#11
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Pretty sure Boswell scored Clive Barker's (underrated) LORD OF ILLUSIONS too.
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#12
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Just not a fan...well, not quite true, I am not a fan of their stuff with Bruce Dickinson. "Flash Of The Blade" is probably their best song of the Dickinson era though, and is expertly used in Phenomena I adore their first album when they were a bit punky and rough and had a singer one didn't need to have dog's hearing to listen to! |
#13
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Let's face it, if you described the plot of Suspiria to a horror fan who hadn't seen it and said that some of the acting was far from Olivier-esque, it doesn't quite hang together as a complete film and the score is completely overbearing, they may not want to watch it but that doesn't stop it being an absolute masterpiece! I think it's a trait of all of Argento's films that the plot is sometimes subservient to the visuals and the acting leaves a lot to be desired but you can't fault the camerawork, the sense of ambition and the feeling you have when it is finished -- this goes for Phenomena as well.
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#14
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I wouldn't make that comparison with Suspiria simply because I believe any criticism that could be layed at Phenomena's door is probably down to Argento going a little too far into the realms of the fantasique. I love it, as I said before, and have owned three VHS versions (Palace UK, Palace Australia, EVC Netherlands) one LaserDisc (Roan Group) and two DVDs (Anchor Bay US, Dragon Germany), so I really do have a lot of time for it. I must have seen the film seven or eight times too! |
#15
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I take your point but there are many Argento films in which he embraces the fantasy element, one of which is Suspiria - 'a fairy tale for adults' as he described it. Films like Sleepless are very reality-based, as is Stendhal Syndrome, but then there are others like Inferno, Phenomena and Suspiria that almost exist in a different universe!
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#16
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I appreciate your point, but aside from witchcraft and alchemy, there’s little else that’s as fantastical in Suspiria or Inferno. Yes, Suspiria and Inferno are very surreal but Argento explores some altogether bizarre concepts in Phenomena, and it is easy to see why it took some flak from the critics of the time. It really deviates from what Argento had done up to that point by some margin and there were many fans who dismissed it at the time of the release. My guess is he wanted to make a film that was similar to Suspiria (especially given the school setting) and run with it. I’d go as far as to say that Phenomena is the film where Argento indulges the fantastic more than in any other. I know a lot of people who like these films and not one of them dislikes Phenomena. Some of them didn’t like it upon first viewing but it’s grown on them. Others, myself included, have had a lot of time for it from the start. |
#17
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#18
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Paul, I see what you mean and it does seem as if Argento uses Phenomena to explore themes and elements of the supernatural to an extent that he hadn't previously done (or has done in any movie since then). To coin a popular phrase, he was 'pushing the envelope' to see what he could do in a film and, to an extent, it failed as the film was not a critical or commercial success upon release. Like many other films, it has found an audience in the home video market and has benefited from word-of-mouth so, although it is Argento being more experimental than ever, it all fits together in a film that many of his fans love to bits and that's why I think (and hope) that this release will be a massive hit.
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#19
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I think the point that I am getting at here is the film has been the target of a lot of criticism over the years and while I cans see where it comes from, I completely disagree. I don’t think anyone who has a problem with this film would like any movie in which a young heroine utilises her telepathic powers to control insects in order to uncover the secret identity of a serial killer. ...and it's got Donald Pleasance playing a Scottish professor and a homicidal chimpanzee. There really is a lot to love. |
#20
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I hope so too. It's had shocking treatment at the hands of uncaring distributors for far too long. If this is the definitive version I'm hoping for, you can definitely count on me buying a Blu one.
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