Suspiria (1977)

Suspiria (1977)

Dir. Dario Argento

Some folks don't connect with Suspiria. I can understand that same feeling with regards to certain other 'classic' films, but even if you hate Argento's film, you can't deny that it's a daring and uniquely constructed piece of visual art.

I agree that it doesn't always make sense and that at times it's little more than staged set-pieces stitched together, but what a stunning canvas they make when viewed as a whole!

Jessica Harper plays Suzy (perfect casting), an American ballet student who's in Freiburg, Germany, to attend a renowned dance academy. The competitive bitchiness of the other students is to be expected, but the mystery surrounding the den of evil that co-exists, that's hidden from plain sight, is the real focus of the story.

Many of Dir. Dario Argento's methods are unconventional. The coloured lights and filters aren't at all naturalistic but like everything else on screen — even the subtle use of flowers on a side table in a corridor — exist for one purposeful reason: to heighten the dramatic effect.

The deep reds and haunting blues, the grand architecture and use of shapes in the décor, the howling wind and, perhaps most memorable of all, the terrifying music created by Argento and Goblin (an Italian prog rock band) work in unison to produce something that's perhaps best described as a film that one 'experiences' as opposed to simply 'watches'.

With regards the various editions of the film that are currently available on disc. The most recent and best edition that I've viewed in its entirety, to date, is the 4K restoration (UK Blu-ray) released by Cult Films on 04/12/17. It uses the same TLE Films digital master as the previous foreign Blu-ray editions but with a Cult Films-exclusive encode. It may seem like a small distinction, but in some cases the difference between a professional and a sloppy encode can be discernible, particularly in scenes with challenging colour and/or contrast levels.

Crucially, the intent was to reinstate/recreate/approximate as close as possible, "in accordance with Argento's original specification," how the film's distinctive colour palette would've looked on the intended film elements of the era; i.e., Technicolor dye values from Eastmancolor stock. (The majority of the film is restored from the OCN. But when that wasn't possible, necessary intermediate elements were used instead.) The result is a digital master of a film that looks like it was made in the 70s, which, obviously, it was, and in my book that's a major selling point.

-A shot from the Cult Films edition.-

In the interests of providing balance, it should be noted that an alternate US remaster financed and put out by Synapse is due to be released in the not-too-distant future. The screen captures that Synapse have released thus far show the colour in their version to be a lot brighter overall. It's pure speculation at this point, but it seems to me as if Synapse is tailoring their Suspiria to make best use of current viewing technology; i.e., the HD/4K TV era, suggesting they want it to look more modern, as opposed to Cult Films' attempt at a faithful 70s celluloid restoration.

It's likely that the version an individual prefers will be reflective of their feelings about 'old' and 'new' film standards. Should colour grading of old films strive to be faithful to the OCN's limitations, or should an attempt be made to have it work best with modern tech (HDR, etc)?

My preference, at least for Suspiria, considering its intended use of Technicolor dye, is the former. And while the Cult Films release has some issues, many of which are the result of flaws in the actual film materials, I suspect that for me it will remain the preferred version. But only time will tell. I may love the Synapse version just as much but for wholly different reasons.

Ultimately, as a fan of the actual film, it's wonderful that we even have a choice, because it took years for the first generation film elements to receive the love that they deserve.