Suspiria (1977)

A newcomer to a fancy ballet academy gradually comes to realize that the staff of the school are actually a coven of witches bent on chaos and destruction.

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi,

Stars:

Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Harper	...	Suzy Bannion
Stefania Casini	...	Sara
Flavio Bucci	...	Daniel
Miguel Bosé	...	Mark (as Miguel Bosè)
Barbara Magnolfi	...	Olga
Susanna Javicoli	...	Sonia
Eva Axén	...	Pat Hingle
Rudolf Schündler	...	Prof. Milius
Udo Kier	...	Dr. Frank Mandel
Alida Valli	...	Miss Tanner
Joan Bennett	...	Madame Blanc
Margherita Horowitz	...	Teacher
Jacopo Mariani	...	Albert
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Taxi Driver
Franca Scagnetti	...	Cook

Storyline

A young American dancer travels to Europe to join a famous ballet school. As she arrives, the camera turns to another young woman, who appears to be fleeing from the school. She returns to her apartment where she is gruesomely murdered by a hideous creature. Meanwhile, the young American is trying to settle in at the ballet school, but hears strange noises and is troubled by bizarre occurrences. She eventually discovers that the school is merely a front for a much more sinister organization.

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Plot Keywords:

ballet | american | apartment | europe | ballet school | 

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Taglines:

The only thing more terrifying than the last five minutes of this film are the first 90!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

X

Details

Official Sites:

Wild Side Films [fr]

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian Russian English German Latin

Release Date:

12 August 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dario Argento's Suspiria

Filming Locations:

BMW Building, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seda Spettacoli

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (prints) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the wide shots of the 'maggots' falling from the ceiling the crew would drop gains of rice down onto the actresses from above.

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Goofs

During the opening cab ride to the school, Suzy asks the cab driver "has it been raining this hard for long?" As the driver turns back towards her just before responds you can see just outside the driver's window (on the left side of the shot) a pillar-like rotating piece of lighting equipment that is clearly the source of the red and yellow strobe lighting during the entire scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Suzy Banyon decided to perfect her ballet studies in the most famous school of dance in Europe. She chose the celebrated academy of Freiburg. One day, at nine in the morning, she left Kennedy airport, New York, and arrived in Germany at 10:40 p.m. local time.

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Crazy Credits

"You have watched Suspiria"

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Markos"
Aadapted from "Music in Similar Motion" by Philip Glass
Arranged by Claudio Simonetti, Fabio Pignatelli, Agostino Marangolo, and Massimo Morante
Performed by Goblin

User Reviews

A masterpiece of the horror genre

I've seen hundreds of horror films (including all of Argento's work), and *Suspiria* is my unequivocal favorite. It is not a perfect film, but it comes closer than any other film in the genre. Everything until the last few minutes is masterfully orchestrated, combining skillful direction with chilling cinematography, not to mention a score that ties my stomach into knots every time I hear so much as a snip of its odd techno-funk beat. Unfortunately, the voice of the witch at the end turns masterful horror into overriding cheese, making the tagline ring all too true: there is *nothing* more terrifying on film than the first ninety minutes, but the last few fall somewhat short of genius.

That fact notwithstanding, *Suspiria* is a fine example of how horror movies should be made, and I sincerely hope that any director or screenwriter contemplating a horror film first sits down to watch this one so they can be reminded that the horror genre properly contains a good deal more than the simple-minded slasher flick that has become all-too-typical in American theaters. After all, no less a filmmaker than Wes Craven seems to have followed this advice, and it allowed him to move from such pitiful efforts as *A Nightmare on Elm Street* to *Scream*, the first (and thus far only) classic horror film of the 90's.