View Full Version : Suspiria on C4 New Year's Day - uncut?
As part of its FEAR season, C4 are showing Suspiria on Jan 1st. Does anyone know if this is the Director's Cut? The reason I ask is that they have stated clearly that The Wicker Man being shown tonight is the uncut version. However, they at not so forthcoming about Suspiria. Anybody got any other details? All I've got is the Radio Times to consult :( and can't find anything on C4's web site.
There is also a commentary following the film.
Just Call Me Wanda
31-12-2001, 18:19
There is also a commentary following the film.
....probably someone defending the film, trying to tell us why the film isn't as bad as we think. 'You see, Mr Argento doesn't need a good script, or decent actors because his use of the camera complements the horror and dread he is trying to create to perfect effect.'
Originally posted by Just Call Me Wanda
There is also a commentary following the film.
....probably someone defending the film, trying to tell us why the film isn't as bad as we think. 'You see, Mr Argento doesn't need a good script, or decent actors because his use of the camera complements the horror and dread he is trying to create to perfect effect.'
Not seen any of his films but will probably record it. I guess you're a big fan :D
The commentary is about an hour long and covers his 30 years in the film industry with a look at his recent project I Can't Sleep.
Suspiria has an uncut BBFC certificate so I'd be surprised if Channel 4 cut it, as they're normally very good when it comes to showing uncut versions where possible.
I've only seen 2 Argento films so far - Suspiria and Deep Red - and thought they were both great. Not perfect by any means (Suspiria, as Wanda points out, as some script and acting problems; Deep Red is better on those departments but is slow going in parts) but when it comes to atmosphere and style they works very well. Great soundtracks too.
Thanks for pointing out the documentary - will definitely be giving that a watch.
sampath - thanks for the extra info. I know C4 are great champions of showing uncut films in the OAR wherever they can. It's just the info available in the RT didn't say it was being shown uncut. They did for the other offerings. If it's been passed by the BBFC then I'm sure they'll show it as nature intended :D
A friend of mine has just got the 3 disc version from ********* and was going to lend it to me until he saw it was on C4 this week. I don't know much about it but he raves about it so I'll give it a watch and see what all the fuss is about.
Argento is one of those directors you either love or hate. For me, Profondo Rosso, Suspiria, Inferno, Tenebrae and Opera are up there with his best work and well worth looking into. However, beware of some of the other offerings he's made recently - even Argentohollics admit he's had a quality level that can be described as variable. Some say that his latest - Sleepless - is a return to form, but for me only the sequence on the train near the start lives up to the surreal terror that he is capable of. Also - Beware of the BBFC sissors on R2 releases! I know Tenebrae has a small cut in it for legal reasons due to it having once been on the DPP list - I think it's a couple of seconds - to make the version they pass different to the previously "obscene" version. You might also want to take note that Argento's violence is often very nasty and graphic. He's also been accused of misogony from various quaters. I guess you have to make up your own mind on that one.
I'm sure the version on C4 tomorrow will be uncut, though - to be honest, there's not a whole heap they could cut. Love that Goblin soundtrack!!
if you think scream and i know what you did last summer are the epitome of screen horror then you'll hate suspiria.
Is it me or was this introduced as Argento's "Directorial Debut" on C4? :confused:
Looks uncut (going by the first murder scene anyway) and it's (surprisingly) in the correct aspect ratio.
C4 stated it was his "Horror Debut" which is more correct than the radio times listing. I have a sneaking suspicion that An Eye For Horror had a few scenes shaved, though.
you've not seen this film until you've seen the amazing anchor bay transfer. awesome picture and sound quality.
I got through an hour of Suspiria last night - What a pile of pants - Sam Rami > DA KING >
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Chyna Tsui
02-01-2002, 07:38
Originally posted by martinb
you've not seen this film until you've seen the amazing anchor bay transfer. awesome picture and sound quality.
I take it it looks alot better on DVD than the fuzzy number I watched last night then?
AND WTF was that sound track all about??? I was waiting to hear this legendary "Goblin" soundtrack - It sounded more like the BBC radiophonic workshop on a very bad and particularly noisy day!
Doorman80
02-01-2002, 09:43
Suspiria has to got the worst soundtrack ever!
I recorded this and watched the first 15-20 minutes or so. I have to say I got a very mixed impression. For sure, the DVD will be better quality BUT does the film actually improve after this opening sequence? I was hoping for some high quality horror and, for me, this means fooling the audience so they don't expect what will happen next. The first scene was telegraphed so far ahead they could safely have used carrier pigeons to take the message to the audience!
I'll probably sit through it but I do hope it improves.
