Suspiria [DVD] [1976]

In 1977, Dario Argento decided to broaden his horizons, and delve into the supernatural of witchcraft. He decided to do the greatest trilogy in film history (two great movies (Susperia and Inferno), and the final not so great (yes, you guest it The Mother of Tears)) calling it ‘The Three Mothers Trilogy’ blending Horror and Suspense plus Art Deco along the way. When American Actress Jessica Harper’s protagonist character ‘Susan Bannion’ see a beautiful big red gothic house that represents her dance academy then her spellbinding adventure really has just begun.Both Jessica Harper, along with Stefania Casini, Barbara Magnolfi, Alida Valli, and a cameo appearance by German actor Udo Keir all shine in this fantastic 1977 cult classic, but all acting credits should go to American actress Joan Bennett as this was her final movie before retiring. And what a movie go out on.And with the 1970s Italian Prog Rockers Goblin performing was a magical music score was a stoke of genius blending a blend of gothic electronica and subliminal messaging in the opening credits to start this first part of this great trilogy, along with the second part of the trilogy the wonderful, dark, mysterious and spellbinding 1980 sequel ‘Inferno’ crafted in a gothic atmosphere. As I mentioned in my review of Dario Argento’s Inferno (1980), I said that it’s a pity that Dario Argento waited so long for the last of the trilogy, in my opinion ‘Mother Of Tears’ should have done it either in 1986 or 1987, and set it in a posh Italian Board School (with British styled formal posh school uniforms for the actors who are playing the students) with cameo appearances by Jessica Harper and Leigh McCloskey as their main characters from Susperia and Inferno, with a blend of existing and new actors and actresses from Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Canada and America. The third movie should have the same dark style of the first two movies with the same dark and evil surprise at the end when they discover who is the Third Mother, and have either Goblin or Keith Emerson do the music score. I think my version would have been a lot better than the woeful 2007 ‘Mother Of Tears’. But Dario wanted to get back to Italian Giallo Movies, which lead him to create his 1980s Movie Masterpieces ‘Tenebrae’ (1982), ‘Phenomena’ (1985) and his last masterpiece in my opinion was ‘Opera’ (1987).Please get this in either DVD or Blu Ray Format as it’s a million time better than the lousy, boring and dull 2018 remake which is an insult to Dario Argento’s 1977 supernatural masterpiece.

Let's get the negatives out of the way first. Apart from the star, Jessica Harper, the dialogue is dubbed. For modern audiences this can be distracting. But you soon get used to this, which was common practice in Italian movies at the time. The plot is minimalistic, sometimes lacking logic. Right, now for the positives. This is one of the finest European horror movies ever made. Superbly directed with astonishing set pieces. The opening scene is fantastic, as is the finale. There are so many wonderful flourishes such as the infamous razor wire scene and the town square scene. The film's colour is amazing. This is one beautifully made film. It never fails to unnerve the viewer. Director Argento manages to make even a trite talking heads scene give you the creeps. This film is like an unfolding nightmare, feeling dreamlike and full of eerie frights, right up until the last frame! Once seen, never forgotten!

I have been acquainted with Suspiria for many, many years, and bought the (excellent) 2012 blu-ray. This movie is really a thrilling visual experience, which is why, after thinking it over and looking up reviews of the UHD blu-ray, I finally decided to buy it on top of my blu-ray.But then, this 4K blu-ray is so much beyond my expectations that it is a whole new experience, with better colours and contrast, vibrant lights and deep blacks. I don't think anyone ever saw it like this before , even in the theatre. Actually, this is one of the gems of my UHD blu-ray collection, together with Blade Runner.

I like trashy films as much as the next person but this was just dire, annoying soundtrack, crap script & weak 'acting'. It's not the age of the film, after all it was only 2 years before Alien, it is just a very, very poor film from pretty much every angle. Particularly disappointing as it has a reputation as a classic.

The 4K version of SUSPIRIA is THE version to own.HDR/Colour rendering is stunning. Contains not only the LCRS Remastered trackas heard cinematically but Dolby Atmos for 3 Dimentional immersion. I think it is worth pointing out that Amazon has incorrectlystated that the 4K version will only play on Region 1 players. I had my copy shipped from the States and it plays perfectly on my Region 2 OPPO player. It should also be pointed out that 4K discs are Region FREE irrespective of where they come from. Recently, in Australia I purchased several 4K discs ( at half the price ) which play perfectly on my Region 2 Player. So......Enjoy.

Suspiria is one film that gets better with every repeat viewing. It's truly a dream caught on camera, but like a lot of Italian Horror films (including the work of Lucio Fulci) it may take your average viewer (and even some hardened Horror fanatics) a coupling of viewings to get one's head around. But once your heads in, it's in and Argento has it by a noose. Prog Rock(ers), Goblin providing the excellent score.

An awful lot of early horror movies don't stand up to modern eyes, this one doesn't buck the trend.The acting is mainly wooden, the plot is quite sparse and the film is so slow with very little actually happening.But it is visually a very nice film, interesting sets, and the lighting is well done. Wish I could say that I liked it more.