Suspiria
 

Suspira... I keep seing this movie mentioned and have heard of it but don't know much about it... do you think it would be worth it to just go ahead and buy it? Becuase no where near me is there a video store that has it for whatever reason.

I guess it depends on what sort of movies you like. However this film is regarded as one of the classics of the genre, and regularly features on "Top X Horror Films" lists.

I think it is a very good movie and a must for any well-rounded horror collection.
If you are a horror fan and haven't seen it, it is definately worth seeing - even if it is just so that you know what everyone is talking about in the Best Of.. lists. :)

i think its safe to say buy it immediately. its the best work by one of horrors foremost directors. as with all of argento's work you have to be tolerant of the dubbing. then, if you like it you can get inferno and the third mother when its released. these are the sequels.

One of my favorites but I'm not sure I'd recommend it without first knowing whether the potential buyer is open to older foreign films.

One of the older members here described it as "Fashion Horror" a long while ago. You'll get a mixed bag of opinions about it as always. I personally think it deserves its status among the horror greats, even if it is style over substance. I'm not sure I've seen a lot of movies more visually pleasing.

It is a great film, and a must-watch. You should at least see it, and then decide if you want to purchase it or not. But I think Suspiria is a must -have in every horror lover's collection.

Yeah...buy it.

Even if you don't like it, you should at least be able to appreciate the artistry. It's a Technicolor nightmare that doesn't need to make sense to be affecting.

Thanks guys. I think I am just going to go ahead and buy it.

Buy it!



It's dirt cheap at Deep Discount.$4.99 I think?

Even if you do not love it, you will get your money's worth from the last 20 minutes... buy it...

not to mention the first 20

Well I made the purchase, loved the movie and now am on the hunt for Inferno.

Opera and Tenebre are really cool as well

which 'opera'?

http://imdb.com/title/tt0093677/

this one

i see. my copy is called terror at the opera. i'm in the middle of watching it. so far so good. like suspiria its visually stunning. i'll finish watching it tonight.

Hmm... Well let me know how it is I was hesitant when I first heard about it but the more I get into Argento's work the more I want to see every film he has had a hand in.

heres my list of argentos and i can honestly say i'd recommend all but trauma: suspiria, tenebrae, profondo rosso, the cardplayer, stendhal syndrome, sleepless, trauma, the church, terror at the opera, the phantom of the opera, demons, two evil eyes. i hope i'm not patronising you but many of his movies are 'giallo'. the genre of italian, violent, murder thrillers. you should seek recommendations for other movies in this genre if you enjoy some of his other work. suspiria isn't a giallo and many giallo directors frown on their movies being termed horror but they are good quality none the less.

What have you seen so far?

Well at the moment I have only seen Demons 1,2, and 3, Suspiria, and Deep Red. I must say though I have loved it all with the exception of Demons 3... I enjoyed it and all just no where near as much as the first two. I also just recently have "discovered" Italian cinema and just got done watching Fulci's Zombie, and finally got to see the infamous "Zombie vs. Shark" scene. Although at this moment in time I am on the hunt for Inferno. Any suggestions for what I should watch afterwards?

cannibal holocaust, predictably. the house by the cemetery and city of the living dead. those are the only non argentos i have excluding the zombie flesh eaters trilogy

Hmm alright thanks

I just watched Suspiria. It was good but i found my self noticing the color choices a lot in this one . Like the psychiatrist with the green jacket and all the green plants and the green building it was interesting then it seemed to getr more gray when the other older man steps in. Not much of a body count though. I remember reading that the uncut version was not available in the USA is this still true? I got this copy from Netflix

Suspiria is my favourite Argento movie.

I also love Inferno. But I have not seen the last movie in his trillogy yet: La Terza madre (the third mother). has any of you seen it?



I can highly recoment to get the soundtrack from Suspiria, composed by Goblin.

the third movie is called Mother of Tears over here in the States. I live in nowheresville, so I hafta wait for the dvd to see it. and I know at least one of the guys involved in Goblin did the soundtrack for it as well.

I'm also waiting for it to come on dvd. but I probably have to buy it online.
Perhaps I should get the soundtrack for La Terza madre too. :rolleyes:

The one aspect of the Argento films that of which I was not aware was the lack of attention to story. Zwoti was the one that had to point that out ot me. The focus is one cinematography, the mood, the sounds, the music, et al. So, keeping that in mind, my second go round with these films was much better received. I could get a better taste for their dark and bloody beauty.

I think Suspiria is the best example of the beautiful synesthesia, but lack of attention to plot thing. It really shines visually, but the acting and plot are very so-so, even for Argento. Inferno makes less sense, but I still think it's better, because it more clearly makes the point that it's to be experienced intuitively.

