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Opera

Opera

List Price: $34.98
Your Price: $26.23
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Ronnie Taylor made this film shine
Review: Using Verdi's Macbeth play as a backdrop, Argento decided to use the legends of bad luck associated with this stage production and give his patented twist on it. Compared to alot of his giallo films, Opera has a killer with an interesting (sadistic) method of operation that is definitely not for the squeamish. But while the film suffers from lack of a concrete plot and the same kind of simple motives driving the killer, Ronnie Taylor's cinematography is what makes this film stand out (e.g. rotating crane shots of the ravens' POV). Most people will give the credit to Argento, but let's give credit where credit is due.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ...soundtrack that doesn't work w/ film--but great movie
Review: "opera" is one of argento's most memorable films, again not because of the needlessly excessive and at times just revolting violence, but because of the real fear and terror that the mysteriousness of the killer generates and his twisted relationship to the 'protagonist' female who he physically and mentally terrorizes. obviously this has nothing more to do with realism than any of argento's other movies--i seriously doubt the killer could get this girl with these things on her eyes THAT many times in all those convenient situations he happens to successfully stalk her in--but this goes without saying for his fans, including myself, and does not bother me. the fascinating thing is the comment argento is making on our relationships to one another and how they are, no matter how superficially convincing the facades may be, not what they seem, and are often rooted in depravity and brutality be it of a mental if not physical kind.

what takes away from it, though, is the horrendous and ultra cheesy soundtrack that argento pasted on the film. it's really bad heavy metal that has no place in any of the scenes, and if you didn't know argento, you'd think that it was a deliberate joke or partial parody on the part of the director. that's him, i guess. lots of odd idiosyncrasies, the laughable soundtracks being the more harmless one.

for those who have a taste for the campy and demented, "opera" is another argento treat.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of Dario Argento's best!
Review: OPERA, by far, is Argento's best film. PHENOMENA (AKA: CREEPERS) and SUSPIRIA are very good indeed, but OPERA has a graceful quality that is hard to come by in most of Argento's films. It is of the stalk-and-slash variety with enough shocks, thrills, and surprises to keep even the most discriminating horror fan on the edge of their seat. It is true that this is different than Argento's other films, but that makes it all the more better.

It may seem a bit boring at first, and you may even feel like turning the film off, but stick with it and you will see it's brilliantness.

The plot, in short, is about a girl that is tied up by a mysterious killer and made to watch (he tapes sharp spikes under her eyes so she can't close them, or her eyes will be pierced) the deaths of her closest friends. He lets her go every time, just adding to the tension for the next time he gets her. But, in the end, he decides to keep her, planning to kill both him and her in a blazing fire. Will she escape before it is too late? Nothing is as it seems and don't be surprised if there are a few surprises or two.

Get OPERA. You won't be sorry, especially if you get this Limited Edition that contains the Original CD Soundtrack. It won't last forever, since there are only 60,000 (or is it 30,000? I also have SUSPIRIA Limited Edition and get them mixed up). There is also the plain, original version in case you miss out on the great Limited Edition.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Whatever
Review: I think that pretty much sums it up, whatever, Argento rules! Forget about it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Version 2.0"
Review: 5 stars for the movie itself; for the different disc versions, read on:

Nobody needs me to tell them that "Opera" is a great and twisted movie and you should definitely see it. I'm here to talk about the discs themselves. I purchased the two-disc limited edition DVD with the bonus CD. When I tried to play it, it skipped to the middle of the movie and then did a crazy jump-around and then stopped cold to the "This disc will not play" screen. I tried reloading it, and nothing worked. I returned it to the store, got another, which didn't even load that well, but went straight from the Anchor Bay logo to "This disc will not play." I have a year-old DVD player with, frustratingly, all the technical specifications actually listed on the DVD package, and no problems with any other discs, including other Anchor Bay discs. Finally, I traded it in for a copy of the single disc DVD which had a sticker on the back, obviously added after the fact, reading "Version 2.0." This one doesn't come with the music CD, but it has all the extras and plays on my DVD player just fine. So if anyone else out there is having problems with the "Opera" DVD for no good or logical reason, I can tell you that "Version 2.0" worked for me.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A horror film truly worthy of its setting
Review: This incredibly ambitious and very loosely autobiographical horror film (Argento flirted with the idea of directing a Gothic adaptation of Verdi) is both impressive in its scope and touching in its empathy for the heroine. There isn't a wasted shot to be found. The panning shots in the operahouse are breathtaking. Argento operates on "10" from the moment the film begins until the credits roll.

