tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post2463664770416513577..comments2024-02-10T01:22:29.316-08:00Comments on Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies: Italian Horror Blogathon: Opera (aka Terror at the Opera)Kevin J. Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-34045386360252126942013-08-21T22:40:58.612-07:002013-08-21T22:40:58.612-07:00Hi,
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I feared this piece got away from me in parts (I had been working on it since day one of the blogathon, and I think it suffered from being one of those things that you work so long on, that you're eyes just don't see the errors like they should) and came off as repetitive. Yes, I think this is probably my favorite Argento as well. I know my brother would champion <i>Tenebre</i> over this one, but I think the fact that Argento went all-in on <i>Opera</i> gives it the edge over the more self-serious <i>Tenebre</i>. And that camera, my god, that camera. The film just moves from moment to moment so effortlessly that I couldn't help but be reminded of moments like little Danny riding his trike through the halls of the Overlook Hotel. It had been <i>years</i> since I had seen <i>Opera</i>, and I remembered moments like the raven circling the opera house, the gory setpieces, et al.; however, I didn't remember just <i>how much</i> the camera tracked the action and did all of those crazy rotations. It's not surprising that this style is what stuck with Soavi when he went on to make his own crazy features. And I would even go as far as saying that Soavi actually improved on this kind of style with his four horror films. <br /><br />Thanks again, Tim, for stopping by and leaving a comment. Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-46113039189280950862012-11-03T11:05:25.992-07:002012-11-03T11:05:25.992-07:00KingKubrick, sorry this has taken me so long to re...KingKubrick, sorry this has taken me so long to respond to. Work has been crazy the last couple of days. Also, thanks for stopping by and visiting the site (and leaving a comment, to boot!). Welcome!.<br /><br />Okay, <i>Opera</i>: I like your interpretation, and I would be willing to get behind it -- and may have even brought it up -- had I gone further with the "deeper interpretations" paragraph I wrote. The ending just makes me roll my eyes because of the terrible metal music and the way Argento just kind of throws the viewer right into it. Having said that, it does fit in with the dream-like tone of the rest of the film. <br /><br />I still don't care for it, but I appreciate your interpretation of it (especially when compared to the ending of <i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</i>), and I can see where you're coming from, especially with the last shot where she smiles like a wacko at the lizard and then embraces the grass as the film cuts to black. It certainly ties in with what you're saying in regards to Argento's deeper theme about the effects of violence (considering he has Betty's eyes forced open with those pins) on those who watch it. The style is there...I just don't know if I can be convinced about the intent. <br /><br />Thanks again for your comment and interpretation. Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-8548844449576340332012-11-01T14:14:51.398-07:002012-11-01T14:14:51.398-07:00Golly, I get name dropped in the review and the co...Golly, I get name dropped in the review <i>and</i> the comments - I shall become even more full of myself than is already the case.<br /><br />Anyway, wonderful piece to end the 'thon with; a great analysis of what is one might actually be my <i>favorite</i> Argento film, even if you've pointed out the reasons its impossible to call it his <i>best</i>. Especially liked your thoughts on the moving camera in this one, which is so much more ambitious than anywhere else in horror outside of <i>The Shining</i>, if you ask me.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-74992351286306482782012-11-01T02:02:18.939-07:002012-11-01T02:02:18.939-07:00I have to say I have a very different interpretati...I have to say I have a very different interpretation of the end of Opera than most. (spoilers) When Betty crawls through the grass at the end, I didn't understand it as her being overwhelmed with joy (as Tim Brayton posited in his review of Opera), instead I took it to mean the horrors she endured has rendered her completely insane. Think of the final moments of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre when the heroine is driving off in the back of a pickup truck laughing hysterically. Given the emphasis Argento puts on the horror of witnessing violence first hand throughout the film the end is Argento's statement that the human mind can only endure so much horror before the observer is damaged beyond repair. I got the impression that Betty would probably be committed to an insane asylum shortly after the credits rolled. In my estimation it's one of the best endings I've ever seen because it distills Argento's thesis of how watching violence warps a person's mind (a theme that runs throughout the feature) in a startling curveball of an image that shocks and unsettles the viewer. Even the parody of the Sound of Music is Argento's statement that the typical happy ending of the final girl in a slasher film is ridiculous because a person who has lived through such horrific experiences would always have to deal with the psychological ramifications of witnessing such extreme violence, which Argento makes literal through the reappearance of the supposedly dead serial killer in an idyllic setting. For me, the ending of Opera makes it surpass Suspiria as Argento's ultimate masterpiece because he undermines the principles of the narratives he's been putting forward ever since his first foray into the Giallo genre. In my opinion Argento shot his wad on Opera because he turned his cinematic eye to the relationship between the viewer and the exploitative violence Argento himself traffics in and ultimately deduces there is no clear answer as to how such a narrative effects the viewer and what the ultimate ramifications of this relationship are. Or maybe I've had to many beers. It's Halloween after all. Either way I really enjoyed the write-up and thanks for putting on the blogathon. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04634087887519608773noreply@blogger.com