Opera | Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson | The last of Dario Argento's great movies

Opera | Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson | Opera

DVDs:

Opera

	Opera Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson Blue Underground, 2007 average customer review:based on 71 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

When a young opera singer takes over the leading role in an avant-garde presentation of Verdi s Macbeth she triggers the madness of a crazed fan who repeatedly forces the diva to watch the brutal murders of her friends. Will the woman s recurring nightmare hold the key to the identity of this psychopath or does an even more horrific evil lay waiting in the wings?The legendary Dario Argento (DEEP RED SUSPIRIA) co-wrote and directed this savagely stunning thriller featuring some of the most shocking sequences of the maestro s entire career. Previously available in the U.S. only in heavily edited form this horror classic has now been restored from original Italian vault materials and is presented uncut uncensored and loaded with Extras.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 827058106498 Manufacturer No: BU1064

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The last of Dario Argento's great movies

Following an accident involving the female lead, Betty makes her singing debut in an operatic production of "Macbeth". However, as everyone knows, "Macbeth" is cursed, and a psychotic fan surfaces, whose idea of fun is to tie Betty up and force her to watch him murder her co-workers. Will Betty solve the mystery and find the killer before he strikes again?

Many fans of Dario Argento believe that he was at his peak during the period between "Deep Red" and "Opera", making this the last of Dario Argento's great works. It's not as good as "Deep Red" or "Suspiria", both of which are considered to be his masterpieces; the plot is slightly confusing in places and I have yet to see a film that is as visually stunning as "Suspiria". Nevertheless, it is still an excellent film, and if "Deep Red" and "Suspiria" did not exist, this would probably be considered to be a masterpiece.

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Opera

This film reminds me of The Phantom of The Opera, then the killings begun. Ive got a quick question for anyone who knows this film- in the original version is there really heavy metal during the killing scenes? Its funny because you hear opera music and then metal as soon as the killings start. I enjoyed the first killing and the movie was enjoyable overall. I recommend this to fans who like the opera and horror films-if there is such a demigraphic.

2.75 STARS: Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

There's nothing quite like Dario Argento's movies. It never ceases to amaze me how Argento is able to make a movie out of someone's worst nightmare, and that is essentially what the audience gets in the 1987 Argento movie, "Opera". I have wanted to see this movie for some time, but I just never got around to it. Argento's movies are the kind that can be tedious but very rewarding at the same time. "Opera", similar to "Tenebre", is not a "pure" horror movie so much as it is a mystery-horror hybrid. However, there is no question that horror elements are clearly present as is the case with "Tenebre". With that undeniable Argento flavor, "Opera" starts off as a strange dream and ends up as a nightmare which creates discomfort and horror in the audience while also being suspenseful and entertaining which should be the goal of any horror movie. While the viewer has to stay with the "Opera" and work through the beginning, as with many of Argento's movies, it pays off in the end.

"Opera" is about a girl who gets lucky and receives a part as Lady Macbeth in a major opera called "Macbeth". However, as the characters note, "Macbeth" is an unlucky opera. Indeed, people start dying in "Opera", but the killer does more than just kill people as he is also interested in making someone suffer while he does it. In the interest of not giving anymore away than that, suffice it to say that the plot, while more cohesive than most of Argento's movies, does contain some grey areas. It seems that Argento wanted the audience to draw its own conclusions in spots where most movies attempt to rationalize things.

Regardless, Argento's movies are notoriously weak on plot and rich in style. Such is the case to a certain extent with "Opera" although not nearly to the extent of other Argento movies like "Suspiria" and "Inferno" (which are my two favorite Argento movies). In fact, I would argue that Argento's plot in "Opera" is more understandable and coherent than most of his other movies. However, some of the style points seemed to be sacrificed in this movie as well. In "Opera", we do not have as much of the haunting imagery and music that we get in some of his other movies. Still, with that being said, Argento's strange and haunting use of ravens and dreams help to accentuate the horror that the audience has come to know and love in Argento's movies. As is usually the case with Argento's films, we get a lot interesting kills/death scenes including a lot of blood and gore to go with it. I thought the blood and gore was pretty good in this movie and used effectively and efficiently.

