Opera (1987) Severin Limited Edition 5-Disc 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray Review

Plot:

A masked, black-gloved stalker terrorizes an opera singer by killing everyone around her … and forcing her to watch.

 

Review:

A large-scale, big-budget take on Verdi’s Macbeth opera is in full swing at an Italian opera house, and the rising young opera star Betty (Cristina Marsillach) has great pedigree, as her mother used to be a big opera star too. Betty isn’t used to having fans, but she gets a taste for a special kind of admiration when a crazed fan begins revealing himself to her by first causing a terrible accident during one of her performances, and then soon after he invades her space and ties her up and forces her to watch him kill a young man she has just slept with. This is just the first wave of what will be an ocean of terror Betty is going to have to endure over the coming days and weeks ahead. The killer, who wears a black ski mask and black gloves, is obsessed with Betty and continues to assert that he has all the power and control and can kill her any time he chooses, but by making her watch him take everything away from her, he has some kind of dominance and supremacy over her life. But this person is about to find out that Betty has just enough cunning and good luck to trip him up at least once, and that there’s life and death … beyond the opera.

 

Opera, from horror and giallo master Dario Argento, came at the end of Argento’s peak and marked a turning point for him. Everything that came before this one should be marked as his “ultimate” period, and Opera is where that peak hit its crest, and everything after this became the second (or third, his weakest) era. Opera is completely stylish and contained his standard-level of gore, suspense, and visceral impact, and as such it should be considered his last “great” or “excellent” movie with all his signature moves and love for cinema. It shows how much he put into it, and anyone who’s still developing their taste for Italian horror or Argento should reserve this one for a centerpiece in their studies. It’s very entertaining and sometimes wince-inducing with memorable set pieces and torture devices. Everybody will remember the eye needle tape after seeing this. It’ll stick with ya!

 

While there have been previous Blu-ray releases and premium DVD releases, Severin recently released some great options for collectors when choosing Opera in 4K Ultra HD. First, there’s an outstanding limited edition hardshell box-style option that has 5 discs, including the 4K disc with both the director’s cut and the theatrical cut, plus bonus Blu-rays with both versions, as well as two different aspect ratios on each disc. There’s a wealth of bonus features and a booklet, and the kicker is that the set includes the soundtrack on CD. Other options from Severin include the five discs without the booklet or the box slipcover, or just the two-disc of the Blu-ray. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has released a better looking and sounding (and completely packed with bonus stuff) option of Opera. This is it. Look no further.

 

NORTH AMERICAN UHD PREMIERE

5 DISC COLLECTION
INCLUDES 2 RESTORED VERSIONS
WITH 12 HOURS OF SPECIAL FEATURES
AND SOUNDTRACK CD

It’s been acclaimed by aficionados worldwide as “his biggest film” (Bloody Disgusting), “a breathtaking visual feast” (Daily Dead) and “up there with DEEP RED and SUSPIRIA” (DVD Drive-In). Now experience “Dario Argento’s last full-fledged masterpiece” (Slant Magazine) in The Director’s Cut and U.S. Theatrical Version, both in UHD: When a young opera singer (Cristina Marsillach, in her career-defining performance) is stalked by a masked psychopath, she will be forced into a grisly aria of murder, memories and unimaginable torment. Ian Charleson (CHARIOTS OF FIRE), Urbano Barberini (DEMONS), Antonella Vitale (THE CHURCH), Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni (MOTHER OF TEARS) and Daria Nicolodi (TENEBRE) co-star in this definitive presentation of “one of Argento’s best” (IndieWire) – co-written by Franco Ferrini (PHENOMENA) with cinematography by Oscar® winner Ronnie Taylor (GANDHI) and music by Brian Eno, Bill Wyman and Claudio Simonetti – newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negatives at Cinecittà with over 12 hours of Special Features, a soundtrack CD and more.

