Opera (1987)
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Duration: 104 minuten / 88 minuten (VS edited version)
Alternative title: Terror at the Opera
Country:
Italy
Directed by: Dario Argento
Stars: Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson and Urbano Barberini
IMDb score:
6,9 (22.167)
Releasedate: 19 December 1987
Opera plot
"Obsession. Murder. Madness."
When a young opera singer takes over the lead role in an avant-garde presentation of Verdi's MacBeth, she unleashes the madness of a deranged fan. This forces her to watch as he kills her friends inside the opera. Does the singer's recurring nightmare have anything to do with this psychopath's identity?
Actors and actresses
Betty
Marco
Inspector Alan Santini
Mira
Giulia
Marion
Stefano
Signora Albertini
Baddini (as Antonio Juorio)
Alma's mother
Reviews & comments
The One Ring
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- 29974 messages
- 4109 votes
For the second time, Argento manages to win me over in a genre that I rarely like. He does something with the atmosphere that grabs me. Not just typical horror greyness, but just a play with color and he also knows how to choose his environments very well. The story may be bad (not to mention the acting), but this also works almost like a kind of grotesque fever dream. It's not surreal, but somehow it almost feels like it. Especially during the murder scenes, Argento comes to life, but with his restless camera he gives the entire film a panache. Those ravens in the opera are absolutely fantastic.
Too bad it has such a weak ending. Completely different atmosphere and based on nothing, except maybe the crazy idea that in horror movies the killer has to come back. I understand what Argento is trying to do with the lock: to show that the main character has gone mad. However, it is done so forced and it comes so suddenly that it does not work. The bad acting doesn't help either.
Other than that, it's a strong movie. Drop logic and take the carnage.
4*
Incidentally, I got the impression that ravens are not fond of opera music.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Quentin
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- 10218 messages
- 8623 votes
Finally watched the German bluray after the above revaluations. Italian soundtrack (with German subtitles in this case) makes a world of difference, especially the disappearance of Barberini's terrible English dub is a huge improvement. This makes the experience a lot more serious and dramatic, which only enhances the tension.
Incidentally, the end is somewhat out of place, seems to come straight from Phenomena both stylistically and thematically.
4.25*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Noodless
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- 10100 messages
- 6209 votes
Opera contains many of the familiar elements of Argento's oeuvre: a recurring memory of the protagonist in which the solution of the mystery is hidden, black gloves, animals that play a role, stylish gory scenes, clever camera work and voyeurism. The latter is brought forward with verve by the killer, forcing Betty to look at his atrocities by keeping her eyes open. Nice find! That is also the reason why I often appreciate this horror director. He knows how to portray the violence with a lot of class. An example in this movie is the great scene when a character gets a bullet through the eye when she looks through the keyhole. Another brilliant scene is when someone has their eyes pecked out by crows. Those crows, by the way, have an important role in the film. 140 crows were used in the filming. Beautiful scene is when those crows fly around in the opera house during a performance. Superb camera work! Cristina Marsillach's acting is absolutely solid and this film is simply top notch in terms of atmosphere. The story may be a bit disappointing, especially towards the end the film drops some stitches. The final scene is bizarre and very strangely chosen, although Argento apparently has his reasons for this. The ending of Opera is said to have been inspired by the ending of Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon and found the ending of the movie Manhunter (1986) to be too different from the book. That aside.
Conclusion : in terms of camera work, atmosphere, horror, finds very strong... but the story feels far fetched as usual and the ending could have been worked out better in my opinion. Still, these negatives don't outweigh all those great positives. With more story and better elaboration towards the end, this would have been a winner. 8/10
Translated from Dutch · View original
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