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Your thoughts on Suspiria, a great giallo film....

SurrealistSurrealist 218 Posts
edited March 2008 in Strut Central
I'm just wondering if anyone else who saw this film by Dario Argento considers it to be one of the best of the Italian giallo subgenre or horror in general? Also, which titles by Lucio Fulci do you recommend? So far, in terms of giallo films, I've seen Suspiria and Ecologia del Delitto/Twitch of the Death Nerve. Also, I know some producers have sampled the Goblin soundtrack for Suspiria, but I can't remember artist/title details at the moment...My favorite scene in Suspiria is when Suzy leaves the airport and is riding in the taxi while the rain is pouring down because it was really suspenseful...it set the whole mood of the film even with no action...another scene I liked was when she woke up to the fact someone was trying to poison her...crazy film!

  Comments

  • hammertimehammertime 2,389 Posts
    Great soundtrack, great cinematography, great opening scene, and some great "scary" ideas. But overall, as a horror movie, i feel like it doesn't hold up and it really isn't scary at all. I never understand when people have this in their top 10 scariest movies or whatever...have they actually seen it? It's boring as hell.
  • SurrealistSurrealist 218 Posts
    Yeah, aesthetically speaking, it was definitely one of the best...I'm thinking of the neon peacock, the color-mood effect, and I agree with what you've said about the soundtrack...I agree it really wasn't that scary when compared with some of the other horror films I've seen, but I still consider it to be one of the best...perhaps for stylistic reasons...
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    The Goblin soundtrack adds alot to it. It does kind of drag as a movie. I definitely wouldn't consider it to be one of the best Giallos though.

    Profondo rosso, and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, are still my favorites Argentos. The best Fulci is L'aldila.

    I don't really consider Giallo to really be Horror, more slasher/suspense movies.

    - spidey
  • pencilfacepencilface 674 Posts
    i saw "phenomena" (or "creepers") recently -- it's a pretty shit 80's Argento flick until the madness in the last 10 minutes -- he always saves up a totally insane 'shock' scene for the end -- like the iwerd looking old witch in suspiria...

    but for atmosphere my fav ever is "zombie flesh eaters" by a long way. amazing soundtrack.

  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    he always saves up a totally insane 'shock' scene for the end

    Which reminds me I can't wait to watch Mother of Tears (he should've gotten Giallos flame to do the soundtrack), but I'll probably avoid the one he does with Vincent Gallo.

    - spidey
  • SurrealistSurrealist 218 Posts
    The Goblin soundtrack adds alot to it. It does kind of drag as a movie. I definitely wouldn't consider it to be one of the best Giallos though.

    Profondo rosso, and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, are still my favorites Argentos. The best Fulci is L'aldila.

    I don't really consider Giallo to really be Horror, more slasher/suspense movies.

    - spidey
    Yes! The Bird With The Crystal Plumage was great, and very suspenseful. I don't know what Argento's artistic background is, but I think it started his long-running fascination with incorporating elements of visual arts into his storylines. Haven't seen Profondo Rosso yet, but the problem I'm having is most of the time when I've seen this film at rental places, the version being offered is heavily edited. So I'm looking for the definitive version. Have you seen The House With Laughing Windows?
  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    Great soundtrack, great cinematography, great opening scene, and some great "scary" ideas. But overall, as a horror movie, i feel like it doesn't hold up and it really isn't scary at all. I never understand when people have this in their top 10 scariest movies or whatever...have they actually seen it? It's boring as hell.

    Yeah this is pretty much spot on for me. I always watch his films with the highest expectations but find that they don't really mesh into a satisfying movie experience - despite some great set pieces (The needles scene in Opera has to rank up there with the best) they kinda leave me a bit, for want of a better word, bored.

    Fantastic soundtrack though.

    As for Fulci, it's hard to say as pretty much all the films of his I've seen have been grainy copies with atrocious dubbing. However, The Beyond, The House by the Cemetery and City Of The Living Dead all had their moments.
  • FrankFrank 2,373 Posts
    I think Argento is hugely overrated.
    Suspiria is a bore of a movie. It's supposed to be set in Freiburg on the edge of the Black Forest. I grew up in that area -the Black Forest that is and not Freiburg which is a boring town full of students and old people. There are a lot of scenic drives around that area that would make for some spooky atmosphere at night. Argento fucks it up, I have no idea where he has shot this flick but it sure enough was far south of the Black Forest...

