Suspiria

Italy / 1977 Directed by Dario Argento Starring Jessica Harper Stefania Casini Joan Bennet Color / 98 Minutes / Not Rated Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC / 3-disc set) Anchor Bay Entertainment

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2007 Blue Underground Edition

		Review by Brian Lindsey

10     10   10 = Highest Rating

The most anticipated horror DVD since the advent of the digital format is finally here, and well worth the wait.     Absolutely gorgeous to look at — and scary as hell — Suspiria is Italian director Dario's Argento's masterwork. With its dream-like narrative, experimental music score, stylized production design and meticulously crafted visual compositions, the film creates a world of beauty within a story of occult mystery and savage violence. Suspiria is a feast for the senses, an unparalleled symphony of light, color, shadow and sound. It is the Horror Film as Art.     American ballet student Suzy Banyon (Harper) arrives on a portentously dark and stormy night in Freiburg, Germany to attend the prestigious Tanz Akademie of Dance there. As a taxi deposits her at the academy's entrance she sees a young woman in the doorway, yelling something over the storm's noise to an unseen person within. The woman takes off into the night, running into the rain-drenched woods. Next day, as Suzy establishes herself at the school, she learns that the girl she saw that first night was brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. She also begins to realize that there's something distinctly odd about the school's faculty...     Further plot details aren't really necessary. If you've never seen the waking fever-dream that is Suspiria then it's best to experience it first-hand. The plot isn't that important to the film's impact, anyway — story and characterization have never been Argento's strong suit; aesthetics are. And what aesthetics! Suzy, by stepping through the ominous, ornately-appointed portals of the Tanz Akademie, falls down an Alice in Wonderland rabbit-hole into a nightmare world of the supernatural. The dreamscape constructed for her (and us) by Argento, cinematographer Luciano Tovoli and composers Goblin is nothing short of astonishing: frightening and beautiful in equal measure. Much like a character's reaction to art in another Argento film (1996's The Stendhal Syndrome), if the viewer can latch onto Suspiria's particular vibe then he or she may well be transported within it. A scary, unsettling ride to be sure, but one well worth taking.     I think it's one of the greatest horror films ever made, probably the best ever shot in color. Don't dare miss it. (Beware: If violence and gore put you off then you won't get past the first 15 minutes. This isn't Argento's most violent or gruesome flick — not by a long shot — but the first murder set-piece is quite brutal. What makes it so unsettling is not the onscreen mayhem itself, but that it's so meticulously, even beautifully rendered.)

Anchor Bay's presentation of Suspiria in a 3-disc "Limited Edition" set is simply surperb. A thick booklet of liner notes is included, along with a chapter insert card and a packet of nine lobby card reproductions. The film itself, contained on Disc 1, is the absolute best widescreen transfer of Suspiria I've ever seen. Colors are astonishingly vivid, finally seen (on home video) as Argento and Tovoli intended. Razor sharp — no pun intended — the movie looks like it was made yesterday. And the sound! To hear Suspiria with a painstakingly remastered Dolby Digital Surround audio track was literally a visceral experience.     In addition to the film itself, Disc 1 also features the international and U.S. versions of the trailer, American TV and radio spots, a poster/still gallery, talent bios of Dario Argento, Jessica Harper and co-screenwriter Daria Nicolodi, and a supremely cheesy music video of Goblin member Claudio Simonetti's band Daemonia performing a cover version of the film's famous main theme.     Disc 2 contains an in-depth, 52-minute documentary on the making of the film, Suspiria: 25th Anniversary — pure ambrosia for Argentophiles. In addition to extensive comments by Argento and stars Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, and Udo Kier, cinematographer Tovoli, co-writer Nicolodi and the members of Goblin weigh in with their impressions and anecdotes. This is one of the best "making-of" documentaries I've seen to date, nicely compiled and edited by people who obviously love and respect the film. (Harper, Kier and Simonetti speak in English; the others in Italian with easy-to-read subtitles. Casini, who played the doomed Sara in Suspiria, is particularly entertaining with her vivacious and melodramatic conversational style. Italian is a marvelous-sounding language for this!) The quality of Suspiria: 25th Anniversary more than compensates for the absense of an audio commentary, which is always problematic with foreign films anyway.     Finally, the third disc in the set is an audio CD of Goblin's groundbreaking music for the film. Will I ever be able to get this score out of my head? Doubtful.     In short, Anchor Bay has done a superlative job here. Those who know and love the film will cherish this release. For those discovering the mystery and dark magic of Suspiria for the first time... well, be prepared to get blown away. 9/10/01

UPDATE The 3-disc Limited Edition reviewed here went OOP in 2006. In September 2007 Blue Underground is releasing a 2-disc version (no soundtrack CD) that is otherwise identical except for the cover art and printed supplements. BU is also reissuing two other Argento titles formerly distrubuted by AB: Cat O'Nine Tails (1970) and Opera (1987).

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