Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Opera
Boasting quite possibly his most iconic single image, almost certainly his most spectacular death scene, and indisputably his most insane ending, this is essential Argento.
Director: Dario Argento
Overview
Thrust into the lead role of an avant-garde staging of Verdi’s Macbeth, an understudy finds herself stalked by a killer who forces her to watch his murders. Inspired by his own failed production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Opera (like Tenebrae) sees Argento in self-reflexive mode, interrogating the spectacle and consumption of violence as entertainment. Meanwhile the soundtrack, a discