Terror en la ópera

If you're OK with the outlandish work of Italy's premier horror director—able to accept his outrageous story lines and flamboyant style—then you should have a great time with Opera. If you don't, then you won't.

Cristina Marsillach plays Betty, a beautiful young opera understudy who is given a shot at fame (in an avant-garde production of Macbeth) when the star of the show is hit by a car. As any thesp who has 'trod the boards' will know, Macbeth is a production that carries a curse—and Betty soon discovers that the show in which she is now the star is no exception: a killer is systematically offing the staff at the theatre—and poor Betty is forced to watch by the sadistic murderer (who tapes needles under her eyes to prevent her from closing them!).

With the help of a little girl who crawls through her air-conditioning ducts, her director and agent, and a few ravens who have seen the murderer's face (!!!), Betty discovers the killer's identity, and the truth about her mysterious past.

Let's face it... Opera is one crazy film, with its preposterous plot-turns, convoluted death scenes, and an ending that beggars belief. And whilst director Dario Argento has never been one for, shall we say, conventional story lines, this particular giallo is so daft, and features so many of his trademark stylish touches (all ramped up to the max), that it's almost as if, with each successive film, he is seeing what he can get away with (at times almost parodying his earlier work).

This is exactly why I find the film such fun!!!

Argento's camera movements are absolutely incredible: gliding, creeping and, in one amazing scene, even swooping around the opera house above the audience; the power of Verdi's music is combined perfectly with the synth majesty of Claudio Simonetti's score, providing a suitably grandiose accompaniment to the sumptuous visuals; and several outstanding set-pieces (featuring Sergio Stivaletti's nauseating gore FX) go to prove that no-one does death better than Argento (check out one character's stunning demise, in which a bullet passes through a spy-hole in a door in slow motion, and straight into their eye!).

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Mostly I would recommend Opera because of the fine visuals, style and atmosphere, and because it is one of the better movies of Mr. Argento outside of the Three Mother trilogy box (Susperia, Inferno, The Mother of Tears). If you are interested in the works of Dario Argento, Opera belongs rightfully on your list.

I've noticed that a lot of people are taking Opera to task for the way Betty reacts to the murders. I think they are basing these complaints on how they imagine a "normal" person would react. The thing is...Betty is not a "normal" person, due to traumatic events in her childhood. She has problems way way before the movie ever even starts...and by the end of Opera...in my opinion...she has become totally unhinged.

---------------------SPOILERS--------------------------------------- You have to keep in mind that when she was a very small child she witnessed her mother's lover commit at least one brutal murder while her sadomasochist mother was getting off watching it.

She was raised by a woman who achieves sexual release tied up watching girls get hacked, slashed, and strangled to death. That does not make for a healthy home life. I think it's pretty easy to conclude that her mother would have employed all sorts of emotional manipulation and negative reinforcement to ensure that her daughter never snitched on her. It is also likely that at her impressionable age, Betty might have been deeply confused by what she saw. Is this just something that adults do, etc.

Betty obviously looks up to her mother...I mean...she's become an opera singer just like her. If mommy likes it it can't be bad, can it...mommy can't be bad, can she? She couldn't tell the police on her mommy or this mysterious hooded fellow she associates with mommy.

Betty has a lot of deep-seated emotional issues. Her mind has for years been trying to block out the memory of what she saw her mother doing...but it keeps coming to the surface, manifesting itself in the form of horrible nightmares, skull-throbbing migraines, a dependence on relaxation techniques, and sexual frigidity She associates brutal violence/bloody death with sex on a subconscious level. There's an inner struggle between the part of Betty that has confused murder/sex and the part of her which believes these things to be wrong.

After she's seen her boyfriend murdered by the hooded man...she calls the police, yet is unwilling to give her name. The part of her that thinks murder is wrong forces her to make the call, but the part that is ambivalent won't allow her to admit personal involvement. The ambivalent part of her takes control before she can go all the way. So she walks away from the phone in the rain...and when she's picked up by the director she's acting surprisingly calm, not as upset as you would think a "normal" person would be...because the part of her that's been blocking stuff since she was a child is trying its damnedest to block the horror of what she's just witnessed.

The state of affairs in her life all contribute to an impasse within Betty's psyche. Her singing career is starting to bear fruit...she's going to be a great opera singer like her mother was. But is she going to become like her mother in all ways? In the darker ways? Or will she be able to make her own path? Add this to the re-emergence of the hooded man murdering everyone around her.

It's not until the hooded man kills Daria Nicolodi's character that Betty really takes an active role in defeating the killer. Here's someone who loves Betty, who's supported her wholeheartedly in her emerging career, who is in fact a maternal figure in Betty's life now since mommy's dead. Imagine how terrible it would be to lose your real mother and then to see the woman who is the closest thing you have to a mother get shot through the eyeball.

I could go on...but I won't. The main gist of what I'm saying is that the character of Betty is a lot more complex than most of the reviewers on here have been willing to acknowledge.

Opera is one of Argento's best...and not just for the visuals alone (although they are truly magnificent) and not just for the inventive murders (although they are). There is a depth here...and attention needs to be paid.