While we do not quite have the kills of the grandeur in "Opera" that we get in "Suspiria", "Inferno", or "Tenebre", the savvy viewer will notice that most of Argento's use of blood and gore and the death scenes in general in all of his movies are largely incidental to the real horror of the story and atmosphere of the movie itself. Unlike many of today's directors and their modern horror movies, Argento always succeeds as using blood and gore as an incidental mechanism to increase horror in the audience, and not as his only means of producing horror. In other words, Argento does not use blood and gore as his only vehicle to create horror, but it is the setting, suspense, the situation, the story and the horrifying atmosphere that Argento employs that are actually scary. Consequently, the killing in and of itself is scarier than it would be without the dreamlike atmosphere and tension build up that Argento uses to effectuate horror. Therefore, when the violence, blood and gore actually occur, there is already a foundation for the horror upon which the kill scenes work to magnify and/or accentuate such horror. That being said, this is where "Opera" is clearly inferior to Argento's earlier works like "Suspiria" and "Inferno" where Argento's use of atmosphere is clearly more prevalent. Still, while "Opera" does not quite have that horrific feel of "Suspiria" or "Inferno" or even "Tenebre", "Opera" does have a style all its own that is unique and effective at instilling horror in the audience.

As criticisms of the movie, there is no question that Argento's movies are tedious to say the least, and you really have to be in the mood for his stuff. There is no question that Argento is generally weak on plot and big on style...that is classic Argento. However, this is not so much the case with "Opera" as it is with his other movies. With that being said, there are moments that "Opera" just seems to drag on a little bit. The opera singing can get old. Also, I did not like the transition use of European rock music (or whatever that was) when the kill/death scenes took place. I think the absence of great scores like you get in "Suspiria" and "Inferno" by Goblin is glaring in "Opera" and this takes away from some of the atmosphere that Argento attempts to create, although as I said, the horror atmosphere is undeniably present, just not to the extent of his other great movies.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not say that Argento's dubious use of the ravens is amusingly a double-edged sword. The squawking of the ravens gets rather old and annoying, but that is part of Argento's style and part of what makes his movies like "Opera" unique. Argento will annoy the audience, but it is, at the same time, unsettling and uncomfortable to the audience and it sets the tone for evil and darkness that Argento is about to relate to the audience. At any rate, if you can get through the squawking of the ravens in the beginning of the film and all of the opera music, you will find "Opera" rewarding.

As indicated above, Argento's movies are very much like someone's worst nightmare, and that is certainly the case with "Opera" as well. I think it is true that Argento's movies are an acquired taste and I would not start with "Opera". I would start with "Suspiria" and watch it at least twice all the way through before making up your mind about whether you like it or not. Then, I would go with "Inferno", "Tenebre", "Deep Red", "Opera", and "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage". Admittedly, I do not know much about "Cat O' Nine Tails" or "Phenomena", but from what I have read, I do not think I would find those films as remarkable or as interesting as the aforementioned former Argento films.

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Swing'n'a Miss

If there's one thing I look forward to in the mail, it's an Argento movie. I loved some of his other films and couldn't wait to grab this movie. In the end, the overall plot is wonderful, though poorly executed. All the characters' personalities seem a bit off, one way or another. Too stiff, too strange, etc. And then there are MANY loose ends that keep the viewer hoping they will be answered at the end, but they aren't (for example, the anniversary necklace/bracelet, what is its meaning?).

The actual plot itself, though, is superb. The twists and especially the final revelation of the killer himself are excellent, especially the manner in which they reveal him. The murders, or even the attacks (there are some where the people don't actually die), are just amazing and intense. I honestly wonder if I've seen such brutal murders anywhere else before.

I still like this movie and recommend it if you are a horror or Argento fan for at least the plot and murders, but the acting and characters may get you a tiny bit.

Also recommended: Suspiria, Deep Red, any other good slasher movie

***- 3 and a half stars -***

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