SUSPIRIA (1977) (Synapse Blu-ray Review)

SUSPIRIA (1977)

2-Disc Blu-ray Edition

Label: Synapse Films
Duration: 98 minutes
Region Code: A
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Audio: Italian DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 4.0 LCRS Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Alida Valli, Udo Kier, Barbara Magnolfi, Stefania Casini

Suspiria (1977) is a surreal masterpiece of 70's Italian horror cinema, the penultimate achievement by director Dario Argento which has weathered the past 40 years with a supernatural grace rarely afforded genre cinema, from the first frame to the last each image is lensed with a painterly vision, drenched in dread and skin-crawling atmosphere, it's the kind of tension filled horror that leaves a lasting impression and one that is not easily forgotten.

The story is a dark fairy tale, an American ballet student Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper, Phantom of the Paradise) arrives late one night in Frieburg, Germany to attend a prestigious dance academy run by Madame Blanc (Joan Bennet, Dark Shadows). Upon arriving at the school she witnesses Pat (Eva Axen), a young woman fleeing the academy, she bursts out the front door and utters a few near incomprehensible words to a person unseen inside, then frantically escapes down a path through a nearby wooded area in the pouring rain. Suzy herself is unable to gain entrance to the academy at this late hour and takes a taxi back into town, we then continue to follow Pat into town where she winds up at the apartment of a friend. While settling in for the night and drying her hair she stares out the window of the apartment and is startled by two burning eyes peering back at her through the darkness, just then a hairy arm breaks through the window pane and stabs her repeatedly, it's an extremely tense and gripping moment, the Goblin score is overpowering, every time I watch the scene my heart begins beating right out of my chest, this happens every time I watch it. After hearing the commotion through the door her friend is unable to help her friend and flees downstairs, as she runs across the lobby to the front door she is horrified as Pat's corpse crashes though a stunning stained-glass ceiling with a noose around her neck, and the friend is fatally impaled by falling shards of glass. Not to overstate it, but this is one of the greatest horror openings ever! We are just barely a few minutes into the film and it's already built up to an nerve-shattering crescendo and we only just getting started!

These opening scenes are overwhelming to the senses, loaded  with lush, vibrant primary colors, the lighting is heightened, unnatural and fantastical, immediately we are aware of it's nightmarish quality, setting the stage for something extraordinary. The architecture and set design are key aspects of the visuals, when Suzy arrives outside the academy during the torrential downpour we are struck by how vibrantly red and gold-trimmed the exteriors are, there's a weird and wonderful symmetry to the architecture of the school, it's peculiar stuff and is purely cinematic, I love what appears to be the crushed blue velvet walls of  the academy. 

The next day Suzy, unaware of the bizarre events from the night before, returns to the academy and is introduced to Madame Blanc and the stern dance instructor Miss Tanner (Alida Valli, Eyes Without a Face) and quickly meets Sarah (Stefani Casini, Bloodstained Shadow) a student who was previously friends with the unfortunate Pat. At first Suzy insists on living off campus but before she can leave the school she becomes dizzy and disoriented after a strange encounter with the school's lunch lady. Fallen ill she remains at the school where a doctor prescribes to her a bland diet of food and a daily glass of wine, she winds up sharing a room with Sarah who in turn tells her strange stories about her former roommate Pat and the weird things she spoke of before she mysteriously disappeared into the night.

There's a odd air about the academy, it feels weird and it turns out Pat's not the only student to have gone missing. Suzy quickly begins to suspect that something not quite right is happening at the school, it's with these fears that she meets with Sarah's friend Dr. Mandel (the always odd Udo Kier, My Own Private Idaho) who further informs her of the schools dark history, it having been founded by the mysterious Helen Markos, a suspected witch known as the Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs. With this information she returns to the academy, continuing the great Argento tradition of our protagonist recalling something overheard or seen earlier but not-quite-comprehended till later which proves key to the mystery, she investigates further leading to a wonderfully fantastic and fiery crescendo to an altogether stunning supernatural thriller.


More so than any other film I've ever seen Suspiria benefits heavily from the intense atmosphere and dread created by the conjoining of Argento's painterly lensing, courtesy of cinematographer Luciano Tovoli  (Titus), and Goblin's haunting, bewitching and pulse-pounding score. I think there's little doubt this would be a lesser movie without the score and visuals melding, the two are melded together seamlessly, to watch the film without the score would be strange, but I will say that the score stands on it's own. At some points the score actually drowns out dialogue, as a purely cinematic experience separate from narrative it's completely successful, Suspiria is a film that does not rely on a linear narrative and plot to accomplish what Argento set out to do, make a frightful, arthouse fairy tale for the ages, it's startling today so it must have been a revelation back in '77!

Audio/Video: Suspiria (1977) arrives on Blu-ray from Synapse Films, this is the a the same 4K restoration from the original camera negative with color correction supervised by the original cinematographer that appeared on the limited edition Steelbook, and apparently this is the only version of the film on home video to have the Tovoli seal of approval, and it shows in every frame, this thing is impressive! Notably this is not the TLE restoration that seems to have been used for most of the current crop of Blu-rays of the film, including the new 40th Anniversary version from Umbrella Entertainment, a version I own and love, which has some great extras, including three feature length Argento docs. The colors of this new 4K restoration are extremely deep and vibrant, the colors are saturated and rich in texture, notably not as overly bright as past version were, and the issues with bleeding colors and pinkish looking red has been eradicated.

Audio on the disc includes a robust sounding Italian DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 track, but the revelatory audio option is the English DTS-HD Master 4.0 LCRS sound mix not heard since its theatrical release in '77, mixed with the amazing visuals it's like watching/hearing the movie for the very first time, with newly-translated optional English SDH subtitles. The phenomenal Goblin score is both deeply haunting and nerve-shattering in equal measures, and sounds exquisite with the 4.0 mix.

