Opera (film)
Opera | |
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File:Opera Dario Argento.jpg
Italian theatrical release poster by Renato Casaro
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Directed by | Dario Argento |
Produced by | Dario Argento Ferdinando Caputo Mario Cecchi Gori Vittorio Cecchi Gori |
Screenplay by | Dario Argento |
Story by | Dario Argento Franco Ferrini |
Starring | Cristina Marsillach Ian Charleson Urbano Barberini Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni |
Music by | Brian Eno Roger Eno Steel Grave Claudio Simonetti Bill Wyman |
Cinematography | Ronnie Taylor |
Edited by | Franco Fraticelli |
Production
company |
ADC Films (as ACD Srl)
Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica (as Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica Srl) Radiotelevisione Italiana (as RAI Radio Televisione Italiana) |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures (United States and Japan) |
Release dates
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19 December 1987 |
Running time
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107 min. |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian English |
Budget | $8,000,000 (estimated) |
Opera, also known as Terror at the Opera, is a 1987 Italian giallo horror film written and directed by Dario Argento and starring Cristina Marsillach, Urbano Barberini and Ian Charleson. The film's score was composed by Brian Eno and Claudio Simonetti. The film was released in the United States under the title Terror at the Opera.[1] The film was one of Argento's most commercially successful films, seeing 1,363,912 ticket sales in his native country of Italy.[2] This is the second Dario Argento horror film to have THX audio certified and picture quality.
Plot
The film centers around young, insecure opera singer Betty (Cristina Marsillach). After the lead in Verdi's Macbeth is injured in a car accident, Betty is reluctantly thrust into the role in the opera. During her first performance, a murder takes place in one of the opera boxes. Mysterious murders continue throughout the film as Betty is stalked and those around her meet their unfortunate end. The killer binds and places tape under Betty's eyelids with needles attached so she is unable to blink, and therefore forced to watch as the murders take place. Meanwhile, Betty continues to have frightening dreams involving a masked person and her mother. During the final performance of the opera the killer is revealed, and Betty must confront her past in a terrifying climax.
Cast
- Cristina Marsillach as Betty
- Ian Charleson as Marco
- Urbano Barberini as Inspector Alan Santini
- Daria Nicolodi as Mira
- Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni as Giulia
- Antonella Vitale as Marion
- William McNamara as Stefano
- Barbara Cupisti as Signora Albertini
Soundtrack
Title | Performer/Composer | Publisher |
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Brian Eno and Roger Eno | By Arrangement with Opal Ltd, London |
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Claudio Simonetti | By Arrangement with BMG Ariola-Walkman SRL |
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Bill Wyman and Terry Taylor | By Arrangement with Ripple Music Ltd. |
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Steel Grave a.k.a. Gow | By Arrangement with Franton Music/Walkman SRL |
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Norden Light | By Arrangement with Sonet |
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From opera "Macbeth". Composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Performed by Maria Callas. | By Arrangement with Fonit Cetra |
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From "Norma". Composed by Vincenzo Bellini. Performed by Maria Callas. | By Arrangement with Fonit Cetra |
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From "La Traviata". Composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Performed by Maria Callas. | By Arrangement with Fonit Cetra |
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From "Madama Butterfly". Composed by Giacomo Puccini. Performed by Mirella Freni. | By Arrangement with PolyGram (as Poligram) |
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Composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Performed by Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz (as Elisabetta Norberg Schulz) soprano, Paola Leolini Soprano, Andrea Piccinni (as Andrea Piccini) Tenor, Michele Pertusi Baritone, with "Arturo Toscanini" Symphonic Orchestra of Emilia and Romagna. Recorded at the Elite Studio of Sermide (MN) |
Location
The theater to which refers the movie is the Parma Opera House.[3]
Critical reception
Opera currently has an approval rating of 83% on movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on twelve reviews.[4] AllMovie called the film "a decent, fairly typical Argento film that is worth watching primarily for its above-average murder sequences."[5]
References
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External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1987 films
- 1987 horror films
- 1980s psychological thriller films
- Italian films
- Italian horror films
- Italian-language films
- Films directed by Dario Argento
- Giallo films
- Film scores by Claudio Simonetti
- Films about opera
- Serial killer films
- Films shot in Switzerland
- Orion Pictures films
- The Phantom of the Opera