    There are a few moments in Opera but as a movie it doesn't work. He's just a talentless hack who every once in a while has a good idea. Profondo Rosso probably being the only exception since it does have a halfway engaging story and real atmosphere.

    Lucio Fulci in comparison is a genius and as mentioned before L'Aldila is one amazing piece of art.
    It's gory as hell and it's trashy but it's totally unique and has an amazing surreal atmosphere.

    My favorite Italian Exploitation sub-genre are all those police flicks from the 1970s. Preferably with Maurizio Merli. Some of those are just plain sick, sadistic, gory and insanely entertaining.

    I used to have OG VHS rental tapes of all these movies... I used to go digging in video stores back in Germany almost every weekend all through the late 1980s. Sometimes I regret having sold the entire collection at some point but it was too much of a pain in the ass to move this stuff along all the time.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Opera, Crystal Plumage, Unsane (OST sampled by Justice) and Inferno are my favourites by him.

    Whoever his location manager(s) is/are - s/he/they deserve every penny on their paychecks!

    My favourite thing in Suspiria is Olga's incredible hair-do which you only see in partial glory in this photo.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I will never tire of that throbbing brain - lol!!
  • roistoroisto 879 Posts
    He's just a talentless hack who every once in a while has a good idea.

    Keep in mind that he was also one of the writers of Once Upon A Time In The West, which is one of the few perfect films ever made.

    I haven't seen too many of Fulci's films, but Manhattan Baby and New York Ripper were utter garbage.
  • twoplytwoply Only Built 4 Manzanita Links 2,915 Posts
    I'm probably alone, but of all his films I enjoyed Tenebrae the most. It definitely holds up in the suspense department.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I'm probably alone, but of all his films I enjoyed Tenebrae the most. It definitely holds up in the suspense department.

    aka Unsane - the first thing I ever saw by him and got me hooked.

    He did an appearance at Suspect (RIP) a few years ago and I showed up with all my Unsane records and asked if he would sign them - lol - which he did. He was very nice, "oh yes, I have heard of this band".
  • ElectrodeElectrode Los Angeles 3,129 Posts

    My favorite Italian Exploitation sub-genre are all those police flicks from the 1970s. Preferably with Maurizio Merli. Some of those are just plain sick, sadistic, gory and insanely entertaining.

    I used to have OG VHS rental tapes of all these movies... I used to go digging in video stores back in Germany almost every weekend all through the late 1980s. Sometimes I regret having sold the entire collection at some point but it was too much of a pain in the ass to move this stuff along all the time.

    Same here. VHS digging is fun. There's this site called http://www.thedriveinconnection.com/ that specializes in that kind of stuff
  • hertzhoghertzhog 865 Posts
    I always thought Suspiria was overrated, overall and compared to other Argento films. Visually it might be his best, though. Four Flies on Grey Velvet is pretty overlooked and on a par with most of his other stuff. The ending is quite unforgettable. Cat o' Nine Tails is cool, too.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Four Flies on Grey Velvet is pretty overlooked and on a par with most of his other stuff.

    Yes.

    Great ending! Way to figure out the murderer!

  • SurrealistSurrealist 218 Posts
    I always thought Suspiria was overrated, overall and compared to other Argento films. Visually it might be his best, though. Four Flies on Grey Velvet is pretty overlooked and on a par with most of his other stuff. The ending is quite unforgettable. Cat o' Nine Tails is cool, too.
    Yeah, I thought Il Gatto A Nove Code/Cat o' Nine Tails was cool too...I've always thought Karl Malden was a good actor...loved the suspense aspect of Cat o' Nine Tails
  • SurrealistSurrealist 218 Posts
    I always thought Suspiria was overrated, overall and compared to other Argento films. Visually it might be his best, though. Four Flies on Grey Velvet is pretty overlooked and on a par with most of his other stuff. The ending is quite unforgettable. Cat o' Nine Tails is cool, too.
    Yeah, I thought Il Gatto A Nove Code/Cat o' Nine Tails was cool too...I've always thought Karl Malden was a good actor...loved the suspense aspect of Cat o' Nine Tails
    An Italian friend of mine showed me a still from Cat o' Nine Tails...it was from the train station platform scene, to be exact...and since I didn't know the context, I wanted to see the film so I could understand what was going on, haha...I liked the ending as well...
  • robert_murtrobert_murt 338 Posts
    PROFONDO ROSSO!

    I still remember the first time I saw it. The intro scene with the child song is so hair raiser! Definitly my favourite by Argento.
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