I just saw Peter Del Monte's ETOILE and I was wondering what other people thought of it. I think its a definate improvement over his dismal JULIA AND JULIA (which looks awful despite the fact that it was an early hi-def production). ETOILE is certainly Eurocult despite the lack of nudity, violence and a restrained sense of visual flair. Its a thrilling arthouse confection of Argento's already arthouse OPERA, SUSPIRIA, and INFERNO.
As for the actors, only Jennifer Connelly gives the only truly good performance. Gary Mc Cleery's somewhat uninspiring hero and his uncle played by Charles Durning both come off as if they were given no direction and simply over-acted.
On the other hand, the sets are very Argento-like as are the familiar Budapest locations. The music score is atmospheric but not really noticeable. The supporting cast is striking because of their appearances but are not given much to say (possibly because their ballet dancers). The creature designed by Sergio Stivaletti is only seen in quick glimpses but it is nonetheless memorable, especially in the scene where the hero discovers it (very much like the scene where Jessica Harper stumbles into the boudoir of Helena Markos in SUSPIRIA).
Why isn't this film better known? Has Ms. Connelly ever talked about it in interviews (or PHENOMENA for that matter)? I don't see how it could be seen as an embarassment.
This and Gianfranco Giagni's THE SPIDER LABYRINTH are definately underrated Italian horror films in need of rediscovery.
I am curious about this one but have not found a good place to pick it up. Isn't it available as a VCD or something? Any help in locating it would be appreciated.
Walter, I believe the Japanese release has only Italian audio. Can you confirm this?
How's the general Japanese DVD quality if you know?
Thanks. :)
Sazuma lists French audio with Japanese subtitles but the VW review in #109 says that it has Italian audio with Japanese subtitles. It's also quite pricey. Apparently, the video quality isn't much better than the English language Japanese tape and disc releases and it is converted from a PAL source (the Japanese disc is NTSC).