Yelisey
If this idiotic piece of turd is among the Argento's relatively high-rated items, then I can't imagine how bad are his subsequent works. Even in his 70's flicks (that weren't that great too, to put it mildly) he didn't care that much about acting and writing decent or (at least partially) logical scripts, but in Opera he simply spat on these "unnecessary" elements. "Picturesque" killings were the only goals to reach, you know. But unfortunately he had to somehow fill the ~100 min film format, hence a great bulk of absurdities, cretinous dialogues ("Are you scared?" - "A little. No, a lot!") and one of the most moronic final twists.Just some gaping moments: 1) If the murderer planned his deeds so painstakingly, then why did he miss the baton-armed wardrobe mistress? 2) What a "clever" idea was to catch the murderer with these ravens flying around the hall! For the dubious price of finding the killa man you just have to scare the whole audience, thus giving the worst possible advert to the theatre. 3) The final "utterly unexpected" resurrection of the Maniac Inspector is beyond laughability. At least he should has taken the key with himself escaping from the burning room. Did you know that even Orion (the American film's distributor) wanted to cut this f**ked out ending, but our Italian master of crap stood his ground.I don't want to bore you anymore, though I haven't mentioned some other great moments of this idiocy-fest like the scene featuring the Nicolodi's headeye shot.If you are into trash horror Z-movies, then you'll enjoy it. If you're a newcomer to DA, then you'd better check his early works.
felixoteiza
I watched four Argento movies during the holidays--only because they were available at the Public Library—and it would seem that I got the best ones first. Those are Red Deep and Opera. Not that they are great movies, or even good ones, but compared to the other two—Suspiria and Inferno—they are pretty watchable. They have a plot too-or something that looks like that--and I know that because in them Argento follows the lives and tribulations of their two respective central characters. I don't know about other works of him, but if I judge for what I have seen, just one character in one film (with a real plot) will be enough to leave him with his hands full. Now if he has to worry about two, well, there she is--or was--Nicolodi, to get him out of trouble.I'll say Opera is the best of the whole package, even if I was ready to throw the towel and forget all about it during the second needles--on--the--eyes murder, that of the wardrobe clerk (same old, same old.) The only reason why I didn't do it is because of Cristina Marsillach. She is cute. Not only cute; she's very likable and when doing her Callas number she is almost adorable. So I kept on it and I swallowed the whole two hours of Opera only to keep watching her. Her acting is atrocious, yes, and when in the taxi with Marco after her boyfriend's killing, she looks only just P.O., like someone's thinking: "Oh, what a drag". Like any ordinary girl would be after missing her appointment with the hairstylist instead of one having being brutally forced to witness a horrendous murder. Anyway, I found Opera the most interesting Argento to analyze, if only because here you can see what could have made of him a good, even great director, and at the same time what are the flaws that kept him wallowing in the mediocrity of empty, plot-less, gore feasts.One thing I noticed about him is that he never loses the opportunity to ruin the good subplots, stories, situations, he stumbles upon. For instance, there are in Opera at least two great moments—probably the only ones I'll remember of him ten years from now—which, if correctly followed, could have made for classics of world cinema. The first is--oh, yeah--that beautiful ''bullet through the door, right into the eye''. That was great. That's exactly how I like my murders served: fast, efficient, with no superfluous theatrics or gore. Even better is Betty's reaction to the horror: for the first time she is active, energetic, and even angry--''SOB, you're not going to get me, I'll kill you'!'. That would have made for a superb ensuing sequence of suspense, struggle and pursuit. Instead, he allows the pace to drag, the tension to subside and the whole situation cools off. Then, the appearance of the girl in the vent duct springs up yet another chance to revive things; but once again he ruins it, when the kid's mother expels her from her apartment. The other "classic moment" I'm referring to is that of the crows diving on the public in the theater, looking for the killer of their peers. That was also great, but Argento completely ruins the follow up to this superb bit with the completely unlikely, ridiculous, episode of the vengeful one-eyed killed. Sure, anyone who have just had one eyeball ripped off from its socket by a swarm of enraged crows would feel that self-assured and physically, and psychologically, fit as Santini was by then.The second thing I'd mention is the incredible stupidity of his characters, which make their murders not exactly acts of ruthless violence, but rather the natural result of the mysterious way in which the Darwin Law works. That's why we don't feel sorrow for them when they are cut down because it's their own stupidity which brings about heir demises. In Suspiria, it's not really that they ran afoul of the witches what condemned Daniel and Pat but that they couldn't keep their mouths shut. In Opera the seamstress commits the ultimate nonsense of engaging in some puerile game—or so she thinks-- with a ruthless killer, as if it wasn't a question of life and death for her. Instead of doing what every sensible person would have done in her case, with the man on the floor—something even the Three Stooges know--to get hold of something to tie the guy up, she goes and yanks off his mask. What a dope! Third thing is, Argento's bad habit of getting rid of likable actors, characters, as son as he has presented them to us, offing them or forgetting about them. He did it in Inferno with Rose, Sara, Carol and the surreal Pieroni; in Suspiria he did it with Pat and Sara; and in Opera with Mira, the kid and her mother. That greatly works against the movie.Finally I may add the tacky, phony looking murders. And see that I have said nothing about plots, acting or pacing.In general, I consider Opera much better done than the other films I mentioned. Also, a film where all the usual Argento cinematographic antics—colors, settings, score--find their right place and are not put there just for the sake of it. The crows are a great addition, they are great at helping giving atmosphere to the movie, and I don't think for a moment they were over exposed or that the film looks at times like an episode of National Geographic, as some say. And maybe the most important thing, this is the only Argento where I felt true empathy for the main protagonist, I really felt for Betty, which made me forget all about her bad acting. Marsillec shows, at least to me, how much mileage a director can get from a likable lead, how many things he can get away with.
acidburn-10
An opera diva has an accident, which leaves the door open for her understudy to take over the role. Betty (Marsillach) is now the star of Mac Beth, but someone hiding in the trenches has an opera of his own planned out. He gets his kicks out of tying Betty up, putting needles under her eyes (so she cant close them) and murdering members of the opera company before her very eyes."Opera" is certainly one of Argento's more ambitious films, like mixing it up with Shakesphere's Macbeth there is of course the fact that the opera performed in the film is Giuseppe Verdi's version of Macbeth but also Argento, just like Shakespeare uses ravens as an omen of death and misfortune. And like the ravens circling the castle Dunsinane, foreboding the demise of the scheming Macbeth, the ravens in OPERA play a key part in the downfall of the killer. Furthermore just like in the old play the murderer acts on the exhortation of his lover. But I don't want to go as far as saying OPERA is intended to be a remake of the either The Phantom of the Opera or Macbeth, the similarities are far too subtle. It's just a typical Argento masterstroke, and with it he gives this otherwise quite basic thriller a vivid hue of Gothic mystique.Although this movie does have it downsides like the heavl metal soundtrack just doesn't fit in with this movie and the final scenes in this movie are a bit strange.All in all "Opera" is something of a flawed masterpiece but still good.
