Customer Reviews

La Sindrome di Stendhal

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've seen this movie only once, and only a couple of days ago, but details are becoming vaguer and vaguer in my mind. This is never a good sign. It was watchable, definitely, and it generated a very strong, surreal atmosphere throughout the first half, but it fails to go anywhere terribly interesting, and gets increasingly dull as the film goes along. It's still worth seeing if you're a fan of Dario Argento, but if you aren't there are a helluva lot of others films you need to see first.

The film stars Asia Argento as a detective on the track of a serial rapist/murderer, who becomes the victim said criminal shortly after she is succumbs to the Stendhal Syndrome.(i.e. a strong physical reaction to a piece of art. Fainting is the symptom in her case) There's not much of a plot-arc here, as after the setup it is just sort of a portrait of her life, as she takes a turn for the nutty after her experience, and is again victimized by the still at-large killer. Much of the early film is quite compelling, as Asia lives in a world somewhere between reality in fantasy, where she walks in and out of paintings, accompanied by Ennio Morricone's repetitive and haunting score. However, the more surreal aspects of the film are de-emphasized in the latter portions, and are, sadly, not replaced by increased plot development or action. And, even the effective earlier portions tends to be less effective than his Dario's best work. My problem with the second half is probably heightened by the fact that I stumbled across what happens at the end of the film before actually viewing it. However, this is true of most of the Argento films I've seen, and none of the others have faultered in the latter portions to nearly the same extent. Beyond this, the hints as to the conclusion of the film are so incredibly blatant that I suspect most viewers will have no difficulty figuring it out long before the ending, though I certainly couldn't say for certain.(I'm also perhaps a bit influenced some of the reviews I've read before hand, which said that it started pretty strong but got boring by the second half. But I kinda doubt this effected me too much. There just isn't anything of interest going on in most of the second half of the film.)

Many people have talked about how disturbing the rape-scenes in this film are. Personally I'm not affected by them much. I guess this is because rape is, presumably, most disturbing and painful from a psychological standpoint, and I just can't connect that way. But, lots of people are disturbed by them, so consider yourself warned. This is a different sort of thriller than most of Argento's most famous work, so there is less of an emphasis on the horror set-piece. What this comes down to is that there aren't any really effective horror or violence related scenes in the film. Most horribly, they use some absolutely hideous computer animation for some gore and other visual effects. If you can't afford decent CGI, don't use it, for God's sake!

The acting is a mixed bag, as usual. Asia is acceptable, if not amazing, other than in the scenes where she is supposed to be 'tough' which she can't pull of at all. The rapist is pretty good too, very creepy while still seeming more or less human. No one else in the film is worthy of particular mention.

As many have said, the DVD does look rather crappy, though it isn't quite as bad as I'd imagined considering just how maligned it is.(It's not far off, however) Still, if you're expecting something like the various Anchor Bay releases of Dario Argento's films your gonna be in for a nasty surprise.

Definitely subpar, but with enough effective aspects to make it worth checking out, it you're into this sort of stuff.

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME
[La Sindrome di Stendhal]

(Italy - 1995)

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital

Quite unlike anything Dario Argento has directed before, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME is a grimly realistic portrait of a female police officer (Asia Argento, essentially miscast) whose encounters with a sadistic rapist/serial killer (Thomas Kretschmann) have devastating consequences. Though distinguished by some truly horrific violence, played straight by Argento with few of his trademark stylistic flourishes, the film is much too languid for its own good, wasting a lot of valuable time on an otherwise laudable attempt to depict the long-term consequences of a vicious sexual assault on the central character. Furthermore, the harsh subject matter allows no room for levity, and the austere scenario is at odds with the sumptuous artwork that acts as a catalyst for the murderous proceedings. Asia's convulsive reactions to works of art (hence the ornate title) makes her a target for Kretschmann's psychopathic killer, allowing Argento to fill the screen with paintings, sculptures and beautiful objet d'art, which offsets the film's own lack of visual flair.

But there's a fierce intelligence underpinning the somewhat predictable scenario: When Asia de-emphasizes her femininity in response to the initial attack, only to re-establish her womanhood after a second assault in which she emerges the victor (or does she?), it becomes easier to forgive the painfully obvious surprises which clog up the final quarter. Only one scene recalls the best of Argento's work: A potential victim being stalked through a dimly lit room full of oversized marble statues, a brilliantly edited sequence which suggests everything and reveals nothing. Overall, "Stendhal" may not be vintage Argento, but it's too clever and too unsettling to be easily dismissed, and it gets under the skin like no other horror film in recent memory. See it and make up your own mind.

