"Suspiria" - directed by Dario Argento
Auckland International Film Festival screening with score played live by Goblin
If this isn't the out and coolest screening I have ever attended I don't know what is.
I've been lucky enough to go to a lot of great events from outdoor movie screenings to Q&A screenings with Peter Jackson and Ang Lee to premieres of things like the Lord of the Rings movies, Star Wars and even "Titanic".
But this... this is an event.
The band Goblin on stage playing their (justifiably) famous score while Dario Argento's classic "Suspiria" plays.
And it is in the mighty Civic Theatre - perhaps the best and certainly my favourite cinema ever.
As for the film - I watch it at least once a year.
In fact I had watched it the week before this screening was announced so it was particularly fresh in my mind a month later when it happened.
I like "Suspiria" a lot but it took me a while to warm to its charms.
You have to get past a few things.
Pretty bad dubbing into English is the first hurdle and on the big screen it is even more noticeable than on a home cinema set up.
The blood is far too red and far too bright.
Some of the dialogue is laughable and there are performances that might most kindly be described as 'good efforts'.
But if you are a "Suspiria" fan you know that all of these things are in fact part of its charm.
Italian horror generally is an interesting beast with contributions from the likes of Lucio Fulchi ("Zombi 2", "The Beyond", "The New York Ripper"), Ruggero Deodato ("Cannibal Holocaust") and of course the king of the bunch - Dario Argento.
Argento is an interesting man. He co-wrote "Once Upon A Time in the West" with director Sergio Leone and Bernardo Bertolucci.
Argento stamps his name all over this film with crazy lighting, great set piece murder scenes and some truly excellent foreshadowing hinting at things to come.
There is a sense of dread right from frame one.
Even an automatic door at an airport is made to look menacing.
"Suspiria" follows the standard Argento rulebook with an English speaking lead actor- in this case Jessica Harper.
He had previously used Suzy Kendall in "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage", Karl Malden in "Cat O Nine Tails", David Hemmings in "Deep Red" and later Leigh McCloskey in "Inferno", Jennifer Connelly in "Phenomena" and Ian Charleson in "Opera".
Argento doesn't seem to have any difficulty nabbing good actors to work with but he is undoubtedly a controversial figure.
He himself admits that he gets into trouble in interviews when he makes statements like....
"I like women, especially beautiful ones. If they have a good face and figure, I would much prefer to watch them being murdered than an ugly girl or man."
Debate rages as to whether this proves him a sexist pig but in my mind is just further evidence that he is interesting so strongly in the look of his films.
Visually his films are unique and even the less successful ones have at least one mindblowing sequence in them that makes them worth watching.
My favourite is the bullet through the door, head and telephone scene in "Opera".
"Suspiria" is without doubt his masterpiece though and much has been written about it in the more than thirty years since its release.
For this reason there isn't a lot more that needs to be said by me about the film itself.
The focus here is on the event - Goblin live on stage playing the score.
I was lucky to get in early enough on the one to obtain mezzanine seats four rows from the front and nicely centred.
After a nice introduction on stage from Ant Timpson - the man who put this together- the band arrived in the orchestra pit area and took their positions.
What immediately became apparent as the curtain raised and the band commenced was that nothing would be held back.
The volume was suitably high and as those famous synthesizer notes flooded out into the cavernous Civic Theatre there was the very real danger that the film would be overwhelmed.
Any such fears were put to rest as the film progressed and all that was left was a beautifully clear, gloriously dense score blasting out as the nicely presented film print shone forth from the big screen.
I can only dream of screenings such as this for "Star Wars" or "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Inception" with Hans Zimmer's dynamic music played live.
The great thing about these sorts of events apart from the clarity of music played live is that you can look down at any time and see the musicians at work.
Watching "Suspiria" projected using a good print on a large screen is reason enough to show up but Goblin's inclusion added another level.
Hearing the word "Witch!" screamed out on the soundtrack is a true treat for the Argento fan.
Seeing the percussion with those heavy, pounding kettle drums as the movie plays make an already impressive score really burst into life.
After the performance the band was introduced and got the rapturous applause that they deserved.
I managed to capture most of this- video below.
It is a little redundant recommending this screening because it is unlikely to be available again soon.
However there have been screenings in Australia so perhaps more are planned in other countries.
If so this is an absolute must for horror fans, music fans and anyone even remotely interested in movies.
Amazing.
Auckland International Film Festival screening with score played live by Goblin
I've been lucky enough to go to a lot of great events from outdoor movie screenings to Q&A screenings with Peter Jackson and Ang Lee to premieres of things like the Lord of the Rings movies, Star Wars and even "Titanic".
