments which Argento is famous for adding into his brand of horror films. The story of the movie is intriguing and very eerie, as it follows the third witch of the "Mother" series The Mother Of Tears, a witch who thrives and derives her powers from the pain, suffering, and death of others. Along with the power to drive people to murder, suicide, and madness she also has many followers, including a group of witches. As you'll see in the film most of these witches have really bad hair and makeup and some of their acting was way over the top and laughable. Anyway the film was definitely worth while and was nicely shot with some great atmosphere and locations and plenty of memorable scenes in it making this one of Dario Argento's best although Asia's acting could have been alot better, I highly recommend this to Italian horror fans check it out.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A (Semi?) Solid Return To Form, September 30, 2008

By 

J. McHenry "Lit Nerd" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mother of Tears (DVD)

Ten reasons to like this film: the soundtrack by Simonetti is great; the credits are beautiful; the cinematography is often gorgeous even on DVD; Asia's performance is solid; the Mother, while no actress, is very hot; it has Udo Kier; the street witches are uniquely Argento; the ape is cool; the script is more coherent than haters claim; and Fulci's effects man worked on it! Also, it's never boring and much better than Argento's TV work. And Daria Nicolodi is back, if unrecognizable. So see it. As for the Vid Watchdog attack on MOT, they seem to have forgotten that the third mother enjoys cruelty; it's her theme. Also, they give Suspiria a pass when its script is little better, and Inferno is mostly a (delicious) disaster. Their claims of misogyny are problematic. If audiences don't feel the characters are in danger, where's the scare? Gratuitous cruelty (and stupidity, in comedies) is inevitable when movies compete to be the latest and greatest. (Welcome to Capitalism, folks. I guess you thought it couldn't have a downside.) The point of horror "art" is to explore the dark stuff on purpose - safely, from a distance. So when the Mother licks up a dying woman's tears, that ties in to the "mother of tears" title pretty well, don't you think? The lack of crane shots or primary colored sets is an intentional step away from his old style, says the director. So no points detracted there. Who knows - or cares - why some are so upset about the monkey. Isn't it enough for it to be weird and unexpected? That fits nicely with the characterization of Argento as a sort of Surrealist. Sure, there are plenty of sloppy moments here. And beautiful ones, too. But watch again for when Asia discovers the lair of the Mother - if you don't think that lighting is intentional, and very cool, you probably can't be won over to the Argento camp. So: no masterpiece, but plenty of bizarre and suprising stuff to keep us happy.