Dario Argento's movie about a young opera star that gets stalked by an obsessive fan, who might have a link to her past and more specifically to her mother.

What's great about Opera is its visual effects, its passion for the craft of making movies. The camera angles are inventive, as is the way the camera moves. The gory special effects are ahead of their time and the whole film has this feel of oppression to it. Like no one can be trusted and that there are ghosts hiding within the walls.

Not to say the story is terrible. It's just that it's rather blatantly ripping off Phantom of the Opera. One might argue it's paying an homage to a giant of the genre, but it still leaves the film lacking in originality.

But still, this is supposed to be an exploitative horror film and in that regard it delivers beautifully. The acting is on the right side of corny, the special effects and the gore are beautifully realized and the film's mood is just about perfectly morbid. I especially like the theater as a setting, with ravens and all.

Is it the best Dario Argento film there is? Nah, probably not, but it is a great find for all fans of old-time horror films.

Good Gialli with imaginatively staged murders by the master of horror . The setting is a production of Macbeth at La Scala Opera House .A bizarre staging of Verdi's Macbeth is plagued by a deranged and depraved fan bent on killing the people , but the show must go on . When the former star of a production is run over by a car , a young singer called Betty (Cristina Marsillach) is hired by the entrepreneur and she gets her big chance . Then , the young opera singer becomes the target of a psycho . Betty chooses not to go to the police and instead confides in Marco (Ian Charleson) , the director of Macbeth, about the incidents . Shortly after , the weird psycopath committing ominous killings in Argento's unmistakable style . Later on , Inspector Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini) arrives at the opera house to investigate the strange happenings .A star is born tonight... will she live to see tomorrow? The last note is a real killer.

Eerie and ghastly Dario Argento full of obsession , scary murders , bloodcurling madness and shocking death scenes . It is a nice Giallo plenty of grisly killings , suspense and bizarre intrigue . Dario Argento's great success is compelling directed with startling visual content . This frightening movie is plenty of thrills, chills, body-count and strange color with phenomenal results . This is a classic slasher where the intrigue,tension, suspense appear threatening and lurking in every room, corridors , Opera house , and luxurious interior and exterior. Italian horror-meister Argento's always fluid camera achieves spectacular frames , but the ludricous , lurid screenplay make this one for Argento buffs and connoisseuurs only . As always , though , the most terrifying things are the astonishing murders , being very well staged . Argento goes straight for the eyes and throat in this stylishly sick terror movie . All the trademarks are here : minimal summary , stunning set pieces , baroque camera movements , striking cinematography and mysoginist violence . The movie belongs to Italian Giallo genre that was invented by Mario Bava (Black Sabbath) along with Riccardo Freda (Secret of Dr. Hitchcock) , they are the fundamental creators . These Giallo movies are characterized by overblown use of color with shining red blood, usual zooms, and utilization of images-shock . Later appears the maestro Dario Argento with his typically stylish Giallos, he is another essential creator of classic Latin terror films . Argento's acceptable direction is well crafted, and as always more inclined toward violence and lots of killings . This genuinely mysterious story is well made and is one of the best ¨Giallo¨ with oneiric, effective aesthetic . And the operatic scenes employ the voice of Maria Callas . Being available in an edited R rated version and the film had an alternate ending at some points . Breathtaking scenes starred by crows , about 140 crows were used, but only 60 sum were ever retrieved ; it would take hours for everyone to re-capture the crows after they were released in the opera house for filming . The others apparently escaped from the opera house during filming . And surprising ending , in fact , the final of the movie is inspired by the ending of Thomas Harris's book "Red Dragon". So-so acting by Cristina Marsillach as a young opperata of Verdi's Macbeth is stalked by an associated with her to claim her for himself . He is accompanied by a fine support cast such as Ian Charleson in his last theatrical film , as he died of AIDS , Urbano Barberini , Barbara Cupisti , William McNamara , Antonella Vitale and Daria Nicolidi , director's wife , though she had ended her long-time relationship with Dario Argento two years earlier. And Vanessa Redgrave was attached to appear as Mara Czekova, but dropped out shortly before production began , then this character was then reduced to a minor one. And Dario Argento as Narrator and filmmaker Michele Soavi as Inspector Daniele Soave .

It displays a luxurious and evocative photography by Ronnie Taylor . As well as an eerie and chilling musical score from Brian Eno , Roger Eno , Claudio Simonetti and Bill Wyman . The picture was originally directed by the Visconti of violence : Dario Argento ,one of those film-makers who set off simple for frightening us to death . His terror pieces are competently staged with eye-opening flair-play and surprising images .His period of biggest hits were the 70s when he directed the animals trilogy: ¨Four flies over gray velvet¨, ¨The cat of nine tails¨, ¨Bird with the crystal plumage¨, after he directed other great successes movies as ¨Suspiria¨, ¨Inferno¨, ¨Tenebre¨ and of course ¨Deep red¨. Rating : 6/10 decent terror movie . See it , if you must , in the big screen because its swirling camerawork and imaginative nastiness will be partially loss in video or TV. This bloody fun plenty of graphic gore and weirdness may not be for all tastes but to be liked for Argento aficionados especially.º