Opera

Argento's late 80's effort first met my attention on a badly copied full-frame VHS tape. It also had Dutch subtitles running across the bottom of the screen. But, of course, in the BD age (Before DVD), we were happy just to see the films, and cared little about the quality.

But the quality (or lack of) must have had an effect on my viewing pleasure, because I was never a fan of this particular Argento vehicle. For me, it lacked suspense, style and the visual brilliance of his earlier work. And ... that ending?!?!

But thanks to Anchor Bay's recent release, it's time to re-evaluate what truly is one of the finest horror movies of it's era.

The story is admittledy pretty uninspired: Betty (Christina Marsillach) is a young understudy to a famous opera singer. When - during rehearsals for a lavish production of Macbeth - the prima donna star has an accident, Betty is called upon to fill her shoes. Just as Betty's career seems to be taking off, an insane fan commits a series of brutal murders, all of which Betty is forced to watch - bound by rope as pins are sellotaped to her eyelids in order to keep them open. The killer then leaves the scene of the crime as Betty struggles to make sense of what she's just witnessed.

Her boyfriend suffers a blade through the jaw, and her costume designer's rib-cage is cut open in an effort by the killer to retrieve a vital piece of evidence she happens to have swallowed. Both sequences are nicely staged, but unfortunately are somewhat hindered by the use of Brian Eno's terrible Euro-metal score.

Sergio Stivaletti's gore FX, however, are definitely up to scratch in these scenes. But it's the camera that's the star. The most astounding set-pieces are the ravens' whirling overhead view of the opera house audience; the scene where our killer breaks into the dressing room in the dead of night to steal a bracelet from Betty's dress, only to be attacked by said ravens; and some nicely lit scenes of a soaked Marsillach walking through the pouring streets of Rome.

The storyline offers a few suspects along the way, but relies more on atmosphere and visual delights than plausability and logic. Such is the cinema of Argento (I often wondered how the killer in SLEEPLESS got the prostitute's mobile phone number - and knew that she would be on that particular train ...)! And while the plot moves along in typically mechanical fashion, there's plenty of lovely visuals to behold. And - Brian Eno's naff metal soundtrack aside - Claudio Simonetti's Operatic tunes add nicely to proceedings.

All the usual Argento motifs are here, too: Daria Nicolodi turns up in a supporting role; the black gloves are in evidence; the theme of Opera; the lousy dubbing of peripheral characters; the camera walking through red show-curtains; flashbacks that explain the killer's past without giving anything away (a'la TENEBRAE). Jeez, I never realized he was so repetitive!!! The only thing that spoils OPERA is that dreadful tagged-on ending ...

The disc itself is a treat. Presented in it's original theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio (anamorphically enhanced), it looks superb. The transfer is a little dull colour-wise, but has been restored from original vault materials and all in all is a 2000% improvement on previous VHS incarnations. It is, of course, fully uncut - and has a great Surround EX/6.1 DTS soundtrack. The film itself has 27 chapters - which isn't bad for a 107 min film.

Aside from the THX Optimiser Option, the extras include two theatrical trailers, the usual Argento bio and a horrific Daemonia music video for the lead tune. It's really terrible! The best extra is the 36 minute documentary CONDUCTING DARIO ARGENTO'S OPERA. It features interviews with Argento, Nicolodi (who though the maestro was out to kill her on the set!) and Simonetti, amongst others. It's a fascinating insight into a troubled production.

I viewed the single disc version - the 2nd pressing (obviously there was a bit of a nightmare with initial pressing). The 2 disc set would have been nice, but the 2nd disc features only a music CD of Simonetti's score, and apart from this the 1st disc remains identical. To be honest, as a fan of hardcore punk, I honestly don't think the 2nd disc would've ever reached my CD player!!

Review by Stuart Willis