This movie is definately one of Argento's best. As usual the movie features Argento's masterful camerawork and artistic set design. The movie also features enough scares to satisfy any horror fan. Where this movie truly shines, however, is in it's pschological aspects. It is unberable at times to watch the tortures which Argento puts his daughter Asia through. After an intense first half, the movie shifts it's tone radically. Unbelieveably it becomes more disturbing. If not for a few cheesy cgi effects this would be a perfect movie. Still, if you can sit through it and keep your eyes on the screen, it would be hard to find a more rewarding film experience. Buy this movie today.

This certainly isn't one of Dario's classics, but the presence of Dario's daughter Asia in the central role, certainly raises the quality and interest of the film. She is a solid actor and good fun to watch on screen. Admittedly the plot is somewhat loose in parts, but this is typical of the Dario Argento style, and this movie certainly has the hallmarks of one of his films. There is a fair degree of blood and guts but nothing too torturous to get worked up about. I'd say it's about on par with most of his other efforts in this regard and perhaps a little less confronting. As others have mentioned the quality of the film on this DVD is quite poor. It looks very much like it was filmed on video rather than real film. The colours are washed out and the image is grainy rather than sharp. This is somewhat of an Achilles heel because Dario's movies draw much of their power from their vivid often somewhat surrealistic imagery. When you are watching a diminished copy like this, you just don't notice the cinematography. Hopefully, as others have said, a better copy is still to be released.

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 poor presentation. A big, fat ZERO for the disc. Hopefully, Blue Undergroud or Anchor Bay or Mondo Macabro will be able to obtain the rights soon and do this film justice.

When it came to the 90s a lot of horror filmmakers who had their rise to fame in the 70s and 80s were for some reason unable to make the transition into the 90s. In general most filmmakers don't get better with age they get worse. Of course there are always exceptions. I believe Dario Argento was one of the exceptions, well sort of. I think the 90s started off well for him, Trauma was a much underrated movie in my opinion. While you can see he was starting to lose it just a bit, he still made a solid movie.

The Stendhal Syndrome continues that; it's a movie by a director who reached greatness and is still hanging on to that. This is one of those movies that really stands-out in Argento's career; for starters The Stendhal Syndrome is a lot darker than his previous movies. It has more in common with a 70s exploitation flick than it does what Argento is known for. Like I said The Stendhal Syndrome is a lot darker than Argento's past movies and even at times feels a lot more real. Dario Argento was a filmmaker who really knew how to create a sense of dread and doom and while it doesn't always work here for the most part it has that feel through out.

The Stendhal Syndrome as I stated really does stand-out; at times it's almost like a different filmmaker and that is actually a very good thing. Argento strays from his formula of past movies and makes a very solid and in my opinion a much underrated movie in his brilliant career. While he does stray in parts there are also flashes of what made Dario Argento one of the most Iconic horror filmmakers of all time. The Stendhal Syndrome is labeled a Giallo and while it does have those elements it strays from the typical conventions of what a Giallo is.

The screenplay by Dario Argento was overall rather solid. A lot of people tend to forget that he is actually a good writer. If you go back and view his early work such as The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Deep Red they were very well written and while the only weakness in Argento as a filmmaker could possibly be seen as a writer he did manage to write some solid scripts. But really starting with Suspiria his scripts did start to lack. That isn't to say they were badly written, but they often lacked logic and it was Dario Argento the director that made those movies he did starting with Suspiria such brilliant horror movies.

Unlike some of his past movies, The Stendhal Syndrome is very character driven. While there are some murder scenes and some being very graphic the movie relies more on character moments rather than action and I think it was done rather well. Argento sort of took elements from his past movies, but mixed them up. By this time in his career I think that had to be done. He could have played it safe and done the typical Giallo, but I think that would have hurt the movie and suffered from the, been there, done that. In most Giallos it's about the murders and the investigation. But here in The Stendhal Syndrome the murders and investigation take a backseat and the primary focus is on Anna Manni played by Asia Argento.

Again even though I do think early in his career Argento was an excellent writer and than became a good writer his movies weren't really known for their characters. While he did create some interesting characters over his career when talking about his movies the characters often come last. But The Stendhal Syndrome is one movie where you'll probably mention the character of Anna Manni first.

On the visual side you know what to expect, while it's not Suspiria or Inferno, the movie still looks quite good from a visual side, but Argento seemed to tone down his normal style, which in this case I believe was a good thing. Argento just might be the best visual director to ever grace the silver screen. But in a movie like this I think Argento's visual style could possibly take away, so it was a wise move to downplay it. But there are many great visual moments; it's a Dario Argento film, but visually the movie is good, but it wasn't a movie to show off his visual style.

