Opera
by Dario Argento
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DVD details
Actor: Cristina Marsillach, Daria Nicolodi, Ian Charleson, Urbano Barberini, William McNamaraDirector: Dario Argento
Brand: RYK
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-25
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Blue Underground
Product features:
- 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 (D
DVD Reviews of Opera
DVD Review: Classic Argento, but a little flawed
Summary: 4 Stars
As much as I enjoyed Opera I have to admit I'm kind of surprised at the reaction it gets from fans. Whenever you see a poll of the best Argento movies the most common one to take top spot is Suspiria. And I have noticed if it's not Suspiria a lot of the times it's Opera, which ranks in the top spot. Opera was the last film of the 80s that Dario Argento made and overall it was a solid way to close out the decade in, which he gave us so many classics. But as great as Opera is there are some things in my opinion that just don't fully work.
The screenplay written by Dario Argento & Franco Ferrini was at times kind of weak. As I have stated in the other reviews I have written for movies by Argento, his writing is the only weakness. He started off as an excellent writer, but after that he wrote some good screenplays, but the movies were all about the visuals. Some of the things the characters say can be a bit silly and even their reactions to things don't make a whole lot of sense.
Christina Marsillach stars as Betty and I have to say of all the women in a Dario Argento movie she is my 2nd favorite. Nobody can take top spot away from Asia Argento. The thing is Betty is kind if a flawed character. She doesn't always have the smartest things to say. And her reaction to seeing some brutally killed she is horrified, but afterwards she seems rather calm and ok like nothing happened. Despite the flaws of the character I did find her quite likeable.
Most of the other characters really don't have much depth to them and this I would say is one of Argento's weaker scripts. There is also a scene or two than can be kind of silly, but despite all that Opera is still a fantastic film in Dario Argento's career.
Upon my first viewing I didn't quite like Opera, which actually has happened when I watched other Argento movies, but seeing them again you begin to notice things you didn't before. Argento has that going for him. You can watch his movies multiple times and pick up on stuff you didn't notice before and you will find yourself enjoying the movie this time around and if you liked it the first time you might find yourself liking it more.
The power of Opera simply comes from Dario Argento's directing. With any other director I think Opera would have probably been a silly mess of a film, but Argento doing what he does best makes this movie work so much more than maybe it should have. First things first the visual side is mind-blowing!
From just a pure visual side I don't think you will see a better looking film than Opera. The camera work is amazing. I would even go as far to say it's a better visual film than Suspiria even if not as enjoyable or creepy. The POV shots were excellent. I don't think there is a filmmaker out there that can do a POV shot better than Argento.
The use of colors in Opera also adds so much to it. If you thought Suspiria and Inferno looked amazing you have to see Opera. The usage of the red, green and blue lighting was without a doubt stunning! The scene in which Betty and Mira played by Daria Nicolodi are trapped in the house with the killer roaming around might be the best looking scene ever crafted in a film. From the shot selection to the way the colors change. I was totally blown away!
My biggest complaint though with Opera is the music. The music in Argento's movies was always brilliant. Early on he worked with Ennio Morricone and than Goblin. And it's Goblin Argento will always be linked with. As much as I love Morricone, it was Goblin that really made Argento known for what he is. His brilliant visual style and their score was a tough act to follow.
But starting in 1985 with Phenomena and even seen in the Argento produced Demons and Demons 2, he got into this metal phases where he started using metal rather than a simple score by Goblin. Here in Opera it's a sort of weird. The use of the metal music in some weird way does add to the movie, but it also breaks the tension up at times. Claudio Simonetti of Goblin does provide some music, but it's not the typical music he is best known for when working with Argento.
Dario Argento knows how to create suspense not many know how to craft a build up as well as he does and the kill scenes are always so well shot and are damn creepy due to that. Now you have Goblins music going over that. Now in Opera replace that with either opera music or metal and suddenly the suspense and tension drop just a little bit. When the characters are on stage I don't mind the opera music, but in a more suspenseful scene is when I feel it shouldn't have been used.
Opera does feature some tense moments. Dario Argento is a master of the genre and he doesn't fail to deliver. There are some creepy moments and there are some moments with a lot of tension, but the music used does take away, like I said in some ways the music does add to the scene, but it also loses something. I would love to see Opera rescored by Claudio Simonetti or Goblin. I personally think it would make the movie a lot better.
When all was said and done I still think Opera is a fantastic film by Dario Argento and would easily rate in my top 10 favorite films by him and one of my favorite horror movies of all time, but I think the use of music did take away at times. A lot of people rate this as Argento's best and if Goblin scored it I think I might agree.
The kill scenes were all well-done. The murder scene about 30-min was really graphic and so well shot. Every movie I see by Argento I was say that was one of my favorite kill scenes and I have to repeat that again. Though as a whole Opera might feature his best murder scenes. They are violent and even quite mean. With Argento's visual style along with the murder scenes help elevate Opera.
When you watch Opera you are gonna watch it for the visual aspect; that is without a doubt the strongest thing about the movie. Anyone who watches Argento always know we are gonna get one great visual ride and just from a visual stand-point this just might be the best.
The only other problem with Opera is it goes on a little too long. The final scene really felt tacked on and wasn't really needed. Opera really should have wrapped up about the 95-minute mark but goes on for another 10-minutes. The scene wasn't bad it just wasn't needed and was a tad bit silly.
In closing Opera is an excellent movie by Dario Argento despite some flaws. It's not a perfect film and wouldn't make my top 5 Argento flicks, but it's still a damn good and very fun movie by the master Dario Argento.
Description of Opera
An Aria of Terror from the Maestro of Horror - DARIO ARGENTOWhen 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.
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