Looking at the extras we begin with two brand new audio commentaries recorded excursively for Synapse Films, one with author Troy Howarth who always gives great commentary, and a second with film historians Derek Botelho and David Del Valle and Troy Howarth who dive deep into the film for some enticing conversation, fans of the film should love it. We also get a 30-minute video essay about the film,  A German filming location then and now comparison, a 27-min making of retrospective/appreciation,  a 17-min interview with actress Barbara Magnolfi. Rounding out the extras we get a great selection of trailers, TV spots, and radio spots for the film adding up to about 10-min.

The 2-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork, the classic artwork and then we get a very cool new illustration from artists Joel Robinson, a very moody purple and red themed design that captures a lot of iconic moments from the film. The discs are the same exact discs as the limited edition steelbook from Synapse minus the soundtrack CD, and of course all the sweet packaging extras they included, the booklet, the slipcover (o-card) - it's all so glorious, but this edition is a great alternative for those who couldn't/wouldn't splurge on the deluxe edition. 

Special Features:

Reversible Artwork 

- A new 4K restoration of the original uncut, uncensored Italian 35mm camera negative exclusively done by Synapse Films, with color correction supervised and approved by SUSPIRIA Director of Photography, Luciano Tovoli.
- Original 4.0 1977 English language LCRS sound mix not heard since the theatrical release in 1977, presented in high-resolution DTS-HD MA 96kHz/24-bit audio, with newly-translated removable English SDH subtitles.
- Italian 5.1 surround mix, with removable English subtitle translation.
- Audio Commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films 
- Audio Commentary by Derek Botelho and David Del Valle 
- Do You Know Anything About Witches? - 30 minute SUSPIRIA visual essay written, edited and narrated by Michael Mackenzie. (30 min) 
- Suzy in Nazi Germany - Featurette on the German locations from SUSPIRIA. (8 min) 
- A Sigh from the Depths: 40 Years of SUSPIRIA - All-new anniversary retrospective on the making of the film and its influence on cinema. (27 min) 
- Olga's Story - Interview with star Barbara Magnolfi. (17 min)
- "International Classics" English "Breathing Letters" opening credit sequence from U.S. release. (2 min) 
- Alternate All-English opening and closing credits sequences, playable via seamless branching.
- Original theatrical trailers (4 min) 
- TV spots (2 min)
- Radio spots (2 min) 
- Reversible Cover Art created by Joel Robinson.

Suspiria (1977) is my easily my favorite horror movie of all time, I own numerous editions of it on Blu-ray, but the Synapse 4K restoration is THE definitive edition to date, Synapse put a lot of love into this 4K restoration, and it's the only one approved by cinematographer Tovoli, and that makes a huge difference. I honestly prefer this artwork to the Steelbook design, and even if you're a purist you can just flip it over and enjoy the bloody ballerina artwork, great to see it getting a wide release, buy it with confidence, the movie is a classic and this version is phenomenal. This release is also available in an even less expensive single-disc version minus most of the extras.  

SUSPIRIA (1977) (40th Anniversary Blu-ray Review)

SUSPIRIA (1977) 

Label: Umbrella Entertainment 
Rating: R
Region Code: Region-Free
Duration: 99 Minutes 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1, Italian DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles  
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Flavio Bucci, Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Joan Bennet, Eva Axen, Alida Valli

Suspiria (1977) is a surreal masterpiece of 70's Italian horror cinema, the penultimate achievement by director Dario Argento which has weathered the past 40 years with a supernatural grace rarely afforded genre cinema, from the first frame to the last each image is lensed with a painterly vision, drenched in dread and skin-crawling atmosphere, the kind of tension filled horror that leaves a lasting impression and one that is not easily forgotten.

The story is a dark fairy tale, an American ballet student Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper, Phantom of the Paradise) arrives late one night in Frieburg, Germany to attend a prestigious dance academy run by Madame Blanc (Joan Bennet, Dark Shadows). Upon arriving at the school she witnesses Pat (Eva Axen), a young woman fleeing the academy, she bursts out the front door and utters a few near incomprehensible words to a person unseen, then frantically escapes down a path through a nearby wooded area, it's pouring rain outside. Suzy herself is unable to gain entrance to the academy and takes a taxi back into town, we then follow Pat into town where she winds up at the apartment of a friend. While settling in for the night and drying her hair she stares out the window of the apartment and is startled by two burning eyes peering back at her through the darkness, just then a hairy arm breaks through the window pane and stabs her repeatedly, it's a tense and gripping moment, the Goblin score is overpowering, every time I watch the scene my heart begins beating right out of my chest, this happens every time I watch it. Unable to help her friend flees downstairs, as she runs across the lobby to the front door she is horrified as Pat's corpse crashes though a stained-glass ceiling with a noose around her neck, and the friend is fatally impaled by falling shards of glass. Not to overstate it, but this is one of the greatest horror openings ever, just barely a few minutes into the film it's already built up to an nerve-shattering crescendo and we only just getting started!

These opening scenes are overwhelming, loaded  with lush, vibrant
colors, the lighting is heightened, unnatural and fantastical, immediately we are aware of it's nightmarish quality, setting the stage for something extraordinary. The architecture and set design are key aspects of the visuals, when Suzy arrives outside the academy during the torrential downpour we are struck by how vibrantly red and gold-trimmed the exteriors are, there's a weird and wonderful symmetry to everything, it's peculiar stuff and is purely cinematic, I love the crushed blue velvet walls at the academy, it's great stuff.

The next day Suzy, unaware of the bizarre events from the night before, returns to the academy and is introduced to Madame Blanc and the stern dance instructor Miss Tanner (Alida Valli, Eyes Without a Face) and quickly meets Sarah (Stefani Casini, Bloodstained Shadow) a student who was previously friends with the unfortunate Pat. At first Suzy insists on living off campus but before she can leave the school she becomes dizzy and disoriented after an encounter with the school's lunch lady. Ill she remains at the school where a doctor prescribes to her a bland diet daily glass of wine, she winds up sharing a room with Sarah who in turn tells her strange stories about her former roommate Pat and the weird things she spoke of before she mysteriously disappeared into the night.

