Digital Dismemberment: Dario Argento’s Suspiria Limited Edition 3 Disc Set
Director: Dario Argento
Producer: Claudio Argento
Special Effects: Germano Natali
Cast: Jessica Harper (Suzy Bannion); Stefania Casini (Sara); Flavio Bucci (Daniel); Miguel Bose (Mark); Barbara Magnolfi (Olga); Susanna Javicoli (Sonia); Eva Axen (Patty Newman {Pat}); Rudolf Schuendler (Professor Milius); Udo Kier (Professor Frank Mandel); Alida Valli (Miss Tanner); Joan Bennett (Madame Blanc); Margherita Horowitz (teacher); Jacopo Mariani (Albert); Fulvio Mingozzi (taxi driver); Franca Scagnetti (Albert’s governess {1st servant}); Renato Scarpa (Professor Verdegat); Serafina Scorcelletti (2nd servant); Giuseppe Transocchi (Pavlo); Renata Zamengo (Caroline); Alessandra Capozza, Salvatore Capozza, Diana Ferrara, Cristina Latini, Alfredo Raino, Claudia Zaccari (dancers) and Giovanni Di Bernardo (uncredited).
The Premise: “Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Banyon, a young American ballet dancer who arrives at a prestigious European dance academy run by the mysterious Madame Blanc and Miss Tanner. But when a series of bizarre accidents and horrific crimes (including what Entertainment Weekly calls ‘the most vicious murder scene ever filmed’) turn the school into a waking nightmare of the damned, Suzy must escape the academy’s unspeakable secret of supernatural evil.”
Oh my dear God in heaven, somebody finally must be listening to me! This is one of the greatest movies ever made, and on top of that, this could be the greatest DVD package ever made!! This is Argento’s finest film to date, and that is saying alot. This is the movie that many have tried to imitate but could never duplicate.
Where to even begin? Suzy shows up at the school to start her dance lessons and odd things begin to happen. People disappear, get murdered, and all hell breaks loose. The opening death scene is an incredible piece of writing and acting. The gore is as follows: face pulled through a window; stabbed in gut and chest with knife several times; stabbed in heart; a fall through a stained-glass window and hung with a telephone cord; an impaling with glass; maggots fall from the ceiling; throat bitten out by dog; dog feasts on the dead body; slashed with a razor; a fall into a room full of barbed wire; throat slit with a straight razor; a bat is crushed with a stool; a witch gets stabbed in the throat and a re-animated corpse comes back to life.
Argento uses blood, but his greatest gift is his eye behind the camera. The way it roams across the screen really helps to set the mood, and his use of colors just helps to enhance it. The soundtrack may be one of the most recognizable of all time also. The first in the “Mother’s” trilogy, this is a movie that EVERYONE should own whether you like Argento or not. This is a film that has inspired many movies since and set a bar that VERY few have even come close to in recent years.
Special Features and Extras
International Trailer: This one is Letterboxed with very slight grain. It contains stills from the film and runs 2 minutes.
U.S. Trailer: This one is Letterboxed and is crystal clear. Contains different scenes from the film and runs 1 minute 20 seconds.
TV Spot: This segment runs 30 seconds and contains a Fullscreen, slightly grainy commercial for the film.
Radio Spots: There are 3 radio spots for the film.
Spot #1: This segment runs 30 seconds and is the audio from the TV spot.
Spot #2: This segment runs 30 seconds and contains sound bites from the film.
Spot #3: This segment runs 30 seconds and contains a mix from both the TV spot and sound bites from the movie.
Demonia Music Video: This featurette runs 6 minutes and 8 seconds. It is Letterboxed at contains a video that is a remake of the Susperia title song. The video is very well done and has visuals like the movie. The song has a Gothic/Black metal feel to it. Very cool and worth watching.
“Susperia 25th Anniversary” Featurette (Disc 2): This featurette runs 52 minutes. It is broken down into 9 chapters and is a combination of English and Italian with English subtitles.
Program Start/Main Title: This opens up with various scenes from the film and runs 23 seconds.
The Story: This segment runs 4 minutes and 57 seconds. This has interviews with Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi discussing various aspects of the film. Dario talks about the locations that he scouted, and Daria tells a story of how something like this happened to her Grandmother. She also expresses that “Alice in Wonderland”, “Snow White” and “BlueBeard” inspired her to write the story.
The Director: This segment runs 7 minutes 33 seconds. This has Stefania Cosini, Jessica Harper, Udo Kier, Luciano Tovoli and Claudio Simonetti all talk about working with Dario. They all speak very highly of him and talk about some of his other films that they enjoyed.
The Stars: This segment runs 6 minutes and 1 second. This has Dario talking about the stars of the film and how he “discovered” them for his film. It also contains the stars talking about one another and how much they enjoyed the experience.
