Phenomena - The Film Debate
 

So, what do you think of Phenomena? How good is the writing, direction, acting and where does it rank in your favourite Dario Argento films?

Again, please keep this thread to discussions about the film itself and not the artwork or, when it is released, the disc itself.

As far as I'm concerned, this is my second or third favourite Argento film after Suspiria and Tenebrae and on a par with Inferno and Deep Red. I love the performances by Donald Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi and Jennifer Connelly, the heavy metal soundtrack and the great camerawork by Argento who makes full use of the Swiss locations.

I adore Phenomena. It's totally barmy with an amazing score. I must of watched this about twenty times over the years and have never got jaded. One thing is for sure, it's never boring.

I love the dream sequences - just wished they were a bit longer - it's where you're wanting some great Dario camerawork and it's all coming together from the bannister to the corridor of doors but then cuts off a bit too soon for me.

Love it, have always loved it, love it more each time I watch it.

It's not primo Argento, but it's boss nonetheless. As good as Tenebrae or Opera, I reckon.

He even manages to make the awful Iron Maiden sound cool by clever juxtaposition of music and image!

Yeah I agree it's on the Opera level.

The opening murder, starting with the camera going over the tops of the trees to reveal the house right upto the waterfall death. Sheer quality. It's not all heavy metal music too, as Goblin and Simon Boswell do some of their best work on the film.

I would put it just below Tenebrae and slightly above Opera though that could change if I were to watch the three as a triple Bill!

What have you got against Iron Maiden? I love their contribution to the score as it really ramps up the sense of lunacy in the middle of all this stuff by Claudio Simonetti and Goblin!

Phenomena is quite an oddity, even for Argento. A lot of it takes place during the day, the plot is completely nonsensical, the music score is eclectic and some of the acting/dubbing is best described as dubious but it’s a film that I have a lot of love for. It’s not even one of those films that’s good because it’s bad – it’s just “is”. It’s really hard to describe the reasons I like it and why I rate it among my favourite Italian horror films, but it’s definitely something that should be seen by those that like their Eurocult films.

Good point - some nice camerawork there indeed. What happened to Boswell - he was all over this and Stage Fright and Hardware...

Pretty sure Boswell scored Clive Barker's (underrated) LORD OF ILLUSIONS too.

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! :lol:

All very good points and it is strange that despite all of the reasons why the film shouldn't work and should be a complete mess, it somehow succeeds and manages to be a completely engrossing and enjoyable watch that stands up to repeated viewings. It's one of those intangibles that you will never know and can't describe to someone.

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.

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!

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!

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.

I have to admit I wasn't a huge fan of the film when first watching it back in the 90s but over the years it has grown on me and let's face it with what has generally followed it's become one of his better works. Also thinking it through just now it has some great set pieces and also feels like a cinematic Argento than the more TV-movie style he seems to have fallen into.

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.

I agree. But as I keep adding, I’ve liked Phenomena from the get-go, but that’s probably because I saw it before seeing any of his masterworks. There was no point of reference for me, and I just enjoyed its sheer absurdity. Even when I saw it for the second time (probably five or six years later), I’d still not seen any of his other films. I also agree that Phenomena is better than any of his subsequent films, Opera and The Stendhal Syndrome aside. There are films that were made later on--and I’ll be honest, I have absolutely no love for Phantom of the Opera and The Mother of Tears--that I will never, ever sit through again!

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. :clap:

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.

Phantom of the Opera is really the worst film Argento has ever made and some of the blame has to be laid at the feet of Julian Sands who is truly an abysmal actor. I've only seen Mother of Tears once but really want to watch it again at some point.

Donald Pleasance plays a Scottish professor and a homicidal chimpanzee? That really is some thespian feat!

I think MOTHER OF TEARS is Argento's worst by far. As bad as PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is, at least it didn't try and piss on the memory of two great films.

The roles are pretty much interchangable. :lol:

Lol, would pay serious money to see that version of the film :lol:

Depending what mood I'm in I'd say this ties with Suspiria and Inferno as my favourite Argento film. Whilst I prefer those two more celebrated works for their music, lighting and atmosphere I think it's fair to say I find Phenomena more fun to watch due to its sheer balls-out craziness. Always love the bemused look I get off people when I try and tell them what it's about; unfortunately most of them find the premise a little too far out to consider actually watching it. Ah well, their loss eh? ;)

Beautiful film. Amazing atmosphere, a fun story and I love some of the characters in this film (namely Jennifer, the Professor and the adorable chimp :D) The dream sequences make it quite surreal in parts and I think the soundtrack is just incredible!

Where are the BD reviews??

They'll be a way off yet as my review copy only arrived this morning and the reviews generally only go up in the week prior to release. This is something that I am keen to watch and review ASAP but want to re-watch the DVD first to see how the HD picture and sound compares. Anyway, as soon as there are reviews around, there will be a thread in this section where you can find all the links and quotes.

Thanks..but isn´t the release date the 14th? Then this is the week prior to release!

The release date is actually March 7th, so look for reviews at the end of February and the beginning of March.

Phenomena was only just classified uncut by the BBFC a mere 8 days ago.

Title « British Board of Film Classification

@111:14 PAL that would be 115:41 NTSC for the Italian Cut of the film. 6 min. longer than the Director's Cut. @109:39.

Really looking forward to this. :rockon:

Nice to see that.:nod:

Hi guys,
new around here,so Hello first!! :clap: Loved the Arrow releases I bought so far and loved them all,great packages! :woot:

Does anyone know what is up with the levitation scene that can be seen,IIRC,in one of the trailers? Jennifer can be seen levitating through a room.. ? Does that scene exist anywhere?Could it be added as a deleted scene? :pray:

Will :pop2:

That's another first for Arrow, with Inferno, Deep Red and now Phenomena passed uncut in the UK for the very first time.

Here's hopin' we can get Plumage as well. Those few seconds have been worrisome in the past. I've been checking the site. It's gotta be coming up soon.

With the Arrow Blu supposedly having the complete section of dialogue including, 'Right, bring in the perverts,' this version might be better that BU's if it can pass the board.

PHENOMENA is out now. Read new reviews HERE

Just watching Phenomena for the first as I speak and I must say I'm really enjoying it. Well done again Arrow. I wonder if anyone can help with a question. The dialog that Agento has used for Donald Pleasence seems to be what was actually recorded on set (if you know what I mean) whilst the other English speaking actors dialog has been done in post (as is the norm). Does anyone know why this is?

I'm not sure whether Argento used Donald Pleasence's delivery from the set or whether he is just better at ADR than everyone else!

On IMDB, it says:

It's quite interesting how ahead of trend they were with the use of forensic entomology when dealing with the murder investigation in the film. You can't read a crime novel these days without it cropping up. It's a huge part of TV crime drama too, CSI, Bones, etc.