There's a odd air about the academy, it feels weird and it turns out Pat's not the only student to have gone missing. Suzy quickly begins to suspect that something not quite right is happening at the school, it's with these fears that she meets with Sarah's friend Dr. Mandel (Udo Kier, My Own Private Idaho) who further informs her of the schools dark history, it having been founded by the mysterious Helen Markos, a suspected witch known as the Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs. With this information she returns to the academy, continuing the great Argento tradition of protagonist recalling something overheard or seen earlier but not-quite-comprehended till later, she investigates further leading to a wonderfully fantastic and fiery crescendo to an altogether stunning supernatural thriller.

More so than any other film I've ever seen Suspiria benefits heavily from the intense atmosphere and dread created by the conjoining of Argento's painterly lensing, courtesy of cinematographer Luciano Tovoli  (Titus), and Goblin's haunting and pulse-pounding score. I think there's little doubt this would be a lesser movie without the score and visuals melding, the two are conjoined seamlessly. At some points the score actually drowns out dialogue, as a purely cinematic experience separate from narrative it's completely successful, Suspiria is a film that does not rely on a linear narrative and plot to accomplish what Argento set out to do, make a frightful, arthouse fairy tale for the ages, it's startling today so it must have been a revelation back in '77!

Audio/Video: Dario Argento's Suspira (1977) arrives on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1, and looks to be sourced from the same 4K restoration from the original camera negative done by TLE Films with what looks to be a new encode. The image is strong, colors are vibrant and deeply saturated, fine detail is abundant, and black levels are inky and deep, this simply looks great and surpasses Umbrella's previous 2012 Blu-ray. As this is sourced from the TLE Films 4K restoration there are some notable distinction in regard to the image, we have the problematic pinkinsh reds, the prevalent yellow and green hues, and contrast issues, si if you had issues with the UK and Italian releases the same will apply to this version. I believe that most fans are aware that Synapse Films are releasing a Steelbook Limited Edition this month, and while that has yet to be released I have seen the 4K DCP and it's a stunner. Synapse released some screen caps from their own 4K restoration of the film n their site, and the new color grading, as supervised and approved by cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, do indeed show a significant change in the color grading as pictured below:

UMBRELLA: TOP

SYNAPSE: BOTTOM

Onto the audio, we have three options on the disc, which can be navigated through the audio button, there are no audio options on the menu, so you will have to toggle the audio button to access them all. We have a new 2017 surround mix, the original 2012 Blu-ray audio, and Italian - all in DTS-HD MA Surround with optional English subtitles. The first track, the 2017 mix, is the strongest and more powerful of the three, with the Goblin score coming through with some serious depth. I've always preferred the English audio over the Italian, the older 2012 audio mix is a bit weak when compared to the 2017 mix, and the Italian track also lacks depth. 

Onto the extras for Suspiria Umbrella carry over all the extras from their 2012 Blu-ray release, and add a few new extras. First the old, we get the 35-min 'Fear at 400 Degrees: the Cine-Excess of Suspiria' , the 52-min 25th Anniversary Suspiria Documentary, Leon Ferguson's 57-min doc 'Dario Argento: An Eye For Horror' , and the 21-min 2004 interview with Dario Argento. These are all great docs, and are serious value-add extras, none of which have been announced to appear on the forthcoming Synapse release.  

Now the new stuff, we get a brand new 40th anniversary interview with director Dario Argento, interviewed by Variety's Nick Vivarelli. It's a good interview, Vivarelli speaks English and Argento responds in Italian with English subtitles. Another new addition is the inclusion of director Michael Soavi’s 71-min doc 'Dario Argento’s World Of Horror', covering Argento's career from the beginning through the mid-80's. 

The disc is finished up with an expanded Dario Argento trailer reel covering '70 through 2009, US and international trailers, radio and TV spots and an extensive image gallery. The single-disc Blu-ray release comes housed in a 15mm spine Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring a variation on the classic dancer motif associated with the film by Umbrella staff artist/designer Simon Sherry, the reverse side features a variant of the same artwork minus the rating label. The disc itself features an excerpt from the artwork, that when seated in the Blu-ray cases lines up perfectly with the reverse artwork on the b-side.  The sleeve indicates this is a region b locked presentation, however the main feature played just fine on both of my region A Blu-ray players, although it's worth noting that a few of the extras did not play on one of my players.  

Special Features: 
- Suspiria Told by Dario Argento: An Interview with Dario Argento and Nick Vivarelli on Suspiria's 40th Anniversary (27 min) 
- 25th Anniversary Suspiria Documentary (52 min) 
- Exclusive Interview with Dario Argento (2004) (21 min) 
- 'Fear at 400 Degrees: the Cine-Excess of Suspiria' (35 min) 
- Documentary 'An Eye For Horror' (57 min) 
- Documentary 'Dario Argento's World of Horror' (71 min) 
- Image Gallery (50 min) 
- International Trailer (2 min) 
- U.S. Theatrical Trailer (1 min 
- TV Spot (1 min) 
- Radio Spots (1 min) 
- Dario Argento Trailer Reel (1970-2009)(41 min)

Suspiria (1977) is a surreal masterpiece of arthouse horror, a technicolor nightmare of hallucinatory fright that stands as Argento's supreme cinematic achievement in my opinion. This new Blu-ray from Umbrella looks and sounds fantastic and is loaded with some great well-rounded extras which make this a worthy addition to your collection. 

