Opera (1987)

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

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (story), Franco Ferrini (story)

Stars:

Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson, Urbano Barberini

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A young opera singer (Betty) gets her big chance when the previous star of a production of Verdi's Macbeth is run over by a car. Convinced the opera is bad luck she accepts, and becomes the target (in Argento's unmistakable style) of a psychopath - a man she has been dreaming of since childhood.

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Plot Keywords:

giallo | psycho killer | peep hole | slasher | italian cinema | 

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Taglines:

The last note is a real killer.

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong terror and violence, and for a scene of sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The idea of the pins-under-the-eyes torture device came from a joke of Argento's. Argento said it would annoy him when people would look away during the scary scenes in his films. He would jokingly suggest taping pins under people's eyes so they couldn't look away from the film. It would late materialize on the screen for this film.

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Goofs

When in the wardrobe studio to repair the damaged dress, the wind is blowing on sheets of fabrics laying on the floor. While the camera is traveling forward, it pans to the right, and the camera crew is visible in a mirror's reflection.

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Quotes

Betty: You bastard! Son of a bitch! You're not going to get me! You're not! I'll kill you!

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Alternate Versions

The version prepared by Orion Pictures for an American release in 1988 was edited to 96 minutes, removing the scene of Mara Cecova hurling her glass at the TV, much material involving the little girl next door to Betty, and Betty's final crawl through the grass in the final scene. The U.S. plans were scrapped, and this version was released by RCA/Columbia on Japanese laserdisc and as a bonus on Arrow's two-disc DVD reissue in England.

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Connections

References Phenomena (1985)

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Soundtracks

Knights of the Night
by The Group Steel Grave
By Arrangement with Franton Music/Walkman SRL

User Reviews

I usually like Argento

Willing suspension of disbelief.

You've got to have that for a horror flick, but the characters in this flick have got to be the dumbest lot that Argento has created. After the first murder, the main actress calls the police but won't tell them anything about the murder. Then when a second character shows up, just driving around the city streets at night, she sits in his car, obviously distraught, but refuses to give any indication of what she has just been through.

The set piece where the killer is exposed is just as contrived, taking place in front of hundreds of people with no real indication that the killer would be at the scene.

Then there is the ending, totally out of joint with the rest of the film, where for a moment we get the hope of something original, ala the book version of Hannibal, but no, once again we are presented with brain numbing absurdity.

While the Anchor Bay DVD is beautiful, and we have a nice documentary about the making of the film, I think Argento says it best when he states that "After the movie he went to India for a while, because he thought he had made a bad movie." The documentary ends on that note, as does this review.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

19 December 1987 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Opera

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ADC Films, Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 88 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1