Don't go into The Stendhal Syndrome expecting the typical Argento movie; like I said this is quite different. There are a couple of murders, but they aren't the main star of the movie and actually there can be long stretches without one. The Stendhal Syndrome does move slowly in some areas, but I don't think it ever gets boring. I always say there is more to filmmaking than just story-telling. This is hard to explain without making Argento sound bad, but in general his movies weren't about story-telling at least as his career went on. But this time around he goes back to that and tells a story of Anna Manni who goes through some pretty horrific events and goes through this mental breakdown. It's all handled quite well and very believable.

Any fan of Italian horror knows that often enough the movies can sometimes be incoherent or slightly incoherent. Sometimes something will happen without an explanation or a plot twist that doesn't really seem to make a whole lot of sense. In the case of Argento, his movies can often be seen as a nightmare and I suppose it makes sense when things don't make sense. But The Stendhal Syndrome is very coherent and is as much a drama as it is a horror movie. The Stendhal Syndrome proves again Dario Argento can not only write, but tell a story.

The cast is pretty good led by Asia Argento. Most complaints is she looks to young to be a detective, while I guess that is true, I loved Asia in this movie and the way her character transforms from the first half of the movie to what she becomes in the 2nd half was believable and she does an excellent job at playing both. I just adore Asia Argento and despite some complaints I thought she was simply amazing. Thomas Kretschmann is pretty good as Alfredo Grossi the villain, but the movie wasn't really about him. I would have liked to have seen him have a little more screen time, but he does well in his role, which is quite pivotal to Asia's character. Marco Leonardi as Marco Longhi also delivers a good performance. All the cast members were pretty good actually and is probably one of the better acted movies done by Argento.

I also enjoyed how the movie changes in the 2nd half. It's sort of like 2 movies for the price of 1. The 2nd half the movie changes focus, but it doesn't feel out of place it actually works quite well. A lot of times when a movie changes focus in the 2nd half it barley works, but to Argento's credit he is able to mix it up and make everything work and work very well. The first half and the 2nd half both fit together, but the focus does change a bit.

In closing, The Stendhal Syndrome isn't a perfect movie there are some elements that come across as slightly silly, but as a whole the movie works very well and in my opinion this movie is much underrated by Argento fans. It was a slight change of pace and works well. After this though things would mostly go downhill for Dario Argento, but The Stendhal Syndrome, while not the best work in his career can stand proud next to his brilliant body of work.

Interestingly enough, 2004's The Card Player was originally meant to be a sequel, but when Asia Argento wasn't available it became its own movie. The lead character in The Card Player is named Anna Mari rather than Manni. Not sure how it would have worked, but interesting.

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.

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.

The problem with becoming a fan of someone or something is that objectivity goes out the window.You force yourself to like it even if deep in your heart you know it's dreck.You'll try to find anything(the soundtrack,a certain actor/actress,special fx)to force yourself to like it.In all honesty,and i do admire Argento's style,this film was uninspired,horrendously dubbed,stiffly acted,and the dvd transfer is probably one of the worst i have ever seen.If i didn't know any better,i would have thought this film was made in the late 70's or early eighties.The colors are flat and the cinematography is dull.There was no risk taking or originality evident here,something Dario prides himself in.A red flag was raised when i discovered that Troma Team handled the dvd transfer.Anchor Bay Ent. wisely took a pass on this film and with good reason.Argento should disassociate himself from them after this horrible effort.Even with a clean transfer the film is still his worst.Forget about extras,they would'nt even be worth a rental.Hopefully this trailblazing director can find his way again,or maybe his time has passed.Phantom of the Opera was a step in the right direction,but it still wasn't on a par with his earlier efforts.Don't say i didn't warn you.

Version: U.S.A / Blue Underground / Region Free
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / AACS
Running time: 1:59:31
Movie size: 37,70 GB
Disc size: 44,52 GB
Total bit rate: 42.07 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 33.01 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2611 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2611 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby TrueHD Audio English 1767 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 1767 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 448 kbps)
Dolby Digital EX Audio English 448 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Dolby Digital EX Audio Italian 448 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 448 kbps

Subtitles: English SDH / English
Number of chapters: 24

#Director interview: Dario Argento (SD - 20 min.)
#Inspiration: Interview with Psychological Consultant Graziella Magherini (SD - 20 min.)
#Special Effects: Sergio Stivaletti (SD - 16 min.)
#Assistant Director: Luigi Cozzi (SD - 22 min.)
#Production Designer: Massimo Antonello Geleng (SD - 23 min.)
#Trailer (SD - 1 min.)