Suspiria Alert

[Philippe Cordier]

Thanks for all the additional information.  I checked the "Valli" photo and will be sure to get to the other links you mentioned ... (although, Luciaphil, I have to admit I never got around to checking those links you provided a while back on East Lake furnishings ... hopefully one of these days ... 
(have been rather busy with recent projects-- plus recently have been forced to find a job and work full-time when I realized the rent is due ..  )

I am still rather intrigued by the movie after reading all the comments here and after my viewing of it.  My feelings were rather mixed, but I would certainly watch it again, whereas I have never, ever had any interest in the modern "slasher" flicks ... saw part of one at someone's apartment once, and it was incredibly stupid with in-your-face gore galore.

I felt "Suspiria" was more intelligent and thought-provoking.  Certainly the visual composition and sets were interesting and very well planned.  But then, these things are painstakingly planned for all movies, down to every possible detail, no matter how worthless the movie turns out to be (I learned this first hand spending time on location as an extra and stand-in on three different movies -- quite interesting to see how they are made and the care and detail that goes into every angle, color, etc.  For example I played a customer in a bank, and the real bank was completely redone with green carpet, etc., to subliminaly convey the idea of money).

Anyway, I keep going off-topic here so should wrap things up.  It seems that "cult" movies like this tend to be over-hyped and often leave a lot of people cold; but there truly has to be some aspect about them that makes them stand out from the crowd.

The movie is much more recent than, say, "Rosemary's Baby," so I wonder why the print quality was so poor.  I'd be curious to know if the DVD or video has a higher quality print.

OT -- BTW, did anyone else see the superbly done Victorian drama "Daniel Deronda" Sun & Monday nights? 

[Philippe Cordier]

And didn't it seem like that girl's friend was overreacting?  How did she know that her friend was being murdered?

Sarah? She drove me absolutely nuts. I think it was an IMDB review where I read one person's perplexed comments about her. She hears the footsteps every night and instead of at least considering a logical conclusion like maybe the teachers were having a meeting or coffee or something, she becomes obsessed by the notion that it's suspicious. Another Rachel Drummond, lol.

Actually, I meant the Italian-looking girl at the beginning who lived in that big, empty pink geometric building. She was screaming her head off as if she knew what was happening in the other room when the first girl was being murdered.

I was actually quite confused at this point as it was, since it wasn't clear to me that this was the same girl seen briefly running out of the ballet school talking incoherently about the secret blue irises.  The next shot was of the Jessica Harper character (how flat a performance can you possibly give?  ) in the taxi gazing benignly as this girl cavorts hysterically through the forest in the rain, and the next shot, in which it is not raining, is from the back and shows a girl, who I assumed to be the Jessica Harper character, approaching the pink geometric apartment building ...

[Josette]

OT -- BTW, did anyone else see the superbly done Victorian drama "Daniel Deronda" Sun & Monday nights? 

I taped it and started watching it tonight.  I've seen almost half of the first episode.  So far it seems all right, but I think it's too soon for me to decide if I like it or not.

[Philippe Cordier]

OT -- BTW, did anyone else see the superbly done Victorian drama "Daniel Deronda" Sun & Monday nights? 

I taped it and started watching it tonight.  I've seen almost half of the first episode.  So far it seems all right, but I think it's too soon for me to decide if I like it or not.

Hi, Josette!  I felt the same way for about the first half hour or so ... but things change rather surprisingly at that point.  At the beginning it seemed like yet another beautifully filmed but benign Jane Austen adaptation ... then something of Dickens crept in with the characters' origins wrapped in mystery ... finally it is recognizably George Eliot, and becomes quite social/political by the end ...

I was surprised to find the likes of Greta Sacchi (sp) and Barbara Hersey in the cast -- and delivering top-notch performances, too.  Especially liked Ms. Hersey's (as the Contessa) purr to Daniel, "You are a beautiful creature, aren't you" -- makes me wonder if that was in the book or if it was Hugh Dancy-specific ...

A gorgeous production on every front (anyone interested in Victorian-era costuming should see it ... happybat said a while back that the era wasn't all heavy and dark... but I didn't quite see that before this production!) but unlike the vacuous "The Forsyte Saga," this had substance, too ...

Let me know what you think ...

[Josette]

I apparently saw more than half of the first yesterday and finished that one tonight.  It seems to be getting better, the characters are rather interesting and are well portrayed.  The first review I read indicated that the second episode gets better, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[Luciaphile]

I was actually quite confused at this point as it was, since it wasn't clear to me that this was the same girl seen briefly running out of the ballet school talking incoherently about the secret blue irises.  The next shot was of the Jessica Harper character (how flat a performance can you possibly give?  ) in the taxi gazing benignly as this girl cavorts hysterically through the forest in the rain, and the next shot, in which it is not raining, is from the back and shows a girl, who I assumed to be the Jessica Harper character, approaching the pink geometric apartment building ...

Suzy gets into the cab and that's that. Presumably she goes to a hotel, but we don't see her again. Pat's the chick running through the forest and the one approaching the apartment building.

I had to watch the film about three times to get half the stuff. The sound quality is pretty bad. Does anyone here have the DVD? Did they clean it up at all?

By the way, I thought most of the performances were fairly stylized, Bennett's included. Alida Valli probably came off the best. I rather liked Harper though. Partly because she really looked the part of the fairy tale heroine caught up in the big bad nightmare.

