Opera (1987)

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (screenplay)
Dario Argento (story)

Release Date:

19 December 1987 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

obsession. murder. madness.

Plot:

A young opperata is stalked by a deranged fan bent on killing the people associated with her to claim her for himself.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Killing | Psychopath | Entrails | Mutilation

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Cristina Marsillach	...	Betty
Ian Charleson	...	Marco
Urbano Barberini	...	Inspector Alan Santini
Daria Nicolodi	...	Mira
Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni	...	Giulia
Antonella Vitale	...	Marion
William McNamara	...	Stefano
Barbara Cupisti	...	Signora Albertini
Antonino Iuorio	...	Baddini (as Antonio Juorio)
Carola Stagnaro	...	Alma's mother
Francesca Cassola	...	Alma
Maurizio Garrone	...	Maurizio, the raven trainer
Cristina Giachino	...	Maria, the assistant director
György Gyõriványi	...	Miro
Bjorn Hammer	...	Cop #1

Also Known As:

Terror at the Opera (USA)

Runtime:

107 min | USA:88 min (edited version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | USA:R (heavily cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Germany:18 (TV premiere) (1992) (heavily cut) | Germany:18 (video rating) (1988) (heavily cut) | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Finland:K-18 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

ADC Films

Trivia:

According to star Urbano Barberini, it would take hours for everyone to re-capture the crows after they were released in the opera house for filming. Around 140 crows were used, but only 60 sum were ever retrieved. The others apparently escaped from the opera house during filming.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the killer's POV shot entering the costume workshop, the camera and camera dolly are seen in a mirror on the right.

Quotes:

Betty: I am nothing like my mother. Nothing like her!

Movie Connections:

References Streamers (1983)

Soundtrack:

Un bel dì vedremo

Wild Argento stuff!

I loved "Opera" - sure, there are flaws, but only the typical ones... Mostly inconsistencies, and they are mentioned quite a bit at the IMDB comment site. To me, these kinds of things can't be important if you know anything about his work and are looking forward to seeing his next movie. If you love Dario Argento, then you learn to treasure these idiosyncrasies (plot holes, odd motives, clumsy or tacked-on endings, bad female performances, blah, blah, blah) as part of the auteur's clumsy charm. And if you love Argento, it is because of his spectacular, flaming imagination and his confidence and skill in bringing all of it to the screen. Pins under eyelids? The retrieval of the gold bracelet? The bullet gliding gracefully down the long corridor? The little girl's rescuing of the heroine and the ensuing air duct chase? These all come straight from the director's imagination and they come out of nowhere, or better yet, from the subconcious. Dario's best stuff is always vivid and excessive, dreamlike and unprecedented. I am almost afraid to watch the newer stuff as I hear the director's outlook on making horror films has weakened in some way. Still, "Deep Red" (1975) all the way to this outing in 1987 can provide huge amounts of original pleasures. Oh, and the means of revealing the killer to both audiences is just too clever, truly operatic (no pun intended).