Suspiria

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento, Uncut Synapse 4k remaster, encoded in 10 bit HEVC with AAC sound, including original English theatrical 4.0, Italian 5.1 remaster, three commentary tracks, and English subtitles.

IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076786/

Video encoded in two-pass 10.0 Mbps x265 10bit with the veryslow preset for archive quality image.

English SDH subtitles for English sound OCRed, proofed and corrected. English subtitles for Italian audio converted to VobSub and repositioned.

Note : Dario Argento's most known film and arguably his masterpiece is a dreamlike phantasmagoria of weird occult goings-on, sudden shocking violence, and, honestly, really bizarre dialogue, probably partially a result of the multinational cast of actors all acting in different languages and then the whole thing being dubbed in post. The story about a coven of witches hidden in a German ballet academy was supposedly an original idea by Argento's long-time partner Daria Nicolodi, based on a dream she had, and it certainly feels like a dream, with not much logic, but a whole lot of ominous mood and super-stylized visuals, as well as a fantastic, pagan-sounding progressive rock score by Goblin. It started the "Three mothers trilogy" that Argento continued with Inferno in 1980, and much later, the apparently not very good "Mother of Tears" in 2007.

American ballet dancer Suzy Bannion travels to Germany to study, and enrolls at a prestigious and interior design obsessed dance academy on the outskirts of the ancient Black Forest. The night she arrives during a rainstorm, another student leaves the school in a panic, ends up with a friend in town, and both of them are brutally murdered by an unseen and possibly supernatural assailant. As Suzy gets to know the school and the eccentric group of instructors (and the incredibly catty and mean-spirited for no reason student body), she starts to suspect something weird is going on, as she suffers periods of malaise and drowsiness, several other people die, a rain of maggots descends from the attic, and the mysterious, never-seen headmistress makes shadowy appearances. The school was supposedly founded by a Greek witch, and Suzy might just be the next human sacrifice.

This is a very clean and sharp remaster with well-managed grain and good contrast. I feel like the colors are a little weird in some places (beyond the intentional weirdness of the theatrical lighting), but all in all, it's a very nice viewing experience. Both the English 4.0 soundtrack and the restored Italian 5.1 sound great, and all three commentary tracks are very good, with the whole core group of scholars of Italian genre cinema making and appearance.

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