[Philippe Cordier]

Does anyone here have the DVD? Did they clean it up at all?

According to various sources I've checked, the DVD print is flawless; according to some reviews, the Anchor Bay release is perhaps the best "transfer" (I think that was the term) ever done.

By the way, I thought most of the performances were fairly stylized, Bennett's included.

That may be a very ... um ... charitable way of explaining it! 

I hope to watch this again over the weekend and will keep your thought in mind ... I would like to think that every aspect of this film was as deliberate as the lighting and set design were.  And it's possible.  Having done some more reading and checking up on this, it's clear that everything that happens does have meaning, even if it's lost on 95 percent of the viewers ... I've done some preliminary checking into Thomas de Quincey, whom I'm only vaguely aware of as a tangential figure of the English Romantic period ... but my feeling would be that Argento may have taken a breath of inspiration from his essays, but that's the extent of it.  Still, it gives an added depth to have some understanding of what he's about ... (reminds me of some theatre productions of a British director I worked with, the more obscure the meaning the better -- "Aunt Dan & Lemmon", Stephen Berkoff ...) but the point being that challenging works tend to leave people either hot or cold ...

Joan Bennett's performance did have a rather "rehearsed" air about it, as is suggested in your description of her reciting a lengthy piece of exposition ... her movements had a rather "planned" look rather than appearing completely natural, so I see where you may be getting your idea that the director wanted a stylized feel to the acting.

I do also see a Hitchcockian attention to detail and symbolism, so a stylized approach to the acting would not be out of place.

[Philippe Cordier]

I did watch this a second time over the weekend (don't ask me why I get obsessed with these things). While interesting to watch, "Suspiria" is hardly going to end up on my favorite movies list ... And while I have enough commentary to write a review, I'll just briefly comment on the one more aspect of Joan Bennett's role, since that's the primary interest here ...

In addition to my earlier comments, I would also add that my second viewing reinforced my view that, while sometimes a shade mechanical, Miss Bennett did have her characterization nailed down.  She was one of the highlights of the movie (another favorite was the good Herr doctor -- not the psychiatrist).  Her final scenes -- glimpsed behind a half-open doorway --  as Madame Blanc (i.e., "White", but ironically the "Black Queen" of the coven) her body convulses as the spirit entity of Elena Marcos (unless it's some other entity) possesses her, and she demands repeatedly, "She must die, die, die!"

It was really a very creepy scene and Miss Bennett was disturbingly realistic in it. (She may have had some practice with all those seances at Collinwood!)

[Philippe Cordier]

I forgot to say that Joan Bennett's role in "Suspiria" was much better/more significant/bigger than her measly token appearance in "House of Dark Shadows."  Too bad the DS movie didn't give her more to do.  I would recommend "Suspiria" to anyone interested in Joan Bennett.

Also -- I referred above to "Elena" Marcos ... but it may have been "Helena" Marcos (guess I'll have to watch the movie again to find out for sure  )


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O.T. - "Wicker Man" update

Also, I just thought I'd mention here -- crossing over from another thread that some felt was getting too off-topic (and I'm quite sure Luciaphil won't mind if I bring this up here) -- that the new proposed "Wicker Man" movie has apparently not been made, although as of last December hopes were still high that "Chase the Laddie" (note that the title has been changed) would be filmed.

Ewan McGreggor has expressed interest in a small role -- very appropriate casting, that would be, as he's Scottish and would seem to have the right persona for a "Wicker Man" type of movie (of course, the first thing I ever saw him in was Jane Austen's "Emma," but I wasn't deceived) ...

The proposed new movie, which is the brainchild of my favorite Dracula, Christopher Lee, would also star Sean Astin, Leanne Rymes, and Christopher Lee, as well as the great Vanessa Redgrave.  It is not to be a sequel per se, but a similarly themed and located film.

Let's hope something comes of this rather than the completely unnecessary remake with Nicholas Cage.

[ProfStokes]

I'm not sure if anybody has mentioned this yet, but I was browsing the zap2it.com website just now, and what should I find but this article about a proposed remake of Suspiria:
http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/story/0,1259,90745-5--16387,00.html

ProfStokes

[Philippe Cordier]

Thanks for giving us the bad news, Professor Stokes.  This was news to me, and probably to everyone else -- it appears the article was dated the day you posted the info ... rather coincidental timing given this thread (whose life I'm sure has over-expired!).

I just don't understand the point of people re-making movies like "Psycho," "The Wicker Man," etc.  Do they really think they'll capture the synergy that made the original unique? 

One fairly recent re-make I know of did receive critical praise, "Nosferatu." But that's one in a hundred.

[Luciaphile]

I just don't understand the point of people re-making movies like "Psycho," "The Wicker Man," etc.  Do they really think they'll capture the synergy that made the original unique? 

It's a practice almost as old as motion pictures themselves. More movies than you can shake a stick at are remakes. Example: The Shop Around the Corner; In the Good Old Summertime; You've Got Mail. Same story. And the first film was adapted from a play.

One fairly recent re-make I know of did receive critical praise, "Nosferatu." But that's one in a hundred.

The guy who's supposed to do this proposed remake of Suspiria, is the one who directed Shadow of a Vampire, so that's encouraging