But this... this is an event.
The band Goblin on stage playing their (justifiably) famous score while Dario Argento's classic "Suspiria" plays.
And it is in the mighty Civic Theatre - perhaps the best and certainly my favourite cinema ever.
As for the film - I watch it at least once a year.
In fact I had watched it the week before this screening was announced so it was particularly fresh in my mind a month later when it happened.
I like "Suspiria" a lot but it took me a while to warm to its charms.
You have to get past a few things.
Pretty bad dubbing into English is the first hurdle and on the big screen it is even more noticeable than on a home cinema set up.
The blood is far too red and far too bright.
Some of the dialogue is laughable and there are performances that might most kindly be described as 'good efforts'.
But if you are a "Suspiria" fan you know that all of these things are in fact part of its charm.
Italian horror generally is an interesting beast with contributions from the likes of Lucio Fulchi ("Zombi 2", "The Beyond", "The New York Ripper"), Ruggero Deodato ("Cannibal Holocaust") and of course the king of the bunch - Dario Argento.
Argento is an interesting man. He co-wrote "Once Upon A Time in the West" with director Sergio Leone and Bernardo Bertolucci.
Argento stamps his name all over this film with crazy lighting, great set piece murder scenes and some truly excellent foreshadowing hinting at things to come.
There is a sense of dread right from frame one.
Even an automatic door at an airport is made to look menacing.
"Suspiria" follows the standard Argento rulebook with an English speaking lead actor- in this case Jessica Harper.
He had previously used Suzy Kendall in "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage", Karl Malden in "Cat O Nine Tails", David Hemmings in "Deep Red" and later Leigh McCloskey in "Inferno", Jennifer Connelly in "Phenomena" and Ian Charleson in "Opera".
Argento doesn't seem to have any difficulty nabbing good actors to work with but he is undoubtedly a controversial figure.
He himself admits that he gets into trouble in interviews when he makes statements like....
"I like women, especially beautiful ones. If they have a good face and figure, I would much prefer to watch them being murdered than an ugly girl or man."
Debate rages as to whether this proves him a sexist pig but in my mind is just further evidence that he is interesting so strongly in the look of his films.
Visually his films are unique and even the less successful ones have at least one mindblowing sequence in them that makes them worth watching.
My favourite is the bullet through the door, head and telephone scene in "Opera".
"Suspiria" is without doubt his masterpiece though and much has been written about it in the more than thirty years since its release.
For this reason there isn't a lot more that needs to be said by me about the film itself.
The focus here is on the event - Goblin live on stage playing the score.
 |
| The amazing Civic Theatre in Auckland showing main entrance views, upper level lobby hall and main auditorium |
After a nice introduction on stage from Ant Timpson - the man who put this together- the band arrived in the orchestra pit area and took their positions.
What immediately became apparent as the curtain raised and the band commenced was that nothing would be held back.
The volume was suitably high and as those famous synthesizer notes flooded out into the cavernous Civic Theatre there was the very real danger that the film would be overwhelmed.
Any such fears were put to rest as the film progressed and all that was left was a beautifully clear, gloriously dense score blasting out as the nicely presented film print shone forth from the big screen.
I can only dream of screenings such as this for "Star Wars" or "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Inception" with Hans Zimmer's dynamic music played live.
The great thing about these sorts of events apart from the clarity of music played live is that you can look down at any time and see the musicians at work.
Watching "Suspiria" projected using a good print on a large screen is reason enough to show up but Goblin's inclusion added another level.
Hearing the word "Witch!" screamed out on the soundtrack is a true treat for the Argento fan.
Seeing the percussion with those heavy, pounding kettle drums as the movie plays make an already impressive score really burst into life.
After the performance the band was introduced and got the rapturous applause that they deserved.
I managed to capture most of this- video below.
It is a little redundant recommending this screening because it is unlikely to be available again soon.
However there have been screenings in Australia so perhaps more are planned in other countries.
If so this is an absolute must for horror fans, music fans and anyone even remotely interested in movies.
Amazing.
| Rated | R16 for horror violence |
| Running Time: | 98 minutes |
| Starring: |
| Jessica Harper | --- Suzy Bannion |
| Udo Kier | --- Frank Mandel |
| Stefania Casini | --- Sara |
| Flavio Bucci | --- Daniel |
| Miguel Bose | --- Mark |
| Barbara Magnolfi | --- Olga |
| Susanna Javicoli | --- Sonia |
| Joan Bennett | --- Madame Blanc |
| Alida Valli | --- Miss Tanner |
| Jacopo Mariani | --- Albert |
| Fulvio Mingozzi | --- Taxi Driver |
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