Suspiria (1977)

Country of Origin: Italy
Year of Production: 1976
Running Times: 92 mins (West Germany - theatrical)     95 mins (France - theatrical)     97 mins 1 sec (UK - theatrical)     98 mins (USA - theatrical)     100 mins (Italy - theatrical)
Format: Eastmancolor     Technicolor     Technovision     35mm
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: Dolby

PRODUCTION
Production Company: SEDA Spettacoli SPA
Executive Producer: Salvatore Argento (uncredited)
Producer: Claudio Argento
Production Manager: Lucio Trentini
Unit Manager: Federico Tocci
Production Co-Ordinator: Federico Starace, Massimo Brandimarte

SCRIPT
Script: Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi
Book: Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey

DIRECTION
Director: Dario Argento
Assistant Director: Antonio Gabrielli

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Luciano Tavoli
Camera Operator: Idelmo Simonelli
Assistant Camera: Giuseppe Tinelli, Enrico Fontana, Riccardo Dolci
Stills: Francesco Bellomo
Gaffer: Alberto Altibrandi
Key Grip: Mario Moreschini
Camera and Lighting Equipment: ECE Rome

EDITING
Editor: Franco Fraticelli
1st Assistant Editor: Piero Bozza
2nd Assistant Editor: Roberto Olivieri

MUSIC
Music: The Goblins (Agostino Marangolo, Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli, Claudio Simonetti), Dario Argento; Philip Glass (from Music in Similar Motion (adapted into the track Markos) - uncredited)

SOUND
Sound Recording: Mario Dallimonti
Boom: Corrado Volpicelli
Re-Recording Engineer: Federico Savina
Sound Effects: Luciano Anzellotti
English Language Dubbing Editor: Nick Alexander

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up Supervisor: Pier Antonio Mecacci
Assistant Make Up: Pierino Mecacci
Hair: Maria Teresa Corridoni
Assistant Hair: Aldo Signoretti
Wigs: Rocchetti
Costume Designer: Pierangelo Cicoletti (uncredited)
Wardrobe Mistress: Tiziana Mancini
Seamstress: Bertilla Silvestrin
Costume House: Sartoria Anna Mode
Footwear: Raphael Salato
Accessories: Lembo Caracciolo
Leather Goods: Fendi

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Germano Natali

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Giuseppe Bassan
Assistant Art Director: Maurizio Garrone, Davide Bassan
Titles: Studio Mafera
Set Dresser: Enrico Fiorentini
Assistant Set Dresser: Massimo Garrone
Set Constructor: Aldo Taloni
Set Furnishings: GRP-Rancati-Cimino-D'Angelo

MISCELLANEOUS
Continuity: Francesca Roberti
Production Accountants: Ferdinando Caputo, Carlo Du Bois
International Transport: UTI Rome
Transport: Romana Trasporti Cinematograici
Unit Publicist: Nino Vendetti

LOCATIONS
Locations: De Paolis INCIR Studios, Rome; Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; Munich, Bavaria, Germany

CAST
Jessica Harper (Suzy Bannion)
Stefania Casini (Sara)
Flavio Bucci (Daniel)
Miguel Bose (Mark)
Barbara Magnolfi (Olga)
Susanna Javicoli (Sonia)
Eva Axen (Patty Newman (Pat))
Rudolf Schuendler (Professor Milius)
Udo Kier (Professor Frank Mandel)
Alida Valli (Miss Tanner)
Joan Bennett (Madame Blanc)
Margherita Horowitz (teacher)
Jacopo Mariani (Albert)
Fulvio Mingozzi (taxi driver)
Franca Scagnetti (Albert's governess (1st servant))
Renato Scarpa (Professor Verdegat)
Serafina Scorcelletti (2nd servant(
Giuseppe Transocchi (Pavlo)
Renata Zamengo (Caroline)
Alessandra Capozza, Salvatore Capozza, Diana Ferrara, Cristina Latini, Alfredo Raino, Claudia Zaccari (dancers)
Giovanni Di Bernardo (uncredited)

PLOT SUMMARY

Young American dancer Suzy Bannion arrives in Germany to attend a dance academy. No sooner has she arrived than two of the students are dead, killed in the most bizarre manner. Soon others are dying and Suzy begins to realise that the staff of the academy are not what they seem.