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) (Scream Factory Blu-ray Review)

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) 

Label: Scream Factory 

Region Code: A
Rating: PG

Duration: 92 Minutes 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Cast: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, Harold Oblong, George Memmoli, Archie Hann, Jeffrey Comanor

Director: Brian De Palma

Rock n' roll musicals just don't get any better than Brian De Palma's cult-classic Phantom of the Paradise (1974) starring William Finley (The Funhouse) as awkward composer Winslow Leach. A gifted songwriter who's Faustian rock opera is stolen by the sinister music producer Swan (played Paul Williams) . 

The  composer assumes this theft is just a misunderstanding and arrives at the producer's mansion to straighten things out.  While there he meets the sweet-voiced singer Phoenix (Jessica Harper, Suspiria)  whom he falls for right away after hearing her sing one of his songs. Moments later Leach is beaten by Swan's goons and toss him out of the mansion and he's framed for drug possession. Now in the slammer Winslow's teeth are extracted and replaced with metal chompers (don't ask why) while Swan plans to use pilfered songs to open his new music club, the Paradise. When Leach learns that Swan's bubble-gum band the Juicy Fruits have recorded his song he snaps and manages to escapes the prison in a fun vaudevillian scene. In an effort to stop the music from being released he breaks into Swan's record pressing plant to destroy the album before it can see the light of day. But destroying the albums Leach clumsily falls into the record press and the LP's grooves are seared in his flesh destroying his face and voice. 

Deformed and desperate Leach throws himself into the river and is presumed dead though his body is not recovered. Very much alive the scarred songwriter is bent on revenge, gaining access to the Paradise he dons a bird-of-prey styled helmet and haunts the club where he causes the death of the Juicy Fruits in a fiery explosion during a video shoot. Somehow Swan convinces Leach to work for him, promising that only Phoenix will sings his songs from now on. Once again the producer betrays him by hiring a new shock-rock singer named Beef played with delicious flamboyance by Gerrit Graham (Used Cars) who steals every scene as he struts around the stage like glam rock diva. Once Leach discovers this new betrayal he sets out to exact revenge on beef beginning with a shower attack with a plunger! . 

Phantom of the Paradise is dripping with camp and perfectly overacted with a fantastic set of songs - which are truly fantastic and subversive. William Finley as the nerdy Leach is a sympathetic character and you want to see him have his revenge against the sleazy producer, he to convey a lot of pain through that one-eyed mask. Paul Williams is pretty great as the pint-sized producer who may just be the Devil incarnate, sinister and smooth. Jessica Harper is also quite good as the ingenue Phoenix, her voice is surprisingly strong when she belts out a few numbers which sound great, I definitely picked up a Karen Carpenter vibe from her performance.. 

Love that De Palma satirizes the crooked music industry scenarios through the filter of Faust and Phantom of the Opera with some fun commentary about artists rights but it's not too on the nose, this is a great satire. De Palma's fingerprints are all over this with his particular wink at the audience and the visual style you've come to expect including extensive use of the split-screen. Visually Phantom of the Paradise is one of De Palma finest films, great set pieces scenery and an amazing set of songs. 

A lot of great touches fill the screen, back-up singer auditions quickly turn into orgies, the fun send-up of corporate rock, the sleaziness of the music industry and some memorable musical performances. When the Juicy Fruits sing "Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye" is a fun time, love it when the singer mimes shooting heroin into his arm. Then there's the amazing shock rock concert with the band ripping body parts from the audience members which they stitch together the create singer Beef - it's quite an fun time and Beef's exit is a memorable one. Jessica Harper's performances of "Special to Me" and "Old Souls" are soulful and sincere moments, the latter song reminding me a bit of the Carpenter's "Superstar", gave me goose bumps. . 

The Screams Factory transfer has a natural layer of film grain and a fair amount of fine detail with a pleasing amount of depth  and clarity. Skin tones are accurate and the color reproduction is great - the colors really pop. Audio options include both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Stereo 2.0 with Paul Williams musical numbers sounding superb, dialogue and effects are nicely balanced. Unfortunately there is not an option to listen to the isolated score as found on the Arrow UK Blu-ray. 

Disc one features brand new interviews with director Brian De Palma, Make-up effects wizard Tom Burman  and songwriter Paul Williams.Tthe music genius speaks at length about the process creating music for the film and the freedom of crafting satirical versions of songs in the style of the Beach Boys and glam rock excesses. Mentioning that the legacy of Phantom of the Paradise  continues to  give him gifts, including  the collaboration with Guillermo del Toro on Pan's Labyrinth and teaming-up with Daft Punk. 

Make-up Effects wizard Tom Burman speaks very briefly about the design of the Phantom's helmet design and then we get a brand new interview with director Brian De Palma who touches on his unique shooting style, Hitchcock influences, locations used during the shoot and his view of television versus cinema. He also goes into the lawsuits over the Swan Song logo and what a pain in the as that was - this is a great interview. 

There are two brand new audio commentaries to accompany the film. The first with stars Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham and the Juicy Fruits (Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor and Harold Oblong aka Peter Eibling). The commentary is actually three separate commentaries that are scene specific stitched together for the duration of the film. We begin with a fun video introduction from the Juicy Fruits and then into the commentary which is a lot of fun - a real fun bunch of guys who speak about filming the scenes and working with Paul Williams and how they came to the project. Harper speaks about getting the part and really flying by the seat of her pants as it was her first film though thankfully she had William Finley to guide her along. Gerrit Graham also chimes in from time to time with a few Beef-centric anecdotes. 

 The second commentary is from is Production Designer Jack Fisk who's work on this film is amazing - the sets and design are visually dazzling - especially love the backdrops for the musical performances. Fisk who did work on David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001) and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood (2007) offers up a scene specific commentary pointing out specifics of the production design and the inspiration for the Death Records. At the time of filming Fisk was dating actress Sissy Spacek, star of Badlands (1973) and whom would go onto star in De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie (1976) a few short years later, apparently she did a lot of painting on the sets of Phantom. 