The Score: This segment runs 6 minutes 43 seconds. This has Dario and members of Goblin discussing the music for the film. They all feel that it is the best score that they ever made. It discusses the different techniques they used in the studio.
The Style: This segment runs 12 minutes and 38 seconds. This has the cast and crew talking about the visual style and techniques that Dario used in the film. Dario says that he was influenced visually by Walt Disney’s version of “Snow White”. They discuss the fact that they begged the company to be able to use Technicolor for the film. Dario also comments on the fact that it was very expensive back then to do the film they way they did because of the technical research they had to do with the lighting. He also wanted younger girls for the film between the ages of ten and twelve. He says he used many tricks to make the actresses seem younger than they were. Every member of the cast comments on the use of lighting in the film.
Favorite Scenes and Anecdotes: This segment runs 6 minutes and 59 seconds. The cast and crew talk about their favorite scenes and amusing stories from the set. Some of the funny stories included how the actors and actresses all spoke different languages and little things like that. The end is the scene that almost everyone talked about the most. Bridget Fonda is quoted as saying that Susperia is one of her favorite film and is the reason that she got into the cinema.
Looking Back: This segment runs 5 minutes and 19 seconds. The cast and crew look back fondly on the film, each other and Dario.
“Dario Argento’s Susperia” Booklet: This is a 29 page booklet. It features numerous color and black and white pictures from the film. It also includes several articles including “Introduction for Dario Argento Films” by Scott Michael Bosco; a history of Argento’s films by Travis Crawford and a Jessica Harper interview by Scott Michael Bosco. This is very informative write-up that everyone should read. The interview with Harper is entertaining, but I found the history of Argento’s films by Travis Crawford to be the highlight of this extra. Well put together and thanks should be given to Anchor Bay for including this.
Lobby Cards: There are 10 Lobby Cards included with the film. They include stills of the film and alternate poster artwork. Very nice collectable that adds to this impressive collection.
Susperia Soundtrack (Disc 3): This is the original soundtrack to the film.
Track #1: Suspiria: 6 Minutes 3 Seconds.
Track #2: Witch: 3 Minutes 14 Seconds.
Track #3: Opening To The Sighs: 34 Seconds
Track #4: Sighs: 5 Minutes 18 Seconds.
Track #5: Markos: 4 Minutes 7 Seconds.
Track #6: Black Forest: 6 Minutes 6 Seconds.
Track #7: Blind Concert: 6 Minutes 18 Seconds.
Track #8: Death Valzer: 1 Minute 53 Seconds.
Track #9: Susperia (Celesta and Bells): 1 Minute 50 Seconds.
Track #10: Markos (Alternate Version): 4 Minutes 12 Seconds.
Track #11: Suspiria (Demonia ReMix): 5 Minutes 5 Seconds.
Poster and Still Gallery: This segment included 99 color and black and white stills, print adds, press books, soundtrack covers, video covers and posters in different languages.
Talent Bios: This segment includes Biographies and filmographies for Dario Argento (Director and Co-Writer), Daria Nicolodi (Co-Writer) and Jessica Harper (Actress).
THX Optimizer: This allows you to test the audio and visual prowess of you system.
Audio Set-Up: Dolby Digital DTS-ES THX English: 6.1 DTS-ES (Playback requires DTS Decoder); Dolby Digital Surround Ex 5.1; English: Dolby Surround 2.0; Italian: Dolby Surround 2.0 and French: Dolby Surround 2.0. This movie deserves every bit of the treatment that it got. It sound great and you can’t miss anything no matter how you listen to it. The only thing missing is a commentary soundtrack.
Easter Eggs: Outtake: Select the “Special Features” option at the main menu. Press Right to highlight a peacock feather, then press Enter to view an outtake.
Suspense, gore, witchcraft, beautiful Italian women, mood, lighting and atmosphere!!! I truly believe that this is one of the greatest horror films ever made. Anchor Bay has gone so far above and beyond the call of duty for this set that it makes you wonder why they don’t do this more. The coolest addition to this set is the Goblin Soundtrack CD. Just everything that you could ever ask for in a DVD release. Pick up the 3 disc set and I bet you will not be disappointed.
Disc Information
Year of Production: 1977
Year of release on DVD: 2001
Rating: NR
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Format: Color NTSC
Sound: Dolby Digital DTS-ES THX English: 6.1 DTS-ES (Playback requires DTS Decoder); Dolby Digital Surround Ex 5.1; English: Dolby Surround 2.0; Italian: Dolby Surround 2.0 and French: Dolby Surround 2.0.
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Movie Rating: 5 out of 5
DVD Rating: 10 out of 10
