I’ve written before about the many times I snuck forbidden horror movies past my parents thanks to the nondescript cases of VHS rentals, and Suspiria is one of those films. An Italian horror movie cowritten and directed by Dario Argento, it follows an American ballet student who joins a prestigious dance academy in Germany, and discovers its sinister secrets.
I remember watching it with my friends and laughing hysterically at the strangely dubbed dialogue, incredibly saturated colors, and continuity issues (that pesky courtyard breeze!) I didn’t have a huge appreciation for it at the time, just a nostalgic fondness since I discovered it with friends. It wasn’t until I watched interviews about the filmmaking process of Suspiria that I began to see it in a new light.
It turns out that dubbing in lines was common in Italian movies at the time and the vivid colors are the result of using technicolor film, the same used in The Wizard of Oz, and Gone with the Wind. It was used in Suspiria to create bright bold hues, especially red, to give the film a nightmarish quality (it works). I also learned that the soundtrack was composed and recorded by a rock group, Goblin, and the recorded all of it before the movie was even made. Unfortunately, the DVD set that provided all these new revelations also seemed to greatly reduce them in the actual film. The transfer to DVD seemed to mute the technicolor and muffle the distinctive soundtrack.
I was able to catch a screening of Suspiria this past weekend at Charlotte’s film festival, and it was amazing. The film has been painstakingly restored by Synapse Films from the original 35mm film. The four year process,which you can read about here, brings back the stunning hues and howling soundtrack that I remember.
Of course this week’s entertainment rundown had to include a list of other classic horror movies to enjoy, along with the return of many favorite fall TV shows. If you had a choice, what classic, horror or not, would you want to see on the big screen?
Classic Horror
September 27
Rosehaven (SundanceTV, Season 1; U.S. premiere)
September 28th
How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, Season 4)
September 29th
Marvel’s Inhumans (ABC, new drama series)
Dateline (NBC, Season 26)
The Exorcist (Fox, Season 2)
September 30th
48 Hours (CBS, Season 30)
October 1st
From astronomy.com: About 15 minutes after Venus pokes above the eastern horizon this morning, Mars rises directly below it. The Red Planet shines at magnitude 1.8 — less than 1 percent as bright as its neighbor — though it still stands out nicely against the twilight glow. The two planets will edge closer to each other over the next few days in the run-up to a spectacular October 5 conjunction.
The Simpsons (Fox, Season 29)
Family Guy (Fox, Season 15)
October 2nd
Lucifer (Fox, Season 3)
Masterpiece (PBS, Season 47)
October 3rd
Fresh Off the Boat (ABC, Season 4)
Black-ish (ABC, Season 4)
Freaks; Extraordinary film.
LikeLike
The daily prompt peaked my interest today and I was just musing over how there are so many coincidences (that aren’t coincidences at all!) in my life right now as a scrolled through my reader and I come across THIS!!
Further proof, there are NO coincidences!!
This movie messed me and my friends up bad!! I have never been so honestly horrified in my life. Somehow this movie achieves everything it sets out to! Thanks for this post! Some neat little factoids in it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I cannot respond to the question but I enjoyed your writing. Thanks for writing. It enabled me to get into a field I am not used to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Today’s verse so will written. It made me rethink my fear of horror movies, and the art content within. Also as a parent it is good to know that the things that got by me when my kids were young may have led to greater insight as they grew older…you can only hope.
LikeLiked by 1 person