Then onto 26 minutes of alternate and extended scene from the film  - my favorite is Jessica Harper belting out "Special to Me" from the audition scene and Beef's shower attack scene - these are presented with split screen comparisons of the final film and the alternate take or extended sequence. We also get an 8-minute featurette chronicling the Swan Song fiasco. Just before the release of the film one Led Zeppelin's manager created Swan Song Records and threatened litigation if all references to Winslow's Swan Song Production company were not removed. It chronicles the many changes that had to made to the final film to mask the Swan Song logo with a split screen presentation of the original and final scenes.  The last extra on disc one is a still gallery of poster art and promotional stills, the press book and program. 

Onto the second disc - a standard def DVD - we begins with the 50-minute documentary Paradise Regained which has been available on at least two foreign releases including Arrow's Blu-ray. This makes it no less interesting - the doc featuring interviews with director Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, the late star William Finley, star and composer Paul Williams, co-stars Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham among others. Truly a feast for fans of the film and Brian De Palma's the cast and crew peel of anecdotes about the making of the film. Graham conducts some of his interview in French and he seems like a wonderful weirdo while Finley speaks about nearly having his head crushed for real in the record pressing scene. 

Carried over from the Arrow Video release is a 70-minute interview with actor Paul Williams conducted by director Guillermo DE Toro with the musician/actor discussing his career, being offered the role of Winslow and working with De Palma plus his own addiction and recovery. The two jovially discuss the songs and lyrics of the film and del Toro's fan boy enthusiasm is infectious. 

Scream Factory once again go the extra mile here adding 40-minutes of new interviews with Rosanna Norton (10 minutes), producer Edward R. Pressman (15 minutes) and drummer Gary Mallaber (15 minutes) plus the featurette Alvin's Art Technique (15 Minutes) with the artist John Avin's  widow speaking about her late husband's airbrush style and his creative process, it. Alvins also created the iconic posters for Blazing Saddles, The Color Purple and Blade Runner among others. A very cool extra is the Phantom of the Paradise Biography by Gerrit Graham - 1974 Publicity Sheet written by and read by Graham (10 minutes) who is such a fun guy. At the time of the films release Graham was allowed to write the biography for the press kit and here he reads it - a very nice extra for fans. 

The extras on disc 2 are finished-up with a short segment of William Finley showing off a Phantom action-figure plus the usual array of theatrical trailers, TV spots, radio spots and another still gallery with poster art, promotional stills, and the press book for the film. 

Additionally the set comes with a slipcover with a new illustration by Justin Osbourne and a reversible sleeve of artwork. Scream Factory have pulled out all the stops in an effort to give fans the definitive version of this film and the definitely have achieved that goal - this release is a love letter to the film on every level - there are over eight and a half hours of bonus content on this 2-disc set!  If I were to nitpick I would have enjoyed an isolated score or a three disc set that included a CD of the soundtrack but that's just nitpicking - I love this set. 

Special Features:

DISC ONE (BLU-RAY)

NEW Audio Commentary with Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham and the Juicy Fruits (Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor and Harold Oblong aka Peter Eibling)

NEW Audio Commentary with Production Designer Jack Fisk

NEW Interview with director Brian DePalma (36 minutes)

NEW Interview with Paul Williams talking about the music of PHANTOM (35 minutes)

NEW Interview with Make-up Effects wizard Tom Burman discussing the Phantom Helmet (4 minutes) 

Alternate Takes (26 minutes)

Swan Song Outtake Footage (7 minutes)

Still Galley (13 Minutes)

DISC TWO (DVD):

Paradise Regained – documentary on the making of the film featuring director Brian DePalma, Producer Edward R. Pressman, William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham and more… (50 minutes)

Interview with Paul Williams moderated by Guillermo Del Toro (72 minutes)

Interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton (10 minutes)

NEW Interview with producer Edward R. Pressman (15 minutes)

NEW Interview with drummer Gary Mallaber (15 minutes)

NEW Alvin’s Art and Technique – a look at the neon poster (15 minutes)

NEW Phantom of the Paradise Biography by Gerrit Graham - 1974 Publicity Sheet written by and read by Graham (10 minutes)

William Finley and Toy (1 minute) 

Radio Spots (2 minutes) 

TV Spots (5 minutes) 

Theatrical Trailers (5 minutes) 

Still Gallery (52 images) 

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is a rock n' roll cult-classic that's immensely entertaining.  A fun retelling of Faust with elements of the Phantom of the Opera infused with satire and memorable musical numbers, this is a rock n' roll fantasy that you need to own and Scream Factory's 2-disc Blu-ray is the one to own. 

Blu-ray Review: PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974)

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) 

Label: Arrow Video 

Region Code : B
Rating: 

Duration: 91 Minutes 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Audio: Stereo LPCM, 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Cast: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, Harold Oblong, George Memmoli, Archie Hann, Jeffrey Comanor
Director: Brian De Palma

Rock n' roll musicals just don't get any more awesome that Brian De Palma's sensational Phantom of the Paradise (1974) starring William Finley as gangly composer Winslow Leach whose life turns upside down when sinister music producer Swan (Paul William) steals his Faustian rock opera without crediting the composer. The naive and composer heads to the producers mansion to confront him when he meets a pretty young singer named Phoenix (Jessica Harper) with a sweet voice and whom he falls for right away. Just moments later Leach is beaten by Swans goons and thrown on the street where he is framed for drug possession. Imprisoned for possession his teeth are extracted and replaced with metal chompers (don't ask why) while Swan continues plans to the pilfered songs to open his new music club the Paradise. When Leach learns that Swan's bubble-gum band the Juicy Fruits have recorded his song he just snaps, enraged he escapes the prison in a ridiculously abridged scene, truly it's hilarious. Once on the outside he promptly breaks into the Swan's record pressing plant to destroy the album before it can see the light of day. While destroying the albums Leach clumsily falls face first into the record press and the LP's grooves are seared in his flesh destroying his face and voice. 