I definitely agree, Doc. I saw Suspira for the first time on Thursday and I have to say that I found it slightly overrated.

Suspira is beautiful; the sets, color and symmatry, and the meticulous direction definitely gives you an idea where Kubrik got a lot of his inspiration.

And even though there isn't a HUGE body count, I thought that the death scenes were INCREDIBLY gory and well-done (esecially gory for the time that the movie came out), BUT there is the typical Italian art-house red paint at times, and the end was incredibly contrived.

I'll have to see more Argento.

Agreed. After my first viewing I though to myself "Well I'm gonna have to find Inferno, see if the plot makes more sense."

I bought Suspiria about a week ago though, and have since watched it so many times that it's death scenes are losing their "umph", I used to shake so badly every time I watched it. I recently watched Deep Red and Suspiria one after the other and got more of a reaction from the guy getting his teeth smashed in Deep Red than any of Suspiria so I'm gonna have to put it away for a few weeks, see if there's any improvement. I still love how artsy it is though.

Suspiria scared the yell out of me, and it looks great, but I haven't revisited it many times. The reason I liked Deep Red so much more is that it delivers all the atmosphere and the stylish visuals, but there's a strong story at the core. I feel Deep Red satisfies on more levels. It's also got a cute love story (!). Deep Red has a lot of...WHOOPAH!!

Suspira actually didn't scare me at all. I was a little *uncomfortable* at times (obviously the purpose - kudos, Argento!), but never really scared. I thought that the music was definitely too much, and now that I've seen Tenebre (TALK about an overrated film - While we're on the subject, if someone could PLEASE explain the merits of Tenebre to me, I would appreciate it... Because I thought... It was... Just... Bad), I think that Argento puts a LOT of stalk in what I consider obnoxious and ultimately obtrusive music. Scenes that should have been *spooky* just... weren't (more so with Tenebre than with Suspira). The sound quality of Suspira, however, was just... Poor. I thought that at times the dialogue did not match up with the actors lips and I felt as though I was watching a poorly dubbed film. It definitely removed me from the horror and I just... wasn't... scared.

Oh I have a quick Deep Red question for anyone. Did I just get a crappy copy of this film or was the dubbing really messed up. Kept going from English to Italian when it probably shouldn't have. I understand the German at times, because the one lady spoke German but what was with the English to italian, dubbed to subtitled thing?

No, no, no, you did not get a crappy copy--you got the BEST English language version there is.

What you are seeing is the extended Italian cut of the film. Some scenes were never dubbed in English for American release, and are presented in Italian with English subtitles. This is basically the geek version of the film, for completists whose primary movie-viewing language is English but who want to see the longest cut of the film.

I have the Suspiria soundtrack and I have to disagree with you on the audio side of the film. Goblin put together a truly unnerving soundtrack with subtle noises being chased by booming music and a collision of sound that had me rewinding the film during my first viewing just to hear parts of the songs again. From Suspiria, to Tenebre, to Dawn of the Dead I think it's a real treat to hear Goblin in a movie.

I was waiting to hear from someone who liked the music. Despare - PLEASE join the Tenebre thread (because I'd like to hear from people who actually liked the film).

I thought that the music worked better in Suspira and Dawn of the Dead than it did with Tenebre (I thought that the scene with the blind man and his dog was absolutely brilliantly done - definitely creepy and chilling), but most of the other scenes I thought that the music was a distraction.

Do you generally like a lot of music to build mood in horror movies? Or do you just like Goblins in particular?

I'm a fan of GOOD music in horror films simply because there are so many that throw in licensed crap and it makes me sick. Anyway, as far as Tenebre goes, I would join the thread but I thought it was mediocre, especially when compared to Suspiria, Deep Red, and The Bird With Crystal Plumage... all of which I found to be more enjoyable.

Thank you very much. I just thought I got a bad copy because I bought it for a dollar.

As for the music in Suspiria, I loved it. Not once did it take away from the film as far as I'm concerned. Especially when people were running through the halls of the school, the music was an excellent addition to the already creepy atmosphere of the movie.

i do like Argento's work .. but Suspiria is probably my least favorite (my favorite is Deep Red)

i think it's silly and the idea of a witch just doesn't frighten me in the least.
(looked like an applehead doll)

that being said - the score is another great work by Goblin.

I have the limited 3 disc edition of this and got it signed by Argento when i met him - which increases the rarity - but i sort of wish i had gotten Deep Red signed instead.

me too, definitely. although i love tenebre quite a bit as well.

wow, lucky. that's pretty great.