Customer Reviews

Suspiria

5 star:		(199)
4 star:		(84)
3 star:		(48)
2 star:		(43)
1 star:		(51)

 

 

The premise as most know a girl Suzy Banyon, an American ballet dancer arrives at a well known European dance academy run by mysterious teachers where nothing is as it seems. As Suzy arrives at night in a horrible thunder and lightening storm a girl is leaving in a frenzy yelling a secret into the night, what follows is as Entertainment Weekly calls "the most vicious murder scene ever filmed".

Director Dario Argento "paints" an effective horror story, he puts relatable people in relatable situations so we can buy into his film. Then very cleverly has dreamlike sets bursting with colors, we as viewers subconsciously know something isn't right and I believe this use of color subtly keeps us on edge. Even the title of the film, What is Suspiria? I googled it to find it is a film by Dario Argento, so even the title has us subconsciously unsure going in. Although I could be wrong on that. Then add an unrelenting, nerve wracking, and haunting score by Goblin (one of the most effective I've experienced). We enter with Suzy into this academy and we know something isn't right, we are experiencing what she is, it is like a dream and maybe nothing is wrong, and with the blink of an eye this dream becomes a nightmare, we can stop the dvd but what is Suzy going to do?

To upgrade or not to upgrade. The first set of features are also what you get on the single disc anchorbaby dvd still available for 10$.
Languages
English (DTS 6.1)
English (Dolby Digital 6.1)
English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Not available on the single disc
Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Features (All on Anchorbay single disc)
# Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
# DTS-ES Digital Surround
# Dolby Digital EX Surround
# Stereo

DISC 1 EXTRAS: (All on Anchorbay single disc)

* Theatrical Trailers
* TV Spot
* Radio Spots
* "Suspiria" Music Video By Daemonia
* Poster & Still Gallery
* Talent Bios

DISC 2 EXTRAS: (All new)

* "Suspiria" 25th Anniversary Interviews with Co-Writer/Director Dario Argento, Co-Writer Daria Nicolodi, Cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, Composers Goblin (Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli & Agostino Marangolo), and Stars Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini & Udo Kier
# French (Dolby Digital 2.0)

The transfer and the sound are going to be the same, if you didn't own any copy i would say this 2 disc version for 5$ more is the way to go, also if your an Argento fan or fan of the film, disc 2's features most likely will be worth it to you.
4.5 stars
Hope this helps..

For those of us who think that Wes Craven is the master of the horror genre, we can think again. I'm speaking these words after watching "Suspiria," one of the most frightening and terrifying horror movies ever made. Created by Italian director Dario Argento, the movie manages to be menacing and gory at the same time, and Argento fills his canvas with a vast array of vivid yet bizarre colors, eerie lighting and camera techniques, and a soundtrack to top all horror soundtracks. In short, this is one hell of a scary movie!

The plot is a basic one, more of a vehicle for Argento's explorative imagination. It begins with a storm, as young Susy Banyon (Jessica Harper) arrives in Germany to attend ballet school. Argento wastes no time in creating a sense of unease, from her cab ride to the school, as she watches the colors of street lights in the pouring rain, to the gruesome and outright malicious murder of a runaway student. All of this happens within the first ten minutes, which should be a message of what lies ahead (in other words, be prepared).

The movie then takes us to the school itself, a dazzling array of vivid colors and elaborate set pieces that put the house in Robert Wise's "The Haunting" to shame. Susy is shown the many rooms and introduced to the staff and students, though discovers that she will be rooming off campus. That is, until she begins to get suspicious about strange occurrences, and the staff relocates her to the premises. Her suspicions mount higher, and she begins to wonder if there isn't more to the ladies that run the academy.

You may find yourself forgetting the plot behind all of this mayhem, but that's perfectly reasonable, given the fact that Argento seems to be more interested in attacking our minds than provoking them. And he succeeds in doing just that, taking us into the darkest depths of horror with his adept use of gore, bursting colors, camera movements and creepy sounds from all around.

This is extremely unsettling stuff here, some of the most elaborate yet unbearable set pieces ever constructed for a film. The beginning murder sequence is a true shocker, one that we see coming, but never in such a gruesome manner. Other sequences involve a blind man being attacked by his own seeing-eye dog, multiple stabbings, a girl's corpse coming back to life... it never stops.