Deformed and desperate Leach throws himself into the river and is presumed dead when his body is not recovered. Very much alive and bent on revenge he gains access to the Paradise where he dons a bird-of-prey styled helmet and haunts the rafters of the club where he causes the death of the Juicy Fruits in a fiery explosion. The smooth Swan somehow convinces Leach to work for him by promising that only Phoenix will sings his songs from now on. Once again the producer betrays him by hiring a new shock-rock singer named Beef played with ridiculous flamboyance by Gerrit Graham who steals every scene, such a great performance as he struts around stage like glammed-out peacock. Once Leach discovers the betrayal he sets out to exact revenge on anyone who attempts to sings his songs other than the beloved Phoenix beginning with a sweet Psycho shower scene tribute involving a plunger! . 

Phantom of the Paradise is super campy rock opera that perfectly over-acted, plus it has a fantastic score by Paul Williams - the songs are truly good. William Finley as the nerdy Leach is a sympathetic character and you want to see him have his revenge against the sleazy producer. He gets a lot across through that one-eyed mask. Paul Williams is fantastic as the pint-sized producer who may just be a Devil incarnate. Jessica Harper is also quite good as the ingenue Phoenix, her voice is surprisingly strong when she belts out a few numbers which sound great. 

Love that De Palma satirizes the crooked music industry scenarios through the filter of Faust and Phantom of the Opera - there's a commentary about artists rights but it's not too on the nose, this is a great satire. De Palma's fingerprints are all over this with his particular wink at the audience and the visual trademarks you've come to expect including extensive use of the split-screen. Visually Phantom of the Paradise is one of my favorite De Palma films, great set pieces scenery and an amazing set of songs. 

A lot of great touches fill the screen, back-up singer auditions quickly turn into orgies, the send-up of corporate rock, the sleaziness of the music industry and a great rock n' roll concert that pre-dates Kiss but has some great shock-rock moments like the band ripping body parts from the audience which they use to stitch together the singer Beef - the concert performance stuff is fantastically entertaining.

Blu-ray: Arrow Video's transfer looks quite nice to my eyes with a natural layer of fine film grain and a fair amount of fine detail, depth  and clarity. Some of the darker scenes seem a tad too dark maybe but the colors pop and contrast is strong. Audio options include a LPCM 2.0 Mono track and a 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio option which replicates the original 4-track stereo presentation. It sounds very nice with the effects, Paul Williams score and dialogue meshing seamlessly. There's also the option to watch the film with an isolated score which spotlights Paul Williams fantastic songs.

Onto the special features we have a few extras from a French Blu-ray carried over by way of a 50-minute documentary featuring interviews with director Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, the late star William Finley, star and composer Paul Williams, co-stars Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham among others. Truly a feast for fans of the film and Brian de Palma's the cast and crew peel of anecdotes about the making of the film. Graham conducts some of his interview in French and he seems like a wonderful weirdo while Finley speaks about nearly having his head crushed for real in the record pressing scene. Also carried over are an archival interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton and a short segment of William Finley adverting a Phantom of the Paradise action figure!

Exclusive to Arrow's disc is a 70-minute interview with actor Paul Williams conducted by director Guillermo de Toro with the musician/actor discussing his career, being offered the role of Winslow and working with de Palma plus his own addiction and recovery. The two jovially discuss the songs and lyrics of the film and del Toro's fan boy enthusiasm is infectious. 

Stacking the deck even further Arrow add nearly 14 minutes of alternate takes and bloopers including complete alternate takes of Jessica Harper belting out a tune and Beef's shower scene. We also get an 11-minute feature documenting the Swan Song Fiasco. Just before the release of the film one Led Zeppelin's manager created Swan Song Records and threatened litigation of all references to Winslow's Swan Song Production company were not removed, further fueling the debacle one of Zep's managers at the time was previously the manager for a band called Stone the Crows whose singer was electrocuted onstage and was the actual inspiration for Beef's death in the film, apparently he swore a vendetta against the production and was horrified his friends death was fodder for a comic moment. The featurette chronicles the many changes that had to made to the final film to mask the Swan Song logo  that is very prominent, a lot of masking and super imposing  images, there are some great comparison shots utilizing unused production footage with the final version. 

The extras are finished-up with original trailers, radio spots and a still gallery plus a reversible sleeve of artwork and a collector's booklet with new writing on the film by Michael Blyth and Ari Kahan. This is a pretty damn definitive document of the film, a must-own for fans of the film. Here in the US Scream Factory are slated for a release later this year, it would be hard to imagine a release that can top Arrow's deluxe edition but looking forward to it just the same. Keep in mind that Arrow's Blu-ray s region-B locked and you will need a region-free Blu-ray player to watch it.

Special Features:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, available in the UK for the first time!
- Uncompressed Stereo PCM / 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio options
- Isolated Music and Effects soundtrack
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Paradise Regained: A 50-minute documentary on the making of the film featuring director Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, the late star William Finley, star and composer Paul Williams, co-stars Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham and more! (50:13)
- All new 72-minute interview with Paul Williams by Guillermo del Toro (72:22)
- The Swan Song Fiasco: A new video piece exploring the changes made to the film in post-production (11:25)
- Archive interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton (9:38)
- William Finley on the Phantom doll! (0:35)
- Paradise Lost and Found: Alternate takes and bloopers from the cutting room floor (13:39)
- Original Trailers (3:28)
- Radio Spots (2:28)
- Gallery of rare stills including behind-the-scenes images by photographer Randy Black
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Red Dress
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth and an exploration of the film’s troubled marketing history by Ari Kahan, curator of SwanArchives.org, illustrated with original stills and promotional material.