Many consider Argento's finest work to be Suspiria or Tennebre, and both those works are exemplary. It is in Opera, however, that Dario hones his craft to as keen an edge as his psychopathic stalker is prone to use. All the elements which had been explored in previous films mesh together in a seamless panorama of violence and terror.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful, a classic
Review: Opera is absolutely one of the best, most well made films I have ever seen. The DVD is great and the added cd tops it off. Great camera work and masterful direction. This is Argento at his crescendoed best!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of Dario Argento`s Best Films.
Review: When a Opera Singer broke one of her legs in a Car Accident. A young beautiful singer (Christina Marsillach) replaces her at the Opera but when a Serial Killer stalkes her and he forces her (Also he tapes Pins under her Eyes to Keep them Open) to Watch, when her friends are Killed by Him, She has a strange connection to the Serial Killer, since she has been Dreaming of Him, since she was a Child.

Directed by Dario Argento (Suspiria, Phenomena, Trauma) also Co-Written the Scirpt with Franco Ferrini (Once a Upon of Time in America). This is a Suspense-Thriller with Horror Elements. Beautifully Photography by Ronnie Talyor. Creppy Music Score by Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Daniel Lanois, Claudio Simonetti and Bill Wyman. One of Argento`s Best Films. DVD has an Sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an Digitally Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Expanded Surround Sound (Also in DTS 6.1 Expanded Surround Sound). A unique odd well made film. Digitally Remastered in THX Picture Quality and Sound. Super 35. Grade:A-.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Truly Beautiful and Breathtaking
Review: I'm almost at a loss for words... Like others, I didn't think anything could top "Suspiria" but in my opinion, this one does. The two-disc (DVD and soundtrack CD) is another wonderful Anchor Bay package.

First of all, the picture is WONDERFUL. Although a 1987 film, it looks like it is a contemporary brand-new picture. It's the cleanest DVD for the Dario Argento films. The sound is very engaging and has total clarity. The fidelity on the soundtrack CD is a bit dated, but is clear and is an added bonus.

I'm not going to dwell on what happens in this movie, but be assured that there are so many weird elements in it and they are photographed in style. Only a genius could think of and blend these elements together the way Argento did. The camera angles are superb!

Argento usually has a nice-looking female lead in his pictures although they are plain rather than stunningly beautiful. Christina Marsillach is a total beauty, so if you like watching a beautiful woman in a horror film you won't find anyone better.

By the way, the Anchor Bay DVD's do not play well on older DVD players. I now own several Anchor Bays, mostly Dario Argento films, and since getting a newer 16x I can play them all.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Death By Heavy Metal
Review: Suspiria: I have always been blown away by it's deft cinematography, brilliant use of original music, perfect pacing, and some truly nightmarish scenes. It didn't have the most original or believable story, but it still managed to cast a hypnotic spell, which to me is what makes a truly great film.

Opera: The story this time is unbelievable beyond belief, to the point where it becomes distracting. A maniac repeatedly terrorizes an opera singer, tying her up and making her watch as he gruesomely murders friends and acquaintances of the young singer. A fine, albeit generic premise for a horror film, only I had trouble believing that anyone having repeatedly gone through such an ordeal, would not go to the police to report it!

I was also baffled when halfway through the film, the young woman is terrorized once again (in her own home no less), stumbles out into the street, understandably in shock and disoriented, and the first place it occurs to her to go to is her workplace, the opera house!

I could forgive this lack of logic and let myself be absorbed in the chilling and realistically graphic murder scenes if it wasn't accompanied by some of the lamest Heavy Metal music ever. This just dumbed the film down even more and it's a shame, given that the film's main theme is a beautiful, emotive piece of classically tinged, piano driven music with an eerie opera styled vocal.

Aside from the clever special effects, the only other element that saves this film from complete mediocrity is the amazing camera work, especially a scene at the end where you see the audience in the opera house from the viewpoint of a crow soaring overhead. Breathtaking, but too little too late.

The Video and Audio quality were pretty good and included on the disc is a 36 minute documentary which includes some good behind the scenes footage and new interviews with Argento and some of the film's cast members. This documentary is informative and entertaining, more so than the film, and enough so that it justifies the purchase of this less than stellar film which is why I give this DVD 3 stars instead of 2.


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