Suspiria - 2018 Remake

[miliosr]

Are we all going to see this?

 

This is Luca Guadagnino's "reimagining" of Dario Argento's 1977 classic and features Dakota Johnson (moving up in the world from Fifty Shades of Grey) and Tilda Swinton in the old Joan Bennett part as "Madame Blanc" (or is it "Madame Bausch"?).

Will be reporting back on this one for sure!

[dirac]

Thanks for starting the topic, miliosr. I had heard this might be in the works. For me, it would depend on how much actual ballet is in the movie. I haven’t been pining to see this one remade and although I’m not the biggest fan of the original I doubt they will improve upon it. I expect others will see it before I do and I hope y’all tell us about it in this space!

[miliosr]

2 hours ago, dirac said:

For me, it would depend on how much actual ballet is in the movie.

I think the answer is . . . none. Damien Jalet staged the dances and the dance academy in the remake appears to be very heavily modelled on the Tanztheater Wuppertal.

[dirac]

Well, I think I'll let you go first, although I like both Johnson and Swinton.

[miliosr]

The New York Times picks up on the modern dance element (specifically Pina Bausch, Martha Graham and Mary Wigman) in Suspiria:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/arts/dance/luca-guadagnino-dance-suspiria-damien-jalet.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fdance&action=click&contentCollection=dance&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

I would take issue with this comment by director Luca Guadagnino, though:

“Dario making it classical ballet was a big mistake, a misstep,” Mr. Guadagnino said.

You don't watch Dario Argento's original version of Suspiria for acting, plot or theme. You watch it for color, mood and music (Goblin's score).

 

[miliosr]

I saw Suspiria last night. My verdict? Don't bother. As a horror movie, Suspiria didn't have a single scare. It makes the recent Halloween remake seem like a masterpiece of horror even though that movie isn't particularly scary either.

Suspiria doesn't compensate for its failures as a horror movie by being great (or even good) camp. If Suspiria wasn't going to be good horror, I was hoping it would at least be a camp classic along the lines of Valley of the Dolls, Showgirls and Glitter. Alas, it was not to be. Even Tilda Swinton (in the old Joan Bennett part of Madame Blanc) intoning portentously on the dance didn't deliver enough pure camp. (And, truthfully, Susan Hayward [as Helen Lawson] lip-synching "I'll Plant My Own Tree" in Valley of the Dolls is scarier than anything in Suspiria.)

There were three things I liked in Suspiria:

• Dakota Johnson (as Susie) performing a violent solo for Madame Blanc, which has an equally violent effect on Olga, another member of the company who has run afoul of the witches' coven. It's not scary but it is powerful.
• The Markos Tanz Theater performing its signature work, Volk, in one of the company's studios.
• The general look and period flavor (i.e. the constant background references to the Baader-Meinhof gang) of 1977-era Berlin. It's the complete antithesis of Dario Argento's conception of Berlin in the original. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by miliosr

[dirac]

Thank you for the review, miliosr. I didn't much want to go but I'm glad you did it for all of us.

I never got around to seeing "Glitter." Is it really as much fun as Dolls and Showgirls?

[miliosr]

On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 7:14 PM, dirac said:

I never got around to seeing "Glitter." Is it really as much fun as Dolls and Showgirls?

Probably doesn't climb the camp Mount Everest like Valley of the Dolls and Showgirls did. But, if you're in the right frame-of-mind, it can crossover from tedious to ridiculous.