Opera (1987) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Opera (1987) |
| Original Title | Opera / Terror at the Opera |
| Director | Dario Argento |
| Screenplay Writer | Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini |
| Based on Novel by | — (Original screenplay) |
| Lead Actors | Cristina Marsillach |
| Cast | Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson, Urbano Barberini, Daria Nicolodi |
| Genre | Horror, Mystery, Giallo |
| Release Date | December 19, 1987 (Italy) |
| Duration | 1h 47m (107 minutes) |
| Budget | Moderate Italian horror production |
| Language | Italian / English |
| Country | Italy |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | Cult theatrical success |
| IMDb Rating | ~6.8/10 |
| Notable For | Stylish camera work, brutal murder scenes, raven attack sequence |
| Cult Status | Considered one of Dario Argento’s best late-era giallo films |
| Alternate Titles | Terror at the Opera |
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Betty, a young and beautiful opera understudy, finally gets her big break in Verdi’s Macbeth after the lead is hit by a car. But Betty’s happiness is short-lived, as a killer stalks and captures her several times, each time killing someone in front of her after he has tied her up and taped needles under her eyes so she must watch his butchering.
Like most Argento films this one is beautifully shot although some of the steadicam work is hit or miss. A scene involving a camera swinging around the opera house meant to convey a raven in flight is awesome in fact all the raven shots are excellent. Other times, such as going up a spiral staircase backwards or showing someone’s POV behind them left me both dizzy and wondering why a person would be walking backwards.
The acting is decent from everyone; given most of them behaved oddly. The heroine wasn’t too sympathetic considering she really didn’t do much to help herself out, I believe she is supposed to be somewhat childlike but you really want her to snap out of it and become more proactive in her survival.
The kills are excellent, most notably the one involving a bullet and a peephole is just superb. Others using knives and scissors are also well done, both visually and audibly. The needles under the eyes were definitely among the most cringe inducing moments.
Obviously the soundtrack is mostly opera music, either you like it or you don’t. I happen to enjoy it personally. Argento went through a phase of adding heavy metal music in his films, this is one of them. I like heavy metal but not its use here, a kill scene would start and its all guitar and drums, it kept jerking me out of the moment and turns what could almost be a timeless movie into a movie that was obviously made in the 80’s. The music makes those scenes cheesy and it’s not a cheesy movie.
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