Aka: Opera
DVD review (region 2)
Directed by Dario Argento
Starring Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson, Urbano Barberini, Coralina Cataldi-Tasso
Release date 22 March 2010

When a famous opera singer is involved in an accident, her understudy Betty (Marsillach) is given the chance to shine in a production of Verdi’s Macbeth. But the stories of Macbeth being a cursed play appear to be true, as a masked madman begins killing people involved in the production – and forcing Betty to watch…

In the detailed booklet that accompanies Arrow’s DVD release, Argento expert Alan Jones calls Terror at the Opera an “innovative study in voyeuristic terror on a par with Michael Powell’s landmark Peeping Tom”. The claim is wildly exaggerated – the movie isn’t in the same league as Powell’s masterpiece or Argento’s finest work. But it remains a film of striking beauty and sublime camerawork, and you can see why some fans consider it Argento’s last important picture (though it was not well received on its original release in 1987).

One of the central characters of the story is a controversial theatre director named Marco (played by Chariots of Fire’s Ian Charleson), a former horror movie director who has moved on to helming an OTT opera. The character has clear echoes of Argento himself, and like Marco, Argento creates a stylish, wantonly overblown spectacle powered by extreme emotional states.

The colourful costumes and set design are almost on a par with Suspiria, and there are several brilliantly staged sequences, including a crawl through an airduct with a random little girl, a bullet-through-the-keyhole moment that predates a similar scene in John Woo’s Hard Target, and the justly famous raven attack scene (shot from a bird’s eye view). As you’d expect from an Argento giallo, there are also a selection of hyper-violent, inventive murders (though the actual body count is low) – made all the more horrible by the masked killer firstly tying Betty up, attaching pins beneath her eyes and forcing her to watch the slaughter.

Argento masterfully builds up the tension during these sequences, only to destroy it by slapping on an awful speed-metal track during the kills themselves. It’s particularly disappointing as this is a film with such a strong musical element to it – Brian Eno and Bill Wyman contribute to the soundtrack, while Verdi’s opera provides an evocative, dramatic backdrop to events.

You don’t go to a giallo looking for narrative clarity or sharp dialogue, and Terror at the Opera has its fair share of loose ends and dubious character motivation. The last 15 minutes (including an epilogue that Orion, probably wisely, wanted removed) are hilarious – and far from the “absolute realism” that Argento intended. It all adds up to a barmy mix of the brilliant and the terrible, but it’s always entertaining.

Arrow continue their run of impressive DVD releases, giving fans a reversible sleeve, poster, music video and the aforementioned booklet (which details the many production problems that plagued the movie, including the conflict between Argento and Cristina Marsillach). You also get both the international and US cuts (with a choice of three audio dubs), though they’re not radically different. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 7/10
Stunning and silly in equal measure, with a handful of unforgettable sequences.