Verdict: Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is a true cult-classic and one a lot of folks just aren't aware of, it deserves a wider audience. A hugely entertaining retelling of Faust with elements of the Phantom of the Opera infused with a satirical take on 70's corporate rock - this musical rock n' roll fantasy holds-up exquisitely and Arrow's presentation is gorgeous. 4 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: SUSPIRIA (1977)

SUSPIRIA (1977) 

Label: Umbrella Entertainment 

Rating: R
Region Code: B
Subtitles: None
Duration: 98 Minutes
Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
Actors: Flavio Bucci, Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Joan Bennet, Eva Axen, Alida Valli
Directors: Dario Argento

Synopsis: 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, TV's Dark shadows) and Miss Tanner (Alida Valli, Killer Nun). But when a series of bizarre incidents and horrific crimes (including what Entertainment Weekly calls "the most vicious murder scene ever filmed") turn the school into a waking nightmare of the damned, Suzy must escape the academy's unspeakable secret of supernatural evil. 

It would honestly be quite difficult for me to say anything about Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977) that hasn't been said before and more eloquently, too. It's a surreal masterpiece of 70's Italian horror, the penultimate achievement by Dario Argento and his gift to horror cinema, it has weathered the past 35 years with a supernatural grace rarely afforded genre cinema, from the first frame to the last each image is captured with a painterly vision, it's a film you could snatch any scene from and it would be a work of art unto itself, on top of that it's drenched in some gut-churning, skin-crawling atmosphere, it's the kind of horror that eaves a lasting impression and is not easily forgotten. So, just from this small paragraph you should know I am about to gush all over this film, embarrassingly so.

The story is the stuff of dark fairytales, an American ballet student (Jessica Harper, Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise) arrives late one night in Frieburg, Germany to attend a prestigious dance academy run by Madame Blanc (Joan Bennet, Dark Shadows). Upon arriving she witnesses Pat (Eva Axen), a young woman fleeing the academy, she bursts out the front door and utters some near incomprehensible words to a person unseen, then frantically escapes down a path through a wooded area, it's pouring rain outside. Suzy herself is unable to gain entrance to the academy and takes a taxi back into town. We then follow Pat into town where she winds up at the apartment of a friend. While drying her hair she stares out the second floor window and is startled by two burning eyes staring back at her, just as a hairy armed breaks through window pane and stabs her repeatedly, it's a tense and gripping moment, the Goblin score is overpowering and my heart is beating off the scale, this happens every time I watch it. She screams for her friends help and when she cannot gain entrance to the room she flees downstairs, as she runs across the lobby to the front door she is horrified when Pat's corpse crashes though a stained-glass ceiling, a noose around her neck stops her short of the floor and a large shard of glass lacerates her friends face and she is impaled to death by falling debris. Not to overstate it, but it's one of the greatest amped-up horror openings ever, just barely a few moments into the film it's already built up to an nerve-shattering crescendo and we are just getting started.

Just with these opening scenes we are overwhelmed as viewers with lush, vibrant primary colors, the lighting of the film is unnatural and fantastical, immediately we are aware of it's nightmarish quality, we are about to experience something extraordinary. The architecture and set design are just as striking, when Suzy arrives outside the academy during the torrential downpour we are struck by how vibrantly red the gold-trimmed exterior walls are, the set designs are outstanding, there's a weird and wonderful symmetry to everything, it's peculiar and baroque stuff and purely cinematic, when it comes to locations early era Argento was a the master, I love the crushed blue velvet walls at the academy, it's great stuff.

The next day Suzy, unaware of the bizarre events from the night before, returns to the academy and is introduced to Madame Blanc (Bennet) and instructor Miss Tanner (Alida Valli, Eyes Without a Face) and quickly meets Sarah (Stefani Casini) a student who was previously friends with the rather unfortunate Pat. At first Suzy insists on living off campus but before she can leave she becomes dizzy and disoriented by an encounter with the school's lunch lady. Under the weather she remains at the school where a doctor prescribes to her a daily glass of wine, she winds up sharing a room with Suzy who in turn tells her strange stories about her former roommate Pat and the weird things she spoke of before she mysteriously disappeared into the night.

There's a odd air about the academy, it feels weird and Pat's not the only student to go missing abruptly either. Suzy quickly begins to suspect that something not quite right is happening, it's with these fears that she meets with Sarah's friend Dr. Mandel (Udo Kier, My Own Private Idaho) who informs her of the schools dark history, it having been founded by the mysterious Helen Markos, a suspected witch known as the Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs. With this information she returns to the academy, continuing the great Argento tradition of protagonist recalling something overheard or seen earlier but not-quite-comprehended till later, she investigates further leading to a wonderfully fantastic and fiery crescendo to an altogether stunning supernatural thriller.

More so than any other film I've seen Suspiria benefits quite heavily from the intense atmosphere and dread created by the conjoining of Argento's poetic lensing and Goblin's haunting pulse pounder of a score, without the nightmarish fairytale themes from Goblin there can be little doubt this would be a lesser entry, the two are conjoined seamlessly. At some points the score drowns out dialogue, as a purely cinematic experience separate from narrative it's completely successful, Suspiria is a film that does not rely on a linear narrative to accomplish what Argento set out to do, make one Hell of a spooky, arthouse fairytale for the ages, it's starting now it must have been a revelation back in '77!

