The Terrifying First Chapter of DARIO ARGENTO'S Three Mothers Trilogy- Uncut, Uncensored and Remastered from the Original Negative! Jessica Harper (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) stars as Suzy Banyon, a young American ballet dancer who arrives at a prestigious European dance academy run by the mysterious Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett of DARK SHADOWS) and Miss Tanner (Alida Valli of KILLER NUN). But when a series of bizarre incidents and horrific crimes turn the school into a waking nightmare of the damned, Suzy must escape the academy's unspeakable secret of supernatural evil. Experience the most shocking and hallucinatory horror movie in history as you've never seen or heard it before, now featuring the fully remastered landmark score by Goblin and a heart-stopping new film transfer supervised by cinematographer Luciano Tovoli. This is the definitive version of Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA, an aria of terror beyond imagination and one of the most extraordinary horror films ever made.

Jessica Harper (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) stars as Suzy Banyon, a young American ballet dancer who arrives at a prestigious European dance academy run by the mysterious Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett of DARK SHADOWS) and Miss Tanner (Alida Valli of KILLER NUN). But when a series of bizarre incidents and horrific crimes (including what Entertainment Weekly calls the most vicious murder scene ever filmed

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The plot is a basic one, more of a vehicle for Argento's explorative imagination. It begins with a storm, as young Susy Banyon (Jessica Harper) arrives in Germany to attend ballet school. Argento wastes no time in creating a sense of unease, from her cab ride to the school, as she watches the colors of street lights in the pouring rain, to the gruesome and outright malicious murder of a runaway student. All of this happens within the first ten minutes, which should be a message of what lies ahead (in other words, be prepared).

The movie then takes us to the school itself, a dazzling array of vivid colors and elaborate set pieces that put the house in Robert Wise's "The Haunting" to shame. Susy is shown the many rooms and introduced to the staff and students, though discovers that she will be rooming off campus. That is, until she begins to get suspicious about strange occurrences, and the staff relocates her to the premises. Her suspicions mount higher, and she begins to wonder if there isn't more to the ladies that run the academy.

You may find yourself forgetting the plot behind all of this mayhem, but that's perfectly reasonable, given the fact that Argento seems to be more interested in attacking our minds than provoking them. And he succeeds in doing just that, taking us into the darkest depths of horror with his adept use of gore, bursting colors, camera movements and creepy sounds from all around.

This is extremely unsettling stuff here, some of the most elaborate yet unbearable set pieces ever constructed for a film. The beginning murder sequence is a true shocker, one that we see coming, but never in such a gruesome manner. Other sequences involve a blind man being attacked by his own seeing-eye dog, multiple stabbings, a girl's corpse coming back to life... it never stops.

But it all works due to Argento's ability to get under our skin before shocking us out of it. Before each scene of brutality, there is a wonderful buildup of suspense and terror, because even though we know what's going to happen, we're totally in the dark as to how it will occur. He keeps us waiting impatiently by employing a slowly building soundtrack, heightened by slow camera movements that center on the faces of the person involved.

"Suspiria" will remain in the memory long after its first viewing; in fact, you may never forget it. It stands out as a visionary masterpiece, one for the senses and the mind, a horror film that transcends the boundaries of the genre. I was intrigued by every minute of this film, which keeps you in the moment long after it's already passed.

72 of 89 found the following review helpful:

Stylish, beautiful, and mesmerisingNov 19, 2001
By Douglas Ratcliff "The face that looks out at you from the depths of your mirror"
I first saw Suspiria a few years ago as a VHS rental but I couldn't remember too much about it. But suddenly, the world of Italian horror has been broken wide open so I picked up this three disk limited edition. Watching Suspiria is sort of like dreaming awake. Colored lighting is used to great effect and the sound track just sort of lulls one into submission. The plot makes about as much sense as a dream, that is to say, the movie all makes sense while watching but looses cohesion quickly once one returns to the "real" world. I think that is why I only remember watching the VHS rental but not too much of the movie.

The three disc set includes a newly made documentary and a Goblin soundtrack from the movie. The documentary suffers from subtitles that are sometimes washed out against a light background. Otherwise, it is informative. The Goblin CD is a lot fun to listen to and I find myself humming the main theme all the time. Unfortunately, I do not find a listing for the names of the songs. The main disk also includes trailers and radio spots and a Goblin music video of Demonia, which appears to be the main theme song.

25 of 30 found the following review helpful:

Terrific DVD for a terrific movieOct 24, 2001

What many claim is the definitive Dario Argento movie(some say "Deep Red" but I say this), has been put into a wonderful DVD. I waited for weeks for the limited edition. It was well worth the wait. The limited edition throws in everything, but the kitchen sink. While the laserdisc was in letterbox, the colors were washed out. Pity too, since that was they used a technique which enhanced the colors into a deeper, richer texture (in letterbox to show the entire picture). Thankfully, the DVD lets us see this wonderful enhancement beautifully. On the second disc, we see interviews with the filmakers and stars of the film. We also get a bit of a hint why we still haven't seen the conclusion of "Three Mothers" Trilogy. It also has an interesting interview of the composer of the bizarre music to the movie. The third disc is a CD soundtrack to the movie, which contains a terrific updated version of the theme song (a music video of the song is in the first disc). All in all, an excellent DVD set. Bravo to Anchor Bay!

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Dario's dream-like, horror masterpieceFeb 06, 2003
By Keith W. Johnson
If you've never seen a Dario Argento film and are curious as to why he has such a huge cult following, "Suspiria" is a great place to start finding out. The atmosphere Argento creates in the film fills you with such a sense of heavy dread, it's no wonder that he claims that this film and "Inferno" (an inferior but stylish follow-up) were exhausting to make. Most likely, he probably creeped himself out. "Suspiria" will make your skin crawl, even when nothing seems to be happening. Argento even makes falling rain seem disturbing. The film moves like a dream, and the Goblin soundtrack is haunting. This is the best, creepiest music I have ever heard in a horror film. The storyline is basic, as in most Argento films, and what moves the viewer is not the story (centering around a dancing-academy run by a coven of witches) but the style and dreamy-quality of Argento's directing. The gore is strong in this movie, so sensitive viewers beware. For any fan of good horror, this film is a must. If you've never seen Argento, now is a good time to start. And start with "Suspiria"!

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