Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Suspiria



Runtime: 94 minutes (at least that's the version I saw tonight)

Directed by: Dario Agento

Starring: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bose, Barbara Magnolfi

From: Seda Spettacoli

As I mentioned it recently I figured that I should rewatch this film, which I had seen before but it had been a real long while. So, I was able to track down this movie and give it another viewing. It's a classic giallo and for good reason.

To steal the plot description from elsewhere, that being the IMDb: “A newcomer to a fancy ballet academy gradually comes to realize that the staff of the school are actually a coven of witches bent on chaos and destruction.” Yep, that is true. I am sure that if you are not too familiar with the movie then I just gave away the big mystery of the film, but by now it's not exactly a secret.

You don't go watching this movie for the logical plot, as this isn't that sort of movie. That is not the draw at all. Rather, this is a surreal nightmare of the film and everything was designed that way, from the old-school Technicolor way it was filmed to how certain colors are made to stand out (especially the color red), various scenes being lit in different colors-even green-to even the wallpaper having weird designs. It's a beautiful motion picture to just look at and admire. But what pushes it over the top is the awesome Goblin score, with assistance from Argento himself. It's weird and all prog-rock and it helps set the mood.

If you want to read a better written and more extensive take on this movie (along with some stills from the film), check out this article from a site known as The Lucid Nightmare. He really likes the movie, I'll spoil it. If you haven't seen this and you love the genre, you really should give it a watch.

I'll be back Friday afternoon. Yes, the afternoon of my 32nd birthday. I plan on watching something tomorrow.

No comments:

Post a Comment