Tyler Durden
02-01-2002, 10:38
[i]I'll probably sit through it but I do hope it improves. [/B]
I did, and it doesn't :(
Idle Child
02-01-2002, 11:18
Originally posted by Doorman80
Suspiria has to got the worst soundtrack ever!
i liked the sound track :rolleyes:
but as for the film.. awful. Boring, and strange. I agree Gromit, it doesn't improve after the first 15 minutes. i'm staying away from films about ballet! they're awful - ALL OF THEM! :)
suspiria is one of those films that completely divides it's audience.
Personally, i think it is a beautiful work of art, techically amazing and the closest thing to a celluloid nightmare i have experienced.
others see it as crap!
Michael Brooke
02-01-2002, 11:41
I think you pretty much have to watch <I>Suspiria</I> in conditions approximating those that Argento originally intended - if not the big screen, then at the very least on Anchor Bay's remastered DVD with DTS soundtrack at full blast. It's designed to be a total assault on the senses, and I can't see how a TV broadcast can be any more than a pale shadow of the original.
Even in a reduced form, though, it's still an extraordinary piece of work - closer to Powell & Pressburger's experiments with colour and composition (it owes more than just its setting to <I>The Red Shoes</I>!) than anything else being made in the horror genre. I can readily understand criticisms of plot, characterisation and dialogue - but that's not what I watch the film for.
In fact, to be honest, if you approach just about <U>any</U> 1970s Italian horror film expecting narrative coherence you're barking up the wrong tree, and <I>Suspiria</I> is no worse than most of its contemporaries on that score (Mario Bava's films have an even more extreme gap between style and content, but the style is so gorgeous that it hardly matters).
Elephant Man
02-01-2002, 11:47
I turned over to Mississippi Burning after the first killing.
Just Call Me Wanda
02-01-2002, 17:34
I recorded this and watched the first 15-20 minutes or so. I have to say I got a very mixed impression. For sure, the DVD will be better quality BUT does the film actually improve after this opening sequence?
Gromit, if you can make it to the end - just enjoy one of the worst film endings ever. You'll be totally blown away by its originality.
But, as Micheal said, the film is best seen in a theatre so that it can attack your senses, however, I saw it at the cinema and the only thing it attacked was my intelligence.
Brian_JD
02-01-2002, 18:49
......as Micheal said, the film is best seen in a theatre so that it can attack your senses, however, I saw it at the cinema and the only thing it attacked was my intelligence.
That's a large LOL:D :D
Not being a fan of this genre I suppose I'm rather biased, but I'll
give it marks for presentation ;)
Originally posted by Just Call Me Wanda
But, as Micheal said, the film is best seen in a theatre so that it can attack your senses, however, I saw it at the cinema and the only thing it attacked was my intelligence.
:D
Well, I will probably have a go at getting to the end of the film but what I saw hasn't got me itching to play it at the earliest opportunity. Still, I'll give it a go. I do appreciate that better sound (DTS) and picture from the DVD would improve things but if the film itself is lacking then I can't see me forming a different opinion.
I suspect it's one of those films that I'm not particularly attracted to but I'll see it through before deciding. Although I've not yet seen it, The Devil's Backbone sounds much more like my cup of tea - or coffee even :)
Chyna Tsui
02-01-2002, 19:00
I know it's a different kind of film, but is the The Wickerman any better than this 70's calamity? I forgot to tape the New Years Eve showing.
I was considering getting the Anchor Bay Wicker man DVD as everyone was raving about it on here when the R1 was announced.
But saying that I was thinking about getting Suspiria until I watched it!!!
I watched John Carpenters Rabid the other day and that was terrible as well. Not all 70's horror is this bad is it?
.........actually no. I remember watching the fantastic Salams Lot on TV and everyone at school was talking about how brilliant and scary it was the next day. That bouncing kid at the window with all the fog..........the "teacheeeeer looook at meeeee" bloke in the rocking chair.......the bit where everybody jumps when the master first shows itself! Sheer class!
This film surely deserves an Anchor Bay SE. More so than the totally manky Suspiria.
Tristan H
02-01-2002, 19:06
I personally think Suspiria is a masterpiece. The key to Argento's work for me is the glorious cinematography which is in such contrast to the foul acts on-screen (check out the bullet through the keyhole in "Opera"). I think it's without doubt an acquired taste, but the tension and atmosphere at the end of Suspiria is palpable. It certainly needs to be approached with a very open mind and not an attitude of "come on and scare me if you can". I didn't check the TV broadcast, but as has been said, this is likely to destroy the atmosphere that the film is founded upon.