Disc 1: 4K UHD v2 (2.35:1 Director’s Cut / U.S. Cut + Special Features)

• Audio Commentary With Actress Cristina Marsillach And Ángel Sala, Head Of Programming At The Sitges Film Festival (Director’s Cut Only)
• Audio Commentary With Alan Jones, Author Of Profondo Argento, And Kim Newman, Author Of Anno Dracula (Director’s Cut Only)
• Audio Commentary With Mondo Digital‘s Nathaniel Thompson And Troy Howarth, Author Of Murder By Design: The Unsane Cinema Of Dario Argento (Director’s Cut Only)
• OPERA Trailer
• TERROR AT THE OPERA Trailer

Disc 2: Blu-ray (2.35:1 Director’s Cut / U.S. Cut + Special Features)

• Audio Commentary With Actress Cristina Marsillach And Ángel Sala, Head Of Programming At The Sitges Film Festival (Director’s Cut Only)
• Audio Commentary With Alan Jones, Author Of Profondo Argento, And Kim Newman, Author Of Anno Dracula (Director’s Cut Only)
• Audio Commentary With Mondo Digital‘s Nathaniel Thompson And Troy Howarth, Author Of Murder By Design: The Unsane Cinema Of Dario Argento (Director’s Cut Only)
• The Eyes And The Needles – Interview With Co-Writer/Director/Producer Dario Argento
• Arias Of Death – Interview With Screenwriter Franco Ferrini
• The Eyes Of OPERA – Interview With Actress Cristina Marsillach
• OPERA Trailer
• TERROR AT THE OPERA Trailer

Disc 3: Blu-ray (1.85:1 Director’s Cut + Special Features)

• Audio Commentary With Actress Cristina Marsillach And Ángel Sala, Head Of Programming At The Sitges Film Festival
• Audio Commentary With Alan Jones, Author Of Profondo Argento, And Kim Newman, Author Of Anno Dracula
• Audio Commentary With Mondo Digital‘s Nathaniel Thompson And Troy Howarth, Author Of Murder By Design: The Unsane Cinema Of Dario Argento (Director’s Cut Only)
• Don’t Close Your Eyes – Interview With Film Historian Fabrizio Spurio
• The Opera And Mr. Jones – Interview With Alan Jones, Author Of Profondo Argento
• Conducting Dario Argento’s Opera – Archival Featurette Featuring Interviews With Dario Argento, Director Of Photography Ronnie Taylor, Actors Daria Nicolodi, Urbano Barberini, FX Artist Sergio Stivaletti And Soundtrack Composer Claudio Simonetti
• Terror At The Opera – Q&A With Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini And Lamberto Bava At Cinema Farnese (2006)

Disc 4: Blu-ray (Special Features)

• OPERA Runs In The Blood – Interview With Actress Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni
• To Catch A Killer – Interview With Actor Urbano Barberini
• In Any Language – Interview With Actress Antonella Vitale
• The Perfect Death – Interview With Actress Daria Nicolodi
• Blood Red Piano – Interview With Composer Claudio Simonetti
• The Eye Behind The Camera – Interview With Camera Operator Antonio Scaramuzza
• Flight Of The Crow – Interview With SFX Artist Sergio Stivaletti
• Blood And Latex – Interview With Make-Up Artist Franco Casagni
• The Gliding Camera – Interview With Steadicam Operator Nicola Pecorini
• 800 Sons – Interview With Press Agent Enrico Lucherini
• Preserving OPERA – Interview With 4K Color Correction Supervisor Karim Hussain
• OPERA Backstage – Behind-The-Scenes Video Created From Archival Footage

Disc 5: Soundtrack CD

Disc Specs:

• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Director’s Cut & U.S. Cut)
  1.85:1 (Director’s Cut)
• Audio: Director’s Cut: English 5.1, English Stereo, Italian Stereo, Cannes English Mono
  U.S. Cut: English 5.1, English Stereo
• 4K Video: Dolby Vision
• Director’s Cut: Closed Captions, English Subtitles
  U.S. Cut: Closed Captions
• 4K UHD: Region Free | Blu-ray Disc 2 & 3: Region A | Blu-ray Disc 4 Region Free
• Run time: OPERA (Director’s Cut): 107 mins
  TERROR AT THE OPERA (U.S. Cut): 96 mins

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