Finally saw an Argento on the big screen and can't argue with this as the choice. Beautiful cinematography and some outlandish kills make for a good time. That ending is very very silly, though I wouldn't change it.

As far as Argentos go, this one was slightly less depraved than Tenebrae or Deep Red, but this was still probably his batshittiest ending so far.

The idea of an operatic version of Macbeth is interesting, but the plot of this horror film about such an opera where things go very wrong is just a lot of silly nonsense. The ravens were scary, but the people killing each other were ridiciculous. Lots of screaming, lots of bad dubbing into badly accented English, lots of people doing the sort of things scared people don't do and probably exactly the sort of film those who know a lot about, and enjoy, Argento's horror would expect.

It's on Lovefilm Instant until 29th May.

when Opera is great it's A+ primo super great. when this movie isn't great you're thinking about what you need at the grocery store / might fall asleep slow. but overall, while Opera isn't the top shelf Argento, it's got some OUTSTANDING HELL YEAH moments.
while watching it, i couldn't help thinking how the way to watch this is really should have been in the theater. all the dizzying camera work must have really been something on the big screen.

Fine example of Argento's later works with sufficient scares and further meditation on the destructve capabilities of creating art. Impressively stylish and on a grander than previous works with chilling imagery throughout. Hugely impressed by the handling of the gunshot death - among his most visually stylish, which is high praise in relation to Mr Argento.

Bizarre to see Ian Charleson, of Chariots of Fire fame, appearing though.

Unos cuantos años antes de realizar su versión de 'El fantasma de la ópera', Dario Argento ya se acercó a Gastón Leroux (y, de paso, a Shakespeare) en este irregular largometraje en el que citaba a estos dos clásicos y a sí mismo. Se trata de un giallo cargado de audacia visual pero algo indigesto en su argumento, resultando un triste remedo de los thrillers criminales con los que el director se hizo famoso en los años 70 y ante los que esta 'Opera' no aguanta dos asaltos.

Para muchos es la última gran película de Dario Argento. Para otros, entre los que me incluyo, marca el comienzo de su decadencia.

The idea of an operatic version of Macbeth is interesting, but the plot of this horror film about such an opera where things go very wrong is just a lot of silly nonsense. The ravens were scary, but the people killing each other were ridiciculous. Lots of screaming, lots of bad dubbing into badly accented English, lots of people doing the sort of things scared people don't do and probably exactly the sort of film those who know a lot about, and enjoy, Argento's horror would expect.

It's on Lovefilm Instant until 29th May.

when Opera is great it's A+ primo super great. when this movie isn't great you're thinking about what you need at the grocery store / might fall asleep slow. but overall, while Opera isn't the top shelf Argento, it's got some OUTSTANDING HELL YEAH moments.
while watching it, i couldn't help thinking how the way to watch this is really should have been in the theater. all the dizzying camera work must have really been something on the big screen.

Sure, the movie's full of illogical moments, and the ending is kinda horrible and tacked on. Story... not so great. But technically, Argento is firing on all cylinders. Amazing camerawork, fantastic locations, some ridiculous death scenes. Of course, the former Mrs. Argento gets the best one of all.

One of the most disturbing things I have ever seen and probably one of the weirdest things to ever be committed to film. The movie starts with a close up of a raven cawing while a woman sings opera. There is a production of an operatic version of Macbeth. And, there is one of the most impressive and horrifying slow motion bullet scenes I have ever seen. Dario Argento is an incredibly strange man. I still prefer Deep Red, but this one has a higher rating just because of the way it is shot.

(2007 rating & review)

As far as Argentos go, this one was slightly less depraved than Tenebrae or Deep Red, but this was still probably his batshittiest ending so far.

Not as dizzying or deep as the likes of Tenebrae and Profundo Rosso, if anything this is just a bit of fun as Dario goes to the opera and brings along a bit of his usual flares and flavours. A bit like Argento-lite really or a Concert Movie. Still, very watchable if not particularly stunning, captivating or taxing. . I liked a few things about the movie - including the grisly eye's torture and I do have a soft spot for Theatre. I'm glad I didn't start here though

Hit and miss giallo shows off Argento's greatest skills (costume studio/keyhole killings) also with interesting commentary on terror and spectatorship. The killer's unclear motivations, their abnormal predictability and the dire ending leave this falling short of Argento's 70's works for me.