But it all works due to Argento's ability to get under our skin before shocking us out of it. Before each scene of brutality, there is a wonderful buildup of suspense and terror, because even though we know what's going to happen, we're totally in the dark as to how it will occur. He keeps us waiting impatiently by employing a slowly building soundtrack, heightened by slow camera movements that center on the faces of the person involved.

"Suspiria" will remain in the memory long after its first viewing; in fact, you may never forget it. It stands out as a visionary masterpiece, one for the senses and the mind, a horror film that transcends the boundaries of the genre. I was intrigued by every minute of this film, which keeps you in the moment long after it's already passed.

I first saw Suspiria a few years ago as a VHS rental but I couldn't remember too much about it. But suddenly, the world of Italian horror has been broken wide open so I picked up this three disk limited edition. Watching Suspiria is sort of like dreaming awake. Colored lighting is used to great effect and the sound track just sort of lulls one into submission. The plot makes about as much sense as a dream, that is to say, the movie all makes sense while watching but looses cohesion quickly once one returns to the "real" world. I think that is why I only remember watching the VHS rental but not too much of the movie.

The three disc set includes a newly made documentary and a Goblin soundtrack from the movie. The documentary suffers from subtitles that are sometimes washed out against a light background. Otherwise, it is informative. The Goblin CD is a lot fun to listen to and I find myself humming the main theme all the time. Unfortunately, I do not find a listing for the names of the songs. The main disk also includes trailers and radio spots and a Goblin music video of Demonia, which appears to be the main theme song.

What many claim is the definitive Dario Argento movie(some say "Deep Red" but I say this), has been put into a wonderful DVD. I waited for weeks for the limited edition. It was well worth the wait. The limited edition throws in everything, but the kitchen sink. While the laserdisc was in letterbox, the colors were washed out. Pity too, since that was they used a technique which enhanced the colors into a deeper, richer texture (in letterbox to show the entire picture). Thankfully, the DVD lets us see this wonderful enhancement beautifully. On the second disc, we see interviews with the filmakers and stars of the film. We also get a bit of a hint why we still haven't seen the conclusion of "Three Mothers" Trilogy. It also has an interesting interview of the composer of the bizarre music to the movie. The third disc is a CD soundtrack to the movie, which contains a terrific updated version of the theme song (a music video of the song is in the first disc). All in all, an excellent DVD set. Bravo to Anchor Bay!

If you've never seen a Dario Argento film and are curious as to why he has such a huge cult following, "Suspiria" is a great place to start finding out. The atmosphere Argento creates in the film fills you with such a sense of heavy dread, it's no wonder that he claims that this film and "Inferno" (an inferior but stylish follow-up) were exhausting to make. Most likely, he probably creeped himself out. "Suspiria" will make your skin crawl, even when nothing seems to be happening. Argento even makes falling rain seem disturbing. The film moves like a dream, and the Goblin soundtrack is haunting. This is the best, creepiest music I have ever heard in a horror film. The storyline is basic, as in most Argento films, and what moves the viewer is not the story (centering around a dancing-academy run by a coven of witches) but the style and dreamy-quality of Argento's directing. The gore is strong in this movie, so sensitive viewers beware. For any fan of good horror, this film is a must. If you've never seen Argento, now is a good time to start. And start with "Suspiria"!

There are two versions of Suspiria and only two. (Not including television, which I do not consider a version, and not including anything Dario Argenti might have in his closet). The one on the Magnum label, perhaps out of print, is the complete film. The one sold here is a tolerable version. Essentially the following scenes are of questionable completeness: do we have the full opening scenes murder of the girls in the Tanz Akadamie? No version shows a "heart being yanked out". A knife is thrust into a beating heart...hardly the same thing. Do we have the full scene of the blind man killed in the square? Do we have the full ending? The last of the three is indeed where editing most sorely hurts. This is somewhat odd since the first two gore scenes are the more shockingly violent. The ending of edited versions feels rushed compared to the rest of the movie, whose pace is refreshingly slow. I disagree vehemently with those who attack the writing and the plot. The plot makes perfect sense. Here are some clues to its meaning: Jessica Harper's character is not entirely innocent.

Having seen reviewers that compared Dario Argento to Alfred Hitchcock and Kafka, I rented "Suspiria" and settled down for what I hoped would be a great movie experience. Having watched it twice now, I'm STILL not sure what to think of it!!!

