Opera (1990)

Very well executed

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

When the diva of a daring production of Verdi's Macbeth directed by Marco (Ian Charleson) has an accident, the young opera singer Betty (Cristina Marsillach) successfully replaces her. Soon a psychopath obsessed by Betty kills her boyfriend, the production assistant Stefano (William McNamara); her costumer designer Giulia (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni); and her agent Mira (Daria Nicolodi). Inspector Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini), who is her fan, gives protection to Betty, but the murderer always gets close to her. Who might be the killer? "Opera" is a giallo version of The Phantom of the Opera by Dario Argento. The story has many flaws, but technically the film is wonderful. The camera work is fantastic, exploring unusual angles and movements. The cinematography is outstanding using beautiful bright colors. The music score is magnificent. And the special effects with lots of gore are top- notch, with usual murders. The cast has good performances and the film never disappoints. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Terror na Ópera" ("Terror in the Opera")

"Like sticking pins in your eyes" - indeed. Whether it's teeth, testicles, fingernails or eyes, when it comes to mutilation of sensitive and delicate (& vital!) body organs, actual ones at that and not prosthetic ones, then one can feel REALLY uncomfortable!The young stand-in opera singer has pins taped to her eye sockets, if she closes them, the pins embed into her eyes. As she's watching utterly brutal acts of death and massacre, at the hands of a masked mad-man, she may really want to.From its outset, with the Moulin Rouge sort of Italian opera house theatrics and Edgar Allen Poe metaphoric ravens, that look on menacingly, the Kubrick-styled swirling camera that swishes and floats add to the Arty high of grandiosity. This is a delicious mix of superb visuals and utter shocks. Knives that skewer up through the chin and through to the roof of the mouth, YES! Ravens feasting on posh patron's eyeballs, TICK!The version I saw was on The Horror Channel and was in its original Italian, with subtitles. Subtitles aren't always such a good thing for horror as they can can take too long to read and diminish the visuals. However, the spirit and passion is maintained here by being in Italian. The sound quality was extremely good, too.I would probably have bought the DVD on the strength of how good the film was, but, frankly, I couldn't physically watch it again; an honour which must say how effective a horror it is.

Opera (1987) *** (out of 4) A production of Lady MacBeth hits a snag when the lead actress is hit by a car. This turns the lead role over to Betty (Cristina Marsillach), a young understudy who soon finds herself being stalked by a crazed "fan" who forced her to watch him kill her co-workers. Here's yet another good film from the Italian master but if you're familiar with the work of Dario Argento then you already know that he doesn't waste time on silly things. Of course, one such "silly thing" is plot, which is something he rarely digs too deep into and it's also rare that any of his films make much sense. The reasons behind the killer are certainly explained towards the end but let's just say that very little thought went into them. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the entire story by Argento really didn't go anywhere past the idea of putting needles under the eyes of our hero, which is the one way that the killer can force her to watch him kill. Without the needles she could just close her eyes but with the needles, if she attempts to close her eyes then she'll basically be poking them out. Even that seems to have a few problems when you see the device but that's besides the point. Overall this is a fairly stylish little film that certainly has a few creepy moments to make it worth viewing. One of the highlights happens when Betty and her agent (Daria Nicolodi) are trapped inside an apartment not knowing if the man inside is a killer or the cop trying to protect them. Then, on the outside, is another man who might be the killer or perhaps he's really the cop. This is a very good sequence that Argento handles very well. Another such sequence is the now somewhat legendary first ending dealing with crows taking their revenge. If you stop and think about it the scene is quite ridiculous but while watching it you can't help but be entertained. Marsillach has taken a lot of heat from fans due to her lack of performance as she's never really all that emotional or at least she doesn't show it. I didn't have too much of a problem with her performance, although she's certainly not in the same league as some of Argento's other leading actresses. Ian Charleson is good in his role as is Urbano Barberini and Nicolodi. Now, the controversy happens after the ending inside the opera. I'm not going to spoil anything but I found what happens after the opera to be downright idiotic and completely worthless. The entire sequence is just a joke and it really makes the viewer leave the picture with a bad taste in their mouth. Still, even with the flaws OPERA is a pretty effective horror film where the director once again mixes style, graphic violence and some nice atmosphere. One only wishes the stories had a little more thought to them.

If you love Dario Argento as I do, you forgive him his faults. Don't focus on the small mistakes, just enjoy a true master of horror.Betty (Cristina Marsillach) takes over the lead in an opera after a car accident knocks out the diva. Then, the fun begins.She is forced to watch as other members of the cast and crew are horribly murdered one by one. She suspects that she will last.Then, there were the birds! A real thriller with the outcome in doubt even when you thought it was over.Marsillach was not great, but she did give a fair performance in another Argento classic.