Tristan I would have to say that I didn't approach watching it with a come and scare me if you can frame of mind. I was genuinely interested in seeing why the film was so highly thought of. I certainly agree that losing the correct sound does lose the atmospheric impact. And, I can understand about having foul acts being committed contrasting with beautiful cinematography. But, if the film itself isn't up to much, what are you actually watching? For it all to work, at least for me, the film has to be the main point with the rest complementing it. Is this perhaps why I can never understand the Turnip (sorry, Turner) prize :confused:
Originally posted by Chyna Tsui
I know it's a different kind of film, but is the The Wickerman any better than this 70's calamity? I forgot to tape the New Years Eve showing.
I taped this and I have to say, it was fairly good with some reasonably weird goings-on, but the much touted 'disturbing ending' was rather tame I thought. Certainly didn't have the same level of tension, style or atmosphere of other 70's horror films that I consider to be classics (Suspiria, Halloween, Dawn of the Dead).
I watched John Carpenters Rabid the other day and that was terrible as well. Not all 70's horror is this bad is it?
It's David Cronenberg's Rabid actually.... :p
I think the biggest reason I appreciate Suspiria is the various elaborate set pieces, often leading up to the killings rather than the killings themselves. An example would be the lead up to the death of the blind pianist. Even scenes where technically nothing much is happening are notable for the atmosphere, for example "the mistress is here" scene.
But I guess the folks who switched off after 15 minutes would've missed those scenes. :p
Tristan H
02-01-2002, 19:59
Originally posted by Gromit
Tristan I would have to say that I didn't approach watching it with a come and scare me if you can frame of mind. I was genuinely interested in seeing why the film was so highly thought of. I certainly agree that losing the correct sound does lose the atmospheric impact. And, I can understand about having foul acts being committed contrasting with beautiful cinematography. But, if the film itself isn't up to much, what are you actually watching? For it all to work, at least for me, the film has to be the main point with the rest complementing it. Is this perhaps why I can never understand the Turnip (sorry, Turner) prize :confused:
I know what you're saying, because when I first saw it I was rather mystified by it all, but I still enjoyed it. There is more to it than the visuals, but its very hard to explain in words what actually makes it so effective. I must admit that I'm a sucker for good cinematography, but the film was more than just that. Hmm... it's very hard to explain, much like The Wickerman I suppose, but there is certainly something very eerie and atmospheric throughout the whole film. The scene, for example, with the girl running through the corridors and landing in barbed wire was amazing. The lighting and Goblin score in DTS had me on the edge of my seat and you really couldn't tell what was going to happen. I suppose horror will always be very subjective as it taps into a certain part of your mind that will always vary from person to person. Just look at The Exorcist (the subject of much ridicule from younger viewers) and The Blair Witch Project (which again has a huge number of critics). I think the true mark of a great horror film is its ability to polarise the audience, which is what you can see here. I would persevere and watch the DTS version though. :)
Tristan I really like the Exorcist but the wife won't have it in the house. I'll certainly watch the taped version of Suspiria and I can at least play it in stereo on my system and see how it goes. I did like the opening music by the Goblins but it didn't sound so good when they got to the house. Not sure if I'm ready to invest $30 or so for now though so will have to make do with the tape.
I find all the talk of viewing Suspiria as the Director intended by experiencing the DTS Soundtrack of the AB DVD a tad ironic considering when the film was released I doubt cinemas had anything more than 2channel stereo!
:D
dave.
Chyna Tsui
03-01-2002, 07:51
Originally posted by sampath
It's David Cronenberg's Rabid actually.... :p
Ahhhh, maybe I watched some hyper rare John Carpenter film that nobody else but me has seen? Maybe. Ahem. ;)
Chyna Tsui
03-01-2002, 07:59
Are there any other films in C4's season of "Fear"?
Or is it just two?
Michael Brooke
03-01-2002, 08:16
<B>I find all the talk of viewing Suspiria as the Director intended by experiencing the DTS Soundtrack of the AB DVD a tad ironic considering when the film was released I doubt cinemas had anything more than 2channel stereo! </B>
Actually, <I>Suspiria</I> was originally released in four-track stereo - a magnetic sound system also used by Robert Altman in <I>Nashville</I> that fell by the wayside when the optical Dolby Stereo system was widely introduced.
That said, it's true that only the lucky few able to see it in state-of-the-art West End cinemas would have experienced the film as Argento intended - I've seen it twice on the big screen, but sadly only in mono.
I have a feeling I flicked over to this the other night after a late night gaming session. If I remember correctly there was a Dario Argento documentary afterwards, and the film itself seemed to comprise of some women running around in a gloomy house.
Am I wrong? :D
vanmunchen
03-01-2002, 15:55
I saw this when it first opened in cinemas in quod sound and believe me it was a terrifying experience! Seeing it on TV just isn't the same.
Idle Child
03-01-2002, 18:26
Originally posted by Chyna Tsui
Are there any other films in C4's season of "Fear"?
Or is it just two?
yes, David Cronenberg's Scanners is on tonight. one to tape i think. ;)
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