Suspiria
| Suspiria | |
|---|---|
| File:Suspiria.JPG Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Dario Argento |
| Written by | Dario Argento Daria Nicolodi Thomas De Quincey |
| Produced by | Claudio Argento |
| Starring | Jessica Harper Udo Kier |
| Cinematography | Luciano Tovoli |
| Edited by | Franco Fraticelli |
| Music by | Dario Argento The Goblins |
| Distributed by | Dimension Extreme 2008 |
Release dates |  February 1, 1977  August 12, 1977 |
Running time | Rated 92 min. Unrated 88 min. |
| Country | |
| Languages | Italian Russian English German Latin |
| Box office | ITL 1.43 billion |
Suspiria is a 1977 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento, and co-written by Argento and actress Daria Nicolodi, with whom Argento was romantically involved at the time. Nicolodi claims the plot was inspired by an experience of her grandmother's. The setting was originally to be a children's school, but was later changed to a dance school for older teens. Entertainment Weekly rated the film #18 in its top 25 scariest movies of all time and said it had "the most vicious murder scene ever filmed." Suspiria is often considered Argento's finest film and a classic of the horror genre.
This movie was number 24 on the cable channel Bravo's list of the "100 Scariest Movie Moments".
Suspiria is the first film in a trilogy Argento refers to as "The Three Mothers," about evil forces attempting to break through to the earth and wreak merciless havoc. Argento's next film, Inferno (1980), was the second in the trilogy. The third film is The Mother of Tears.
In a poll of film critics conducted by the Village Voice, Suspiria was named the 100th greatest film made during the 20th century[1].
Plot
The story involves a young American ballet student, Suzy Banyon, who arrives in Germany to attend a prestigious dance academy. On the night of her arrival, there is a torrential downpour, and she is unable to gain admittance to the school. But she witnesses one student, a young blonde girl, flee the building in a panic.
The fleeing student is horribly murdered, and Suzy begins having suspicions that all is not as it seems at the school. She begins experiencing inexplicable dizzy spells, and other deaths occur, such as that of the school's blind pianist, who is killed by his own guide dog the night after he is fired from his job.
Suzy ultimately discovers the school is a front for a coven of witches who practice a diabolical black magic. The headmistress of the school turns out to be a legendary black witch over a century old, who has kept herself alive through satanic rituals. Suzy uncovers the school's secret chamber where the rituals take place, and manages to kill the ancient witch.
Cast
- Jessica Harper as Suzy Banyon
- Stefania Casini as Sara
- Alida Valli as Miss. Tanner
- Joan Bennett as Madame Blanc
- Udo Kier as Dr. Frank Mandel
- Miguel Bose as Mark
- Flavio Bucci as Daniel
- Barbara Magnolfi as Olga
- Eva Axen as Pat
- Susanna Javicoli as Sonia
- Rudolf Schundler as Prof. Milius
- Margarita Horowitz as Teacher
- Jacopo Mariani as Albert
- Fulvio Mingozzi as Taxi driver
- Franca Scagnetti as Cook
- Renato Scarga as Prof. Verdegast
- Serafina Scorceletti as Cook
- Giuseppe Transocchi as Pavlo
- Renata Zamengo as Caroline
- Alessandra Capozzi as Dancer
- Salvatore Capozzi as Dancer
- Diana Ferrara as Dancer
- Cristina Latini as Dancer
- Alfredo Raino as Dancer
- Claudia Zaccari as Dancer
Production
The title Suspiria and the general concept of the "The Three Mothers" came from Thomas De Quincey's sequel to his Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Suspiria De Profundis. There is a section in Suspiria De Profundis entitled "Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow". The piece asserts that just as there are three Fates and three Graces, there are three Sorrows: "Mater Lachrymarum, Our Lady of Tears," "Mater Suspiriorum, Our Lady of Sighs," and "Mater Tenebrarum, Our Lady of Darkness."
Suspiria is noteworthy for several stylistic flourishes that have become Argento trademarks. The film was shot with anamorphic lenses. The production design and cinematography emphasize vivid primary colors, particularly red, creating a deliberately unrealistic, nightmarish setting. This look was emphasized by the use of imbibition Technicolor prints. The imbibition process, used for The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, is much more vivid in its color rendition than emulsion-based release prints, therefore enhancing the nightmarish quality of the film.
It was rumored that this film contained ghostly images or apparitions in certains scenes within the backgrounds that appeared in glass and lighting that were unexplained.[citation needed] This added to the mystique of the movie.
