Opera

When the diva of a daring production of Verdi's Macbeth directed by Marco (Ian Charleson) has an accident, the young opera singer Betty (Cristina Marsillach) successfully replaces her. Soon a psychopath obsessed by Betty kills her boyfriend, the production assistant Stefano (William McNamara); her costumer designer Giulia (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni); and her agent Mira (Daria Nicolodi). Inspector Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini), who is her fan, gives protection to Betty, but the murderer always gets close to her. Who might be the killer?

"Opera" is a giallo version of The Phantom of the Opera by Dario Argento. The story has many flaws, but technically the film is wonderful. The camera work is fantastic, exploring unusual angles and movements. The cinematography is outstanding using beautiful bright colors. The music score is magnificent. And the special effects with lots of gore are top- notch, with usual murders. The cast has good performances and the film never disappoints. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Terror na Ópera" ("Terror in the Opera")

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.

Understudy, Betty (Cristina Marsillach) gets her big break, getting to star in a modern stage production of Verdi's Macbeth, after the volatile, original singer gets hit by a car. Betty is nervous, but nails the part. Of course, OPERA is a Dario Argento film, so Betty has more than performance jitters to worry about! Soon, a black-gloved killer begins haunting her and the opera house, causing bodies to pile up. Is the opera suffering from the alleged "Macbeth curse"?

In this wild, gory, inventive riff on PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Argento takes us along with the psychopath, stalking, creeping, and running through hallways. Down staircases and corridors, we see what the madman sees. Once again, the director captures nightmare on film, turning a giallo into a fascinating viewing experience. It's all about eyes and witnessing in this one! That, and never pissing off any ravens!...

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.

It didn't help that I watched Inferno directly before watching this. This film is not good, but it's just entertaining enough to let it keep playing while I'm busy doing something else, and only because it's an Argento film I hadn't seen yet. I'm confused by the ending. It was like Argento had more than one ending in mind and decided to go with all of them. The final part with the voiceover monologue was weird.

Also, the main character is unlikable, as she comes across as extremely selfish, running away when people are murdered in front of her, people she should care something about, but again and again she only openly expresses her selfishness and doesn't help the police because it's an inconvenience to her delicate feelings. Furthermore, I'm not opera expert, so maybe the character's voice was on point, but her mannerisms as she was singing and her visible discomfort most of the time makes me think the opera reviewers were VERY generous. Several of the characters come across as creeps in some way or another (as per usual in this type of film), and the police are utterly useless (as per usual in this type of film). Furthermore, the killer's motivation is vague. Maybe I missed something.

There is nothing to write home about as far as story, acting (which isn't good in general, including the voice acting), etc. The only good thing is that Argento could still produce some interesting shots, one involving a gun death in particular. But I can see where he started falling off in this film despite it being highly rated.

Finally, if you find the sound of ravens intensely annoying, skip this film. The film LINGERS over them and their noise throughout, for long scenes of just showing their eyes, them flapping around, scratching the listener's eardrums. I didn't even realize I hated their sound until I was forced to listen to it for so long. I don't blame the diva in the beginning for leaving. She was right: The ravens were annoying, and the production looked stupid. Best, most sensible character in the film aside from a random little girl.