BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Mr.Crow I didn't go into this movie expecting a bunch but holy crap, those blood effects are amazing! It has most certainly opened me up to Argento's films and style.The film is not a bloodbath but certain scenes BECOME a bloodbath, which builds up tension perfectly. I also found the whole thing of the main damsel not being able to close her eyes a very brilliant design and oddly feels ...sexual? BUT WE ALL COME FOR THE CROW CAM, AND YOU GET PLENTY OF CROW CAM IN THIS MOVIE CAW CAW

Michael_Elliott 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.

p-stepien Betty (portrayed pathetically by Cristina Marsillach) is an up-and-coming opera singer, who gets her big break after the star diva breaks her leg. Promoted from understudy she becomes the breakaway star of Guiseppe Verdi's "MacBeth", an opera with a long history of bad luck. During the opening night a murder is committed. Even later that evening a masked man gags Betty and forces her to watch him gut the stage manager after which he lets her go unharmed. Who is the murderer and what wicked game is he playing? Dario Argento during the years mastered his trademarks, which include long travelling shots, exquisite classic-inspired sumptuous settings as well as the use of colour (with a specific obsession with red ochre) to instill an unrelenting all-engulfing atmosphere. This time however Dario exaggerated and overused the long shots making his typical slow pace virtually stop to a halt. Almost nothing happens during over 100 minutes, albeit when it finally does occur it is engrossing and damn near to perfection.Sadly this movie has probably one of the worse scores in any Argento movie, save for the absolutely classical and unmistakable captivating beauty of Verdi's "MacBeth". The remaining music however consists mostly of loud and severely outdated heavy metal, that cruelly rape the ears and kill visual enjoyment.Additionally this is probably Argento's 'easiest' movie in the sense, that the script is severely underdeveloped and lacks the prerequisite mystery. Shortly after the first murder it becomes quite apparent that there is only one possibly killer. I naturally expected some twist to turn the events upside down (however illogical the twist), but none happened and the only possible culprit does not fail to not surprise. At the same time he must be one of the stupidest Argento murderers ever with plotting and ideas so thinly planned out, that were it not for the even more imbecilic victims he would have been caught within 30 minutes. But when victims fail to finish him off after knocking him unconscious with an iron or policemen require several days to differentiate a corpse from a mannequin this villain gets more screen time than he deserves.The only mystery worth finding out concerns the reason to the murderer's killing spree, which is suitably wicked and Argento-style twist. Also the ending itself is devious, albeit a lot of substance lost due to the terrible Marsillach, who lacks enough vibrant emotion to convey the terrible truth. All in all not a bad movie, but I fail to find anything worth note in this ultimately repetitive and flawed Argento thriller.

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.