So two of Dario's classics, PHENOMENA and TENEBRE, get a much deserved facelift this week courtesy of Anchor Bay. There's enough threads out there debating his best film, but how about his worst from the ones that everyone else seems to love. Which of his classics is your least favorite?
Opera. I always considered that to be his first non-golden era film. I mean, it's pretty good and all, but it just don't float my boat like the others mentioned above.
Phenomena - but just talking from the point of view of the least watched film - the one I go back to the least - Deep Red.
Inferno. Cracked me up but not in a good way. I want my Argento movies to be free of unintentional humor if possible.
Opera, which really is just a weak film. It has style, sure, but everything else about it is a mess. The film also features the weakest killer in Argento's canon. Well, at least up to Do You Like Hitchcock? Of the Argento films I own, it's the one I find myself going back to the least. The other five are brilliant. Really, it's like one of those puzzles asking you which one doesn't belong. It's that much of a step down.
When cats attack - via catapult. Is that a problem? And the cook who takes a break to smack someone around a bit?
A hard choice. I love them all, but I have found that every time I try to rewatch Phenomena these days, I give up after an hour or so ... Don't know why Opera has the weakest ending, though, by far.
After I first watched Opera, I didnt watch an Argento movie for like 3 years. I really didn't like it.
Phenomena, what a snoozer. I can barely make it through it. I've given it a few chances but it really is just a poor, poor film.
I am surprised for all the hate for OPERA. I've always loved it. I think it has it all - another great script that really looks at Argento's infatuation with sight and the notion of being a director, some awesome kills (bullet through the phone) and great Simonetti tracks. DEEP RED is always the one that disappoints me - I keep thinking I should love it and that there's something wrong with me, but whenever I try to watch it I just start to lose interest fast. I really want to give the theatrical cut a look, that might be the deal breaker.
Don't really hate any of these films, but I just think Opera has the least going for it compared to the others on this list. Like Cujo108 said, the killer in this movie is lame by comparison and I always thought the pacing could be better. Opera has put me to sleep more than once. My favorites on this list are Suspiria and Tenebre.
The only thing with that is that you can't "unwatch" the extended cut. So while you may then prefer the shorter version, the extra scenes will be in the back of your mind. Let me explain. A friend recently saw Deep Red, and for her, the subtitles did not work. So in a sense, she DID see the theatrical cut. She said the movie was very confusing, and characters' motivations did not make sense. See, the extended scenes provide the "depth", if you'll pardon the pun. So you'll always know those scenes, even if you watch the shorter version. It WILL make sense, but only because you've seen the original cut a couple of times. That's why I bristle when people say they prefer the shorter version.
I enjoy all the films listed to some degree. The weakest on the list IMO is Phenomena. It was the first time I noticed a drastic decline in the quality of Argento's films that has continued until recently with his latest Mother of Tears showing signs of the old Argento.
Opera...insanely overrated, and it ended the "Golden Era" for Argento without a doubt. It's a complete mess, with a killer you can pick out in the first 5 minutes as long as you're not brain-dead, and completely idiot characters. The kills rock, but they certainly don't make up for the horrid script.
Just an FYI, I selected Tenebre. Paradoxically, it's one of the Argento films I go to most often, but I find it kind of mindless. It's the most "Fulci-esque" of his work. A lot of the camera techniques, lighting schemes, and "5 years in the future" look (Argento's own desired intent) are all interesting, but really don't service the plot very much. Speaking of plot, it does start getting bogged down late, and characters are seemingly introduced just so they can get killed. That's something Argento never used to do; all the killings in his previous gialli serviced the plot. Finally, it's impossible to figure out the killer based on the on-screen events. That goes against the rules of the giallo. Yeah, I know, breaking the rules is always something Argento did, but it was uncool in this case. Cut down the body count, make the lighting scheme mean something, and Spoiler have an undercurrent of dopplegangers and alter egos that would lend the viewer to be able to solve the mystery and I might like it a lot more.
Yeah it's pretty bad. I liked all the gore in it allot. That couldn't save it at all IMO. The film did not have any of the magic Tenebre had.
I have not seen Opera, Phenomena or Inferno so I am automatically disqualified from voting- A friend of mine hated Opera but I havent seen it personally yet. Suspiria is one of my all time faves and I thought Tenebre was very good also. I thought Deep Red was okay but was kinda let down when I saw it since I had heard so many good things about it.