Another technical tour-de-force from Argento and his first decisive step away from the giallo form that he had helped to refine. In all respects this is a triumph.

France
Theatrical Distributor: Les Films Jacques Leitienne
DVD Distributor: TFI Video

Germany
Theatrical Distributor: Gloria

Italy
Theatrical Distributor: P.A.C.
Video Distributor: Ricordi Video

Japan
DVD Distributor: Culture Publishers

UK
Theatrical Distributor: EMI Film Distributors
Video Distributor: Thorn-EMI (TVB 90 0265); Entertainment in Video (1990); Nouveaux Pictures (NP0016 - widescreen retail; NP0027 - widescreen rental) (1998)
DVD Distributor: Nouveaux Pictures (NPD1002)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: International Classics; Joseph Brenner Associates Inc (1979 reissue)
Video Distributor: Magnum Entertainment (3203; 3204) (November 1989)
Laserdisc Distributor: Image Entertainment (ID6900MN) (1990)

Australia
Rating: R

France
Rating: 18

Germany
Rating: 18

Italy
Rating: 14

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X; 18
Initially, the theatrical version was very slightly trimmed. When it was released on video, the first batch of Thorn-EMI tapes were uncut, but following the 'video nasties' farrago, this edition was withdrawn and the slightly censored version was put out instead. The Noveaux Pictures version is uncut.

USA
Rating: R; unrated
In the States, an unrated uncut version was released alongside a cut, R-rated version - the most noticeable cuts were from the opening murder and when Flavio Bucci is attacked by his dog.

1976
July
26: Shooting begins

1977
February
1: Italy - theatrical release in Rome
10: Italy - theatrical release in Milan

May
5: West Germany - theatrical release
18: France - theatrical release

August
Day Unknown: USA - theatrical release

December
28: UK - theatrical release (first shown at ABC Shaftesbury Avenue, London)

1978
July
24: Sweden - theatrical release

1998
May
18: UK - video release (rental and retail, Nouveaux Pictures)

1999
November
1: UK - DVD release

The only thing more terrifying than the last twelve minutes of this film are the first ninety!

Once you've seen it, you will never again feel safe in the dark

SEQUEL
Inferno (1980)

SEE ALSO
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo (1969)
The Exorcist (1973)
Diyu wu men (1980)
E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà (1981)
Phenomena (1984)
Return to Oz (1985)
Shiryo no wana (1988)
The Witches (1990)
Army of Darkness (1993)
Il Mostro (1994)
Matilda (1996)
Scream (1996)
Yeogogoedam (1998)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Terror in the Aisles (1984)
Il Mondo dell'orrore di Dario Argento (1985)
Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-rama Show Southern Style Volume 2 (1995)
100 Years of Horror (1996)

BOOKS

Art of Darkness pp.127-144; 279; 297
illustrated review (by Stephen Thrower); credits; video data

Aurum Encyclopedia of Film: Horror p.318
review

MAGAZINES

Deep Red no.1 p.45
review

Devil Movies p.37
illustrated article

Empire no.127 (January 2000) p.150 (UK)
DVD review

Entertainment Weekly no.495 (23 July 1999) pp.25-30 (USA)
illustarted article (The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time)

Fangoria no.66 p.15
review

Halls of Horror 27 pp.27, 30-31
illustrated review

Halls of Horror vol.2 no.2 (November 1977) p.50
UK video data

Shivers 58 pp.31-33
illustrated review

Sight and Sound vol.2 no.1 (May 1992) p.69 (UK)
video review (by William Green)

Starburst no.44 pp.37-40
illustrated review

Video Watchdog 46 pp.18-19
review

OTHER SOURCES

screen
review source, credits

ballet; the occult; supernatural; bats; witchcraft; witches; blindness; animals; dogs; germany; dance academies; dancing; hanging; impalement; stabbing; barbed wire; americans-abroad