Soundtrack
The Italian rock band Goblin composed most of the film's musical score. Goblin also composed music for several other films by Dario Argento.[2] The score for Suspiria is considered a unique masterpiece regarded as a cult hit ahead of its time. It was even used in Yuen Woo-ping's Hong Kong kungfu film Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979).
Goblin frontman Claudio Simonetti went onto to form a heavy metal band, Daemonia, and the 2001 Anchor Bay DVD release contains a video of the band playing a reworking of the Suspiria theme song. This DVD edition also contains the entire original soundtrack as a bonus CD, but long out of print in North America.
Response
No aspect of Suspiria was as influential as Argento's flamboyant approach to shooting the many killings occurring in the story. Argento already had a reputation for brutal violence in his films, such as his preceding feature, Deep Red, and he would later in his career draw much criticism for it, including charges of misogyny which he staunchly denies. In Suspiria, victims are murdered in extremely elaborate ways; e.g., the first student to die initially has her face shoved through a window, then she is stabbed in the heart repeatedly (in close up), then she is tied up, and her body dropped through the glass skylight of a building, only to be stopped in mid-fall by a rope around her neck. A large shard of glass from the skylight claims the second victim, also a young woman.
Suspiria propelled Argento to the front ranks of horror directors throughout the world. Though many of his later films were admired by his fans, Suspiria is generally regarded as his masterpiece.
The film's original theatrical release was heavily edited, most notably the first (and most infamous) murder sequence. The stabbing and hanging portion of the murder was cut back to the point of being almost purged entirely from the film.
Legacy
In the late 1980s, the film was released uncensored on VHS and in its original widescreen format (a rarity at the time for a horror film). After an intense bidding war, the film was released on DVD in the United States in 2001 by Anchor Bay Entertainment. Anchor Bay's release was criticized for several reasons. The DVD was not compatible with the Sony Playstation 2 DVD drive and many questioned Anchor Bay's decision to release both a single disc version of the film and an expensive three-disc set version of the film, which featured an exclusive documentary on the film as one of the discs in the three-disc version.
Suspiria seems to have had an effect on the music world. Two bands, Susperia, a Norwegian thrash metal band, and Suspiria, a pioneering mid-1990's U.K. gothic rock band, have named themselves after the film. Multiple albums have also been named after the film, including Suspiria by Darkwell, Suspiria by Miranda Sex Garden, and Suspiria de Profundis by Die Form which can also be regarded as inspired by Thomas De Quincey's work of the same title.
The Smashing Pumpkins used the theme from the film as intro music on their 2007 tour. The Houston-based Two Star Symphony Orchestra, on their 2004 CD Danse Macabre: Constant Companion, included a track titled "Goblin Attack" that features a strings rendition of the Suspiria theme. The track's title appears to be a reference to the Italian rock band Goblin.
This movie has recently been sampled in a few Underground Rap songs, namely Cage Kennylz's "Weather People" and Atmosphere's "Bird Sings Why the Caged I Know".
In the film Juno, the title character mentions Suspiria during a discussion of horror films with character Mark Loring after she finds a SomethingWeird Video copy of The Wizard of Gore.
Remakes
A remake was expected for a 2005 release according to the Internet Movie Database. This status remained as such into 2006, but the entry was eventually removed. Around the same time, writer Steven Katz stated that the remake "probably will not happen."[3] Some fans believe that Argento was responsible, as he was openly against the remake, claiming to have seen a script that was sent out, and saying "it will be shit, but that won't be my fault". But according to the IMDb, the remake has now been announced to be released in 2008.
In June 2006, Japanese studio GONZO reportedly announced the production of an anime remake of Suspiria (サスペリア) is in development, but it has not been announced yet a release date for TV broadcast. The anime adaptation will be directed by Yoshimasa Hiraike (Solty Rei).[3]
In March 2008, it was announced on the MTV Movies Blog website that the remake of Suspiria was to be made and released in 2008 with director David Gordon Green at the helm. The remake is being produced by Italian production company First Sun.
References
- ^ http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html
- ^ Flanagan, Jamie (2007-11-03). "Suzy and the Twisted Technicolor Nightmare: Dario Argento's Suspiria". Italian Film blog. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) "The film’s menacing score is provided by Argento-favorites Goblin, an Italian prog-rock band who also scored Argento’s Deep Red and George A. Romero’s horror classic Dawn of the Dead." - ^ Weinberg, Scott (2006-05-23). "Argento Confounds Filmmakers: Suspiria Remake Dead". Cinematical. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
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