It is a matter of some debate where, exactly, Dario Argento's career began to go so horribly wrong. Pretty much every Argento fan I know is in agreement that he was consistently making fantastic films at least until 1977 (and his two finest, Profondo Rosso and Suspiria, are getting high-profile Hollywood reboots next year, with the latter directed by David Gordon Green and the former by no less a personage than Argento's pal George Romero). The fan base begins to drop around Inferno, which shares the cheesiness of Suspiria's ending but doesn't quite manage to pull it off as well as it was in that one. From there it's a gradual slide until you get to 1996 and The Stendahl Syndrome, which I've heard more than a few people say is his last good film. (There are still a few diehards who are willing to go to bat for Non Ho Sonno. I have yet to hear anyone try and defend anything he's done since The Card Player, with one exception: me. I thought Jenifer was a return to form, however short-lived. Otherwise, I'm in the camp that says the decline started in '80.) And thus we come to Opera (also known as Terror at the Opera), which sits right smack in the middle of the period of decline, and you'll hear quite a few Argento fans saying this was his last great one. There are also quite a few critics who say that Opera is the pinnacle of Argento's theatrical camerawork, that sort of oversaturated, cheesy, yet glorious style that defined Argento's movies starting right around Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971). It was nominated for Best Film at Fantasporto 1990, which sounds prestigious until you realize that there were forty-nine other films nominated (and the nominees included such timeless gems as Clownhouse, Robot Jox, and The Toxic Avenger, Part II; the eventual winner, for the trivia-minded, was Mike Hodges' Black Rainbow). And the camera-work faction are right; there isn't a prettier Argento flick out there. But does it hold up as a film?
Co-written with longtime partner Franco Ferrini (who started working with Argento with Creepers), Opera is the tale of Betty (The Sea and the Weather's Cristina Marsillach), a young understudy who achieves success after a suspicious accident takes out the reigning diva. She soon realizes that there's a killer on the loose who seems tied to her in some way. This is confirmed when the killer forces Betty to watch some of his crimes using an ingenious device that will not allow her to close her eyes during the crimes. Eventually the police get close, but will they find the killer before he escalates things?
To me, the cheesiness starts overpowering the movie pretty soon after we start, and while it does let up on occasion, there never seems to be a point where the story could stand on its own without the gore scenes. That was the big thing that separated Argento from the giallo standard; earlier movies like Four Flies on Grey Velvet and Profondo Rosso had strong, well-written stories that could have easily stood without the gore (as opposed to more conventional giallo tales like Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling or Bido's The Bloodstained Shadow, where the thrill of watching is intimately tied to the violence). Here, the best scenes in the movie by far are the death scenes (at least one person in the film is said to have taken the role specifically because of its death scene, though telling you who would constitute a major spoiler), and the rest of it exists to build up to those. (Contrast, say, the comedic romance subplot between David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi in Profondo Rosso.) As well, the movie was plagued by problems (Argento has stated that Marsillach is the most difficult actress he'd ever worked with, and was himself convinced after a death on set that a Macbeth-style curse plagued the production), and whether enough of them were overcome to come up with a coherent, workable movie is another question for debate.
Opera is probably the Argento film that is most divisive among fans and critics alike. It has both its rabid defenders and its withering attackers. At the end of it all, I find myself in neither camp, and in all honesty I'd probably have rated it higher had it come from a director who I was less sure was capable of turning out masterpieces (seven Argento films are in my top thousand; two are in the top thirty alone). It's watchable if you're into that sort of thing, as are most giallo movies, but it's nothing special. **
"If you've seen one Argento giallo, you've seen them all"
Written By: Matt the Knife
Dario Argento's "Opera" is a skillful piece of filmmaking, as are the vast majority of his movies. The central problem with Argento's giallos (and most giallos in general) is this: I've seen it all before. Basically, Argento hit upon a certain style (both in terms of plot and technique) a long time ago, and he's spent three decades repeating himself. If you want to experience Argento, you should START with "Deep Red" -- and you should STOP with "Deep Red." "Opera" is tedious because it's just like all of Argento's other giallos. If I want to see the same movie over and over again, I'll watch "Deep Red" again; watching "Opera" is a waste of time.
"aka Terror at the Opera"
Written By: P. Duffy
Murder scenes are very satisfying to gore fans. Not Argento's best but, if you are a fan of his I recommend you add this to your collection. Is entertaining but isn't a whole lot to ride home about, maybe a little to ride home about. It's overall a good film.
"It didn't make sense, but that's the charm"
Written By: D. King
Like most Italian horror movies, this movie didn't make much sense. You just have to let logic fly out the window when you watch movies like this. All I can say is that's it's entertaining, and that's all that matters.
"Beautiful Cinematography"
Written By: Timothy Barker
After seeing Opera for the first time, the impression you get is that it is definitely a case of style over substance as a lot of other reviewers have pointed out. But really if you've seen Argento's previous work you'll come to recognize this as a trait we all know and love.
The cinematography alone makes this film a must see for any horror fan. I get shivers down my spine whenever I see the opening title, it is just so dramatic not to mention the soundtrack is amazing.
The murders are fantastic: Brutal, Un-relenting and masochistic without adding a lot of silly gore to make it over the top and just gives it a dark evil feel.
I notice a lot of reviewers are complaining about the Heavy Metal tracks used throughout the film. May I remind you this was 1987? This was a time when metal ruled the airwaves hence it is not out-dated (not even by today's standards). If you ask me, Metal belongs in horror movies. It just makes them that much more fun not to mention the music flows very well with the dark gothic theme of the film.
This ranks on my top ten list of favourite horror films of all time for sure. I highly recommend this title as it is an important film in the horror genre of the 1980's. Along with Demons I'd say it was one of the best films made in that decade. Don't miss it.
"Very pretty, but very lightweight."
"If you've seen one Argento giallo, you've seen them all"
"aka Terror at the Opera"
