I am SO there!

http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/downl...thologycal3.pdf

Vincent

Just hope it's not an old beat up rare Techincolor print! And that they do crank the volume up. But they have a good program, from new Kenneth Anger's to one-eyed auteurs to Lustig's 70's picks. I miss rep cinemas.

Still worth it, I'd wager. And it certainly ain't gonna be a new Tech print, so adjust expectations accordingly.

I'm guessing the print probably comes from a private collector, so here's hoping that he or she kept it in good shape. Will be interesting to see which version of the film it is, too. I've seen the "International Classics" print projected a few times, and both times it was in deplorable condition, and you know what? Even with the film being censored and being in such bad shape, SUSPIRIA worked its magic on the big screen in a way it never has for me on home video. Even watching the Anchor Bay DVD-synced-with-the-Image-LaserDisc-audio on my video projector in a dark room doesn't compare.

Vincent

I'd like to see it with the "breathing" US title card (I've never seen it theatrically but the card is on the TV spots). Has it ever been released on disc or tape with the US title card (did the cable broadcasts use the US print or the Magnum R-rated version?)

It is a British release print from an archive in England.

The print will also be screened at the Cinema Arts Centre's All-Nite Pay-to-Get-Out Horror Marathon on Saturday, August 22.

Summer Camp Cinema

Other venues that will screen the print in September and October include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Cleveland Cinematheque, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Brattle Theatre, and the Pacific Cinematheque.

A UK release print may not be such a great compromise, depending on what version was originally submitted. Here is the BBFC listing:

SUSPIRIA ( Film 28/07/1977 ) Runtime: 97m 1s cut by 1m 13s
Director: Dario Argento Cast: Jessica Harper,Stefania Casini,Udo Kier

It can't be as badly cut as the "International Classics" print, can it? The U.S. version not only evicerated the opening double-murder and Daniel's death, but also cut a long expository sequence (Daniel's dog attacking the boy and Daniel subsequently being tossed out of the school).

Vincent

I don't know the run times of the various versions well enough to say what was submitted based on that entry. As long as it was the complete cut and not the already cut US version Brit censors saw, then it should be somewhat better.

Of course, being able to see SUSPIRIA on the big screen (which I have not had the pleasure of doing) in what one hopes would be a good print would certainly go a long way in making the trims bearable.

I saw it at Film Forum about 10 years ago and it had the breathing title card. I'll also second what Vincent said: even though the print was beat to hell, censored (missing the scenes mentioned above) and laughed at by people who thought the ballet scenes were campy, it's still *mesmerizing* on a big screen in a way that it's not on a television.

*AND* that's on Film Forum's really rather tiny screen*!










*Well-projected though the venue is.

The Film Forum is where I first saw SUSPIRIA projected in 35mm, as well, in the summer of 1991. Dario was there to introduce the screening* along with Maitland Mcdonagh who was there to promote her then brand-new Argento book BROKEN MIRRORS BROKEN MINDS (at the time only published in Britain as I recall), and the beat-up, edited "International Classics" print of SUSPIRIA was paired with a pristine 35mm Paramount print of FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET. As I recall, the audience during the screening I viewed was respectfull, with the exception of what I assumed was a homeless man who somehow got a ticket and spent the entire showing of SUSPIRIA loudly scratching himself and arguing with folks seated near him.

Vincent

* Dario having been in NYC at the time for pre-production on what was then titled AURA'S ENIGMA, which of course later became known as TRAUMA.

I first saw SUSPIRIA in 1983 at the closest thing we had to a grindhouse in my part of Mississippi, the Princess Theater--built in 1925. (You can see a more recent picture of the Princess theater here, as it's now a venue for live music.) I had never been to the Princess before, which is in a neighboring town. Once inside, I marveled at what had once very obviously been a remarkable old theater, complete with bathrooms under the theater proper (very much similar to those in Mann's Chinese Theater in LA). I also marveled at the incredible array of exploitation posters that lined the walls that led to the auditorium. These weren't new posters, either--apparently, someone on the staff had gone through the piles of posters in the building, found their favorites, and stuck them up. I recall there was a BLUE SUNSHINE poster and a THE CREATURES poster (which was a retitling of FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE), among others.

When I saw SUSPIRIA, it was showing on a double-feature with Dennis Quaid's TOUGH ENOUGH, but since I only came to see SUSPIRIA, I only caught the last 5 minutes or so of TOUGH ENOUGH. After the film started, I noticed that there seemed to be insects flying about in the dark, and upon further inspection, I noticed that some side exit doors in the auditorium had been propped open. Obviously, the A/C wasn't working. Still, in spite of the drawbacks, the viewing was a magical experience. When those breathing letters appeared on the screen, I was ready for anything. And while the print was not in great shape, the speckling and splices only added to the ambiance that I was privy to a great filmic secret. It was several more years before I saw it again (this time on VHS) but the breathing title letters were gone and, even with the reinsertion of all that was cut, it seemed a little less...magical. Maybe SUSPIRIA needs a big screen and a booming sound system to work its wonders.

As a side note, I only went to the Princess one more time before it closed in late 1984, and that was in 1984 to see a double-feature of INVASION OF THE FLESH HUNTERS and the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. It was actually my second time to see NIGHT in a theater, and I was pumped. There was a sign on the box office that stated that "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is in black and white; we can't turn on the color." At the concession stand, one of the employees told me of the ghost that haunted the stage; the theater had once been a legitimate theater, but converted over to showing movies in the 1930s. The screen had been set at the front of the stage, and the stage itself became a storage area. The ice machine was also on the stage, and the employee told me that nobody ever liked to go back there alone, because the hair would stand up on the back of your neck and you'd hear noises. She helped set the perfect stage (honest, no pun intended) for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (which, as always, rocked).