Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Suspiria Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 28, 2017

Dario Argento's "Suspiria" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British label Cult Films. The supplemental features on the disc include new interview with Dario Argento; lengthy documentary about the recent restoration of the film; arcchival documentary; audio commentary by m critics Kim Newman and Alan Jones; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Nightmares in color

This film has the reputation of a great cult classic for a good reason. It is so over-the-top, at times so unhinged, it is virtually impossible to brush aside. It is true. Even if you end up disliking the type of entertainment it delivers, you are unlikely to forget it.

The main character is the young and beautiful American ballerina Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper), who is on her way to a notorious ballet school somewhere in rural Germany. She arrives there on a terrible night -- a heavy rainstorm is pummeling the area and visibility is awful. She is soaking wet when the taxi drops her off in front of the school’s main entrance and, before she is allowed to enter, she has a short and very odd encounter with another girl that screams something at her and then disappears into the night.

Later on, a few words, which are part of a sentence that is broken by the strong winds, keep reappearing in Suzy’s mind, but she struggles to understand their meaning.

On the following morning, after Suzy is introduced to the aging lady running the school, it is revealed that the screaming girl has vanished. Everyone in the school seems genuinely surprised because she was not the type that would abruptly decide to leave without notice. Suzy then quickly settles down and begins learning the various rules and regulations of the ballet instructors. She also befriends another ballerina, Sara (Stefania Casini), who soon after reveals to her that she is suspicious of the official statement about the missing girl.

As time passes by, Suzy learns of other very bizarre disappearings and odd accidents, and eventually after Sara also vanishes without a trace, she decides that it is time to find out the truth about the prestigious ballet school. She has a pretty good idea of where to start, but not where she might end up while playing a detective.

The story of Suspiria is hardly original, and anyone with a healthy interest in classic horror cinema would easily discover in it bits and pieces from all sorts of different older horror films. Even its structural construction is conventional. What makes Suspria unique is the type of ambience that Dario Argento and cinematographer Luciano Tovoli create while playing with a variety of different colors and nuanced shadows and wrapping them up with the experimental music and spooky noises of Goblin. So instead of evolving into a whodunit horror thriller Suspiria rapidly dissolves into a very vivid and violent psychedelic nightmare that ends up discarding numerous genre clichés. It really does. Frankly, the entire experience is so intense that attaching the horror label to it seems like an undeserved demotion that describes only a small part of its identity.

The cast is full of international stars -- the great Alida Valli, Joan Bennett, Udo Kier, and Renato Scarpa contributed to the film -- but in all fairness some of the acting is a bit stiff. However, oddly, it actually makes the various happenings inside the school even spookier.

*This new release of Suspiria from Cult Films is sourced from a recent 4K restoration that was created for the film’s 40th anniversary. The restoration was completed by TLEFilms FRPS in Germany, and it is the same restoration that is being promoted by local distributors in Italy and Australia. (See here and here). For reference, in the United States, local label Synapse Films is promoting a different 4K restoration of the film.

Suspiria Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Dario Argento's Suspiria arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Films.

The release is sourced from the new 4K restoration of the film that was completed by TLEFilms FRPS in Germany. This is the same restoration that Australian label Umbrella Entertainment used for its local release. (In the United States, local label Synapse Films is promoting a different 4K restoration of the film).

I like the restoration a lot. It has excellent organic qualities and the entire film now has a very convincing period Technicolor look. In terms of depth, clarity, and fluidity the improvements are beyond dramatic, and there are actually plenty of large segments where the film looks quite different. For example, because shadow definition is so dramatically improved there is plenty of background flatness that is eliminated, and in other areas there are actually entire ranges of new nuances. Many of the biggest improvements, however, are in the area of color reproduction. The only other release of Suspiria that I have om my collection is this Region-B release and after performing some direct comparisons I can confirm that in terms of saturation and especially overall balance the differences between the two are massive. Basically, the new restoration has a very nicely balanced period color scheme that, as intended, effortlessly becomes an essential element of the film's ambience. There are no traces of problematic digital adjustments. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no distracting age-related imperfections or encoding anomalies to report. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Suspiria Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0, Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame. (You will have to use your remote control to turn them on).

The release uses the newly remastered 5.1 mix. (There is an older 5.1 track that is included on the Australian release). I thought that it was outstanding. This film has an incredible sound design that blends some pretty spooky noises with original music from the legendary band Goblin and all I can say is that the new mix handles everything in pretty spectacular fashion. For this reason, I would not hesitate to recommend this disc as 'reference material'.

Suspiria Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Restoration Process - this new documentary offers an in-depth look at the recent 4K restoration of Suspiria, which was authorized in 2016 by the film's worldwide rights holder, VIDEA Spa (Italy), and completed by TLEFilms FRPS in Germany. There is plenty of technical information addressing different phases of the project, from the scanning to the grading work and different footage adjustments (with interesting comments about discrepancies between the English and Italian versions of the film) to the cleanup work, that makes it quite easy to understand how the end product came to exist. In English. (57 min).

• Argento Presents His Suspiria - director Dario Argento is interviewed by journalist Nick Vivarelli from Variety for the 40th anniversary and 4K restoration of Suspiria. The bulk of the information in the interview addresses to the original concept for the film, its production history and cult status. In English and Italian, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (28 min).

• Suspiria Perspectives - in this archival documentary, film theorist Dr. Patricia McCormack recalls her initial impressions of Surpiria and discusses the evolution of Italian cinema and the gialo genre during the 1970s. Additionally, there are a number of interesting observations about the relationship between Italian Gothic films and the gialli that directors like Dario Argento created as well as the visual style and tone of Suspiria. Director Norman J. Warren also discusses the critical reception and significance of Suspiria, while composer Claudio Simonetti addresses the film's iconic soundtrack. The documentary was directed by Xavier Mendik from Cine-Excess. In English. (41 min).

• Fear at 400 Degrees: The Cine-Excess of Suspiria - this archival documentary examines the groundbreaking visual style of Suspiria. Included in it are clips from archival interviews with Xavier Mendik from Cine-Excess, critic Kim Newman, theorist and academic Dr. Patricia MacCormack, director Norman, J. Warren (Terror), composer Claudio Simoneti, and Dario Argento, amongst others. The documentary was produced by Cine-Excess and Purple Media, and initially appeared on Nouveaux Pictures/Cine-Excess' first release of Suspiria. In English and Italian, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (35 min).

• Audio Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by film critics Kim Newman and Alan Jones. It initially appeared on the first Blu-ray release of Suspiria in the United Kingdom that Cine-Excess produced in 2010.

Suspiria Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This new release of Dario Argento's Suspiria from British label Cult Films is sourced from the 4K restoration of the film that TLEFilms FRPS completed in Germany. As I mentioned in our review of the Australian release, which is sourced from the same restoration, the end result is wonderful, and the film now has a very convincing proper period organic appearance. The Australian release has more, primarily vintage, bonus features, but this release has a very informative documentary that examines the different phases of the 4K restoration. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.