| SUSPIRIA SEDA SPETTACOLI ; ITALY dvd specification |
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| [video][sound][extras][conclusion] |
| If you want a review of the actual film, click here. |
| video |
| When you know that this transfer was personally supervised by Luciano Tovoli, you would expect it to be a little bit special. Well, you won't be disappointed! This is an amazing looking version of the film and definitely the best I have ever seen. What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that the source material is 25 years old and looks better than many recent dvd releases. |
 
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At last you can see exactly what Argento was trying to achieve. The colour that is such an integral part of the film is just breathtakingly beautiful on this dvd. The image is pin sharp throughout without a trace of digital artifacts or grain. There is the occasional white fleck but this is not in anyway distracting. The only other problem I detected was what seemed like a 'blurring' effect on the wallpaper that is in Olga's apartment. It is a very closely patterned black and white and at times this seemed to merge together. |
 
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| sound |
| There are two soundtrack options; remixed Italian Dolby 5.1 and an English Dolby Surround. I only listened to the English track but was pleasantly surprised at just how good it was, much better than the UK dvd version. It made good use of the surround ability with varying different effects coming from all around you. Goblin's score came across really well which of course is a major part of the SUSPIRIA experience. However, at about 53 minutes, the soundtrack went out of synch for about 10 minutes. It did gradually drift back in but unfortunately, it happens just when there is quite a bit of dialogue being spoken which makes it all the more obvious. |
 
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| extras |
| The major extra on this disc is a 20+ minute interview with Argento about the film. It is done in a quite novel way; he is sitting in a cinema actually talking whilst the film is being shown. Unfortunately, it is only in Italian with no subtitles. This is not a complaint just a disappointment. The disc packaging seems to claim that it contains the usual filmographies and biographies but they are not on the actual disc. Incidentally, as this is a special 25th aniversary dvd, the menu's leave a lot to be desired with no animation or sound at all. Functional? certainly, special? certainly not. |
 
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| conclusion |
| I am tempted to tell everyone to get this dvd as it is quite simply the best version available at the moment by a long way. However, and I think you know what I am going to say, the forthcoming Anchor Bay dvd sounds like it could be the ultimate version. BUT I think they are going to have a hard job surpassing the image quality of this release. If you can't wait, and you absolutely need SUSPIRIA on dvd then get this disc otherwise hold off until September. |
| reviewed by NJD |
| main menu |
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| cover artwork |
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| inside cover artwork |
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