Opera (Widescreen)

Betty (Cristina Marsillach) is an understudy who must step onto the stage after an accident leaves the opera's star in the hospital. The theater is staging a version of Verdi's "MacBeth," an opera often considered by artistic types to carry a curse for those who work on it. Despite these concerns, Betty knocks 'em dead on her first night in the lead role. Theatergoers laud her performance, as does the director Marco (Ian Charleson), since she overcame several obstacles. A lighting fixture crashed to the floor and the live ravens used as stage props acted up, but Betty kept on hitting the high notes. Mira (Dario Nicolodi), Betty's pushy agent, raves about her and begins mentally tabulating future opportunities. Marsillach's character shrugs all the compliments off with a sort of aw shucks sensibility. Besides, she soon has a lot more to worry about than her singing career. You see, yet another one of Argento's black-gloved lunatics is slicing and dicing his way through the theater troupe. For some reason, the killer takes a liking to Betty. He follows her home, ties her to a pillar in her house, sticks pieces of tape with needles on it under her eyes to force her to pay attention, and makes her watch him dispatch her boyfriend.

This same situation plays itself out over and over again-the killer sneaks up on Betty, forces her to keep her eyes open with the tape and needle prop, and dispatches a friend or colleague. The gore in these incidents reaches heights of over the top insanity, even for Argento. You get an incredible knifing from an intriguing point of view, a scene with a pair of scissors that will leave you gasping for breath, and an incident involving Mira's character that is probably the best murder scene ever invented by Argento. A bullet through the keyhole, through the eye, through the head, and into a telephone had me standing up and cheering. And like all of Argento's films, the violence onscreen is shot in extreme close up. Moreover, it goes on and on for what feels like hours. He's one of the few directors who can actually make me avert my eyes because the carnage becomes too much to watch. While there may not be much in the way of plot, acting, or a decent script in the film, the gore will keep you coming back for more. This is brutal stuff.

Of course, the gore isn't the only attraction here. Once again, the usual Argento style is in full display. The point of view shots come fast and furious, with the unfolding proceedings seen, at various times, through the eyes of the ravens flying about the opera house or through eyes clouded by eye drops. Camera tricks look great, too. At the start of the film, we see the opera house reflected in the eyes of one of the ravens. We sometimes see an image of the killer's throbbing brain, accompanied by a heartbeat, seconds before he preys on his latest victim. The real trick in "Opera," as it is in all of Argento's films, is to try and figure out who the madman is. Is it Marco? Mira? The odd Inspector Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini), a cop assigned to the case that shows up to investigate each of the crimes? You will suspect each of these people, along with a few others, at various times during the film. No matter. The end of the movie sets it all straight. Expect the usual multileveled twists and turns before the truth outs in the end. The conclusion has taken some flack from fans that think it has a tacked on feel. I agree, although that does not mean it fails to work in the context of the film as a whole.

More annoying is another issue others pointed out, namely the heavy metal music that swells as the violence unfolds. Argento should have stuck to classical music and the creepy Claudio Simonetti music score instead. As for the "Opera" DVD, it gives us the obligatory Dario Argento biography, a music video, a widescreen transfer, and a fascinating discussion about the film called "Conducting Dario Argento's Opera." In this thirty-minute documentary, Argento discusses locations, the violence, the cast, and the difficulties in making the film. He explains in minute detail how they rigged up a camera to create the bird's eye point of view shot in the theater. The only drawback to the documentary is Daria Nicolodi whining about her failed relationship with Dario and the difficulties of staging that keyhole effect. Argento fans must pick up "Opera" immediately. It's one of his better films.

acting=1 star
effects=4 stars
ending=1 star
atmosphere=4 stars
Directing and Editing=3 stars
storyline=2 stars
replay value=2 stars

As you can see, it's a big disappointment. While the atmosphere is quite good, the acting, the dialogues and the ending ruins the whole movie. This is the silliest ending for a horror-film I've ever seen.
Sorry Argento.