| Suspiria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | Suspiria |
| Directed by: | Dario Argento |
| Written by: | Dario Argento; Daria Nicolodi |
| Produced by: | Salvatore Argento; Claudio Argento |
| Music by: | Dario Argento; Goblin |
| Cinematography: | Luciano Tovoli |
| Edited by: | Franco Fraticelli |
| Production | |
| Distributors: | Seda Spettacoli |
| Released: | February 1st, 1977 (Italy) August 12th, 1977 (US) |
| Rating: | R |
| Running time: | 98 min. |
| Country: | Italy |
| Language: | Italian |
| Budget: | Unknown |
| Gross: | ITL 1,430,000,000 |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | Inferno (1980) |
Suspiria is an Italian expressionist feature film of the supernatural thriller genre with an emphasis on the occult. It was written and directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Daria Nicolodi, who was originally slated to star in the movie before Argento decided upon American actress Jessica Harper to take on the leading female role. It was produced by Seda Spettacoli and premiered in Italy on February 1st, 1977. Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion - an American ballerina who joins a prestigious European dance academy. Sound pretty pedestrian, eh? Nothing sordid about that. I mean... its not like European ballerinas would use their school as a front for wicked occult shenanigans, would they?
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jessica Harper | Suzy Bannion |
| Stefania Casini | Sara |
| Flavio Bucci | Daniel |
| Miguel Bosé | Mark |
| Barbara Magnolfi | Olga |
| Susanna Javicoli | Sonia |
| Eva Axén | Pat Hingle |
| Rudolf Schündler | Professor Milius |
| Udo Kier | Doctor Frank Mandel |
| Alida Valli | Miss Tanner |
| Joan Bennett | Madame Blanc |
| Margherita Horowitz | Teacher |
| Jacopo Mariani | Albert |
| Fulvio Mingozzi | Taxi driver |
| Franca Scagnetti | Cook |
| Renato Scarpa | Professor Verdegast |
| Serafina Scorceletti | 2nd cook |
| Giuseppe Transocchi | Pavlo |
| Renata Zamengo | Caroline |
| Alessandra Capozzi | Dancer |
| Salvatore Capozzi | Dancer |
| Diana Ferrara | Dancer |
| Cristina Latini | Dancer |
| Alfredo Raino | Dancer |
| Claudia Zaccari | Dancer |
| Dario Argento | Narrator |
| Giovanni Di Bernardo | Police inspector |
| Daria Nicolodi | Woman at airport |
Home Video[]
Suspiria was first released to home video on VHS format in 1988 by Magnum Entertainment. It was released again on March 24th, 1998 by Fox Lorber and again in 1989 in Canada. It was released to DVD on region 2 format on October 25th, 2000. The cover art for this version showed twin images of Jessica Harper's character Suzy Bannion side by side with one another. Another region 2 version, ASIN: B00004CZSQ, was re-issued on October 28th, 2002. The cover art to this version featured the standard black background with a ballet dancer standing in a pool of blood. This version was produced by A-Films.
The film was released again on region 1 format as part of the Dario Argento Collection by Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Entertainment on September 11th, 2001. The 3-disc Limited Edition region 1 boxset of Suspiria was released by Anchor Bay and Starz on this date as well. Special features on this DVD set include television and radio spots, a music video to "Daemonica" by Goblin, a still gallery; a 25th Anniversary featurette (running time 52 min.) and the original Goblin soundtrack on disc 3.
A 2-disc Special Edition of Suspiria was released by Blue Underground on September 25th, 2007. Disc one special features include the original theatrical trailer, TV and radio spots, the "Daemonica" music video, talent biographies and a featurette containing interviews with director Dario Argento, co-writer Daria Nicolodi, cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, actress Jessica Harper, actress Stefania Casini, actor Udo Kier and the band Goblin.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The tagline for this film is "The only thing more terrifying than the last five minutes of this film are the first 90!", which basically states that the climax of the movie is not as compelling as the previous bits, which is somewhat of an underwhelming testimonial, innit?
- Principal filming on Suspiria began on July 26th, 1976 and concluded on November 30th.
- Is considered "One Of The Scariest Movies Of All Time!" by Entertainment Weekly magazine.
- This is the fifth film directed by Dario Argento. He previously directed Deep Red in 1975. His next film is Inferno, which was released in 1980.
- Actress Joan Bennett is also known for playing the role of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard on the 1960s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.
- A poster from Suspiria is briefly seen in the Masters of Horror episode "Pelts", which was also directed by Dario Argento.
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