Blu-ray: Australia's Umbrella Entertainment do some fantastic work with OZploitation and b-movie cult classics releases with a usual array of excellent bonus content. They bring Dario Argento's crowning achievement Suspira (1977) to Region "B" locked Blu-ray with an AVC MPEG-4 encode in 1080p widescreen (2.35:1). No information is provided about the transfer but I believe this is the same 2007 Technicolor restoration master used on Blue Underground's 2-Disc Special Edition (2007). It would stand to reason that if you took issue with what you saw then you might have issues with it now, criticisms would be the overblown contrast, pinkish tones and the yellow color boosting. While I do not think it's as abhorrent as some might say the brightness and contrast boosting are problematic. I think this could go back to Cinematographer Luciano Tovoli and Dario Argento's decision to shoot the film with the Technicolor 3-strip camera that has a more saturated effect, the camera system which was antiquated even in '77 was used to shoot both the Wizard of Oz (1939) and Gone with the Wind (1939). I rather like the over-saturated look of the Blu-ray, it lends itself well to the surreal fairytale aspect of the story. I've seen the previous Anchor Bay's DVD edition and the colors seemed muted in comparison to what we have here but it's hard to say that the 2007 Restoration is any truer to the original color palate, would love to hear Argento or Tovoli's input on this. Regardless of what you think of the transfer and tweaking here the 1080p upgrade definitely boasts superior PQ over the previous standard definition DVD's with improved clarity and depth, fine detail gets a nice boost even if it wax and wanes from scene to scene. Overall it's a very nice 1080p presentation albeit with the inherent flaws found with the 2007 Restoration, which itself was supervised by Tovoli.  It's caused quite a bit of fuss over the years from critics and fans and reminds me a bit of Vittorio Storaro's controversial Univisium reframing of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) on Arrow Video's 2011 Blu-ray edition, I don't this is as egregious an affront as that but it's worth noting.

The English language 5.1 Dolby TrueHD is quite impressive, a definitive upgrade on all fronts, more depth, more oomph and Goblin's wicked score sounds superb, we are immersed in it like never before, it's a fantastic aural experience. There are no subtitle options and it's worth noting that no there is no Italian audio option either.

Umbrella Entertainment have stuffed this disc with great extras beginning with 'Fear at 400 Degrees: the Cine-Excess of Suspiria' Documentary (34:55) hosted by Director of Cine-Excess, Xavier Mendik. It's a thorough examination of the film with contributions from Kim Newman, Dario Argento and Claudio Simonetti that's peppered with clips and stills from the film and films inspired by Argento's work, many notable in their own right, including Sergio Martino's Torso (1973), Andrea Bianchi's Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975), Pupi Avati's The House with the Laughing Windows (1976) and Aldo Lado's Who Saw Her Die? (1972). It puts the film into context of the 70's era, it international success having a great effect on both Italian and French cinema at the time.

Ported over from the Blue Underground set is the 25th Anniversary Suspiria Documentary (51:00) a entertaining feature with interviews with Co-Writer/Director Dario Argento, Co-Writer Daria Nicolodi, Cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, Composers Goblin (Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli & Agostino Marangolo), and Stars Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini and Udo Kier. This one really pulls you right into the making of the film. Daria Nicolodi talks about Argento's boredom with the crime genre and wanting to do something different, something supernatural, and basing the story on her own grandmother's experience at an elite school where it was aid that black magic was taught. Star Jessica Harper discusses having watched Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) and her excitement to work with the director, also the oddness of working on an Italian set where sound was not recorded on set, at the time it was standard practice to record all dialogue in post-production,  plus the uncomfortable experience of having maggots thrown in her hair. I particularly fond cinematographer Luciano Tovoli's interview as he spoke at length about experimenting with extreme color (inspired by Disney's Snow White), the unnatural tone of the film, strange lighting techniques, using the Technicolor 3-strip camera and a fun anecdote about working with Jennifer Jason Leigh on the set of Single White Female (1992), turns out she's quite a fan of the film. On a sad note it was heartbreaking to hear co-screenwriter Daria Nicolodi express her wishes to write the then as of yet unfilmed third film, Mother of Tears,  knowing now what we ended up with, it was heartbreaking as someone who enjoys this film and it's sequel Inferno (1980). 

As if the two documentaries were not enough Umbrella Entertainment also offer up Leon Ferguson's 2000 film 'Dario Argento: An Eye For Horror' Documentary' (57:58). Add it up, that's over 107 minutes of Argento/Suspiria documentaries on this disc! The near feature-length doc features interviews and commentary with Director John Carpenter, shock rocker Alice Cooper, effects master Tom Savini, George A. Romero, William Lustig, Jessica Harper, Asia Argento, Claudio Simonetti and TV Guide's Maitland McDonagh whom all offer praise for Argento's body of work. We get a brief history of Argento's early career beginning with co-writing Sergio Leonne's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) with Bernardo Bertolucci (Dreamers) right up through his then still-in-production film Sleepless (2001) which if you haven't seen I would say was Argento's last decent entry, a nice Giallo throwback featuring Max Van Sydow (The Exorcist).

The extras are rounded out with an interview with Dario Argento conducted in Italian with English subtitles, a Photo Gallery, Trailers and TV Spots plus an Argento Trailer Reel of six films including a very striking Italian one for Cat O' Nine Tails (1971). What more could I have wanted? It's a short list but let's begins with the audio commentary from Argento experts Alan Jones and Kim Newman that appeared on the UK Blu-ray, Italian Audio, and English subtitles, that said this is a very fine edition indeed and one I think you need in your collection.

Special Features: 

- 'Fear at 400 Degrees: the Cine-Excess of Suspiria' Documentary (34:55) HD
- 25th Anniversary Suspiria Documentary (1:49) HD
- Exclusive Interview with Dario Argento (21:00) 

- 'An Eye For Horror' Documentary (57:58) SD
- Photo Gallery 

- International Trailer (1:56)
- U.S. Trailer (1:10) 
- TV Spot(:28)
- Argento Trailer Reel (15:06): Deep Red (1975), Phenomena (1985), Sleepless (2001), Phantom of the Opera (1998), The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Cat O' Nine Tails (1971)

Verdict: Suspiria (1977) is a surreal, avant-garde masterpiece of arthouse cinema drenched in technicolor swatches of primary color and bloodsplatter. It stands as Argento's supreme cinematic achievement and Umbrella Entertainment's superb Blu-ray is as near definitive a document as we are likely to get, an classic supernatural assault on the senses. 5 Outta 5 

Note: Images used for the purpose of this review were not sourced from the Blu-ray.