I purchased the non-SE version of Suspiria based on comments about the film that I've read here and elsewhere. My understanding is that the transfer of the film is the same on both the SE and non-SE versions.
I remember one poster claiming that this was "the scariest movie of all time". Did we see the same movie? Granted, I'm a little critical of a lot of horror fair, but I thought this one was a real stinker. I didn't find it the least bit scary.
It seems to me that people often critique foreign films to a lesser standard than American films. After almost 3 attempts, I have been unable to even sit thru "Life is Beautiful" (Am I the only one who can't stand Roberto Begnini?). Don't get me wrong. I enjoy many foreign films and often find them refreshing, since most don't follow the "Hollywood formula". Some recent ones I've seen that come to mind are the original "The Vanishing", "Run Lola, Run" and "With Friends like Harry...".
The effects looked incredibly fake and the acting, directing and storytelling left much to be desired. Since when is blood orange? Although I was never a film student, it did seem to me that the composition of many/most of the shots was quite good.
A few comments about the DVD: At first look, transfer did look fairly good for what is no doubt an obscure film. The sharpness and detail looked as good as many of my DVDs of more recent films. The sound quality was also quite good (Why would anyone want the soundtrack of this film on CD?!). However, this may sound contradictory to my statements above, this transfer shows compression artifacts a plenty. Many scenes (especially dark ones) exhibited bad posterization to the point of distraction. Note that I'm using JVC G15 on a 8 foot wide screen. I don't how noticeable this will be on other's setups. Also, the last twenty minutes of the film, my HTPC starting skipping on this DVD like crazy. Perhaps I was just unlucky and have a defective copy.
Unless you are already a fan of this film, I'd think twice about evening renting this DVD.
I remember one poster claiming that this was "the scariest movie of all time". Did we see the same movie? Granted, I'm a little critical of a lot of horror fair, but I thought this one was a real stinker. I didn't find it the least bit scary.
It seems to me that people often critique foreign films to a lesser standard than American films. After almost 3 attempts, I have been unable to even sit thru "Life is Beautiful" (Am I the only one who can't stand Roberto Begnini?). Don't get me wrong. I enjoy many foreign films and often find them refreshing, since most don't follow the "Hollywood formula". Some recent ones I've seen that come to mind are the original "The Vanishing", "Run Lola, Run" and "With Friends like Harry...".
The effects looked incredibly fake and the acting, directing and storytelling left much to be desired. Since when is blood orange? Although I was never a film student, it did seem to me that the composition of many/most of the shots was quite good.
A few comments about the DVD: At first look, transfer did look fairly good for what is no doubt an obscure film. The sharpness and detail looked as good as many of my DVDs of more recent films. The sound quality was also quite good (Why would anyone want the soundtrack of this film on CD?!). However, this may sound contradictory to my statements above, this transfer shows compression artifacts a plenty. Many scenes (especially dark ones) exhibited bad posterization to the point of distraction. Note that I'm using JVC G15 on a 8 foot wide screen. I don't how noticeable this will be on other's setups. Also, the last twenty minutes of the film, my HTPC starting skipping on this DVD like crazy. Perhaps I was just unlucky and have a defective copy.
Unless you are already a fan of this film, I'd think twice about evening renting this DVD.