Hmmm...I think that if Dario Argento purposefully wanted to focus more attention on psychological terror, and less on story, I think he should have gone ALL the way with it. It's a stylish, freaky film, but there are STILL boring moments of exposition and plot (I mean, really, who cares about the dance school?!). I thought that the first 10 minutes or so of the movie were fantastic...from the atmospheric shots in the airport, the cab ride in the rain, to the first couple of murders, all accompanied by that insane music...absolutely ground-breaking and great. But then after that, it all slows down. There's the silly dressing-room scene ("people with names that begin with 's' are really snakes"), the dance practice scenes, the getting-to-know-the-staff scenes, etc. Pretty boring.

Either make the plot better, or GO FOR IT, and abandon plot exposition entirely. Go all the way with the surrealism, or learn how to write a better script and story. That's my view.

But I should say that I'm intrigued now, not only by this film, but by all the hype that surrounds Argento, his movies, and even his daughter. Looking at reviews for his other "masterpieces," I see frequent disclaimers about his convoluted and poorly executed plots, but he's still called the "Lovecraft of horror films." I saw his "Phantom of the Opera" and was shocked at how ridiculously HORRIBLE it was. I mean, really pathetic. I haven't seen "Deep Red" or "Inferno" yet, but they've GOT to be better than that!

In the end, "Suspiria" doesn't strike me as a "beautiful" "art" film...it's a supernatural slasher flick! But the music, strange sets, and weird, colored lighting do add up to a strangely satisfying horror experience, far more interesting than any of the "Friday The 13th" sorts of movies.

It's always interesting to me to hear people explain why they don't like Argento's movies. I've seen most of them at this point, and although a few of them aren't that special, the majority are at the very least excellent additions to the horror canon.

The defense of Argento you're most likely to hear is that the movies don't NEED to make perfect sense. What Argento has done is to create an atmosphere that is more dreamlike than grounded in reality. In that sense, they definitely have a more nightmarish feel than most horror movies, which tend to be bland, formulaic, or beholden to useless exposition.

Argento appeals to raw sensuality, primal fear, and the unsettling feeling of un-reality. And Suspiria is probably his most effective movie in this sense. The American prints of his movies have always been re-edited, cut, and underbaked. Anchor Bay has fixed this with their stunning series of Argento movies. Seeing this version of Suspiria was like seeing it for the first time. The color schemes are gorgeous, saturared, and haunting. The print is crisp. And perhaps most importantly, we can finally see the movie the way it was meant to be seen.

If you just can't turn off that analytic instinct when you watch his movies, maybe they just aren't for you. But if you want to take in an incredibly atmospheric horror film that plays with basic horror elements to produce something imaginative, strange and terrifying, then this is a must see. The movies DO make sense-- perfect sense, in fact. It just might not become clear on the first viewing. Like a bad dream, it can be loosely structured. But still plenty scary.

Fans are likely to rank Argento's movies in very different order, but Deep Red and Opera would probably rank pretty high on most people's lists, and I really enjoyed Phenomena and Tenebre as well. All of these are available from Anchor Bay. A lot of folks tend to write off Trauma, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Even the new Sleepless is worth seeing, but I went with the European version-- the American release does the usual job of re-editing, cutting and re-formatting Argento's original film. When will it end?

Every time that I watch this masterpiece I am reminded why I have named it the finest horror film ever made! This is the story of an American student who goes to Europe to attend a prestigious dance academy. From the time she arrives strange things keep happening which spark her curiosity. What she finds is that the academy is run by a coven of witches and lead by one of the three mothers. The story however, isn't all that important. It is the combination of camera movement, visuals and sountrack that set this movie apart from anything filmed before or since! Each scene leaves me breathless with is master strokes. Dario Argento proves that he is one of the finest directors of our time. Goblin creates a score which makes a cab ride in the rain a terrifying experience. If you have not seen this, run out right now and get the uncut version! Review taken from my movie review blog at [...]

"When a dream becomes a nightmare, the average dreamer just wants to wake up..." M.McDonagh.

Argento is pure genius.

Suspiria is a relentless, supernatural expressionistic vision.

A gorgeous nightmarish dream drenched in saturated colours.

Swirling, surreal, vivid, pulsating and sumptuous.

Forget the narrative, tune on the imagery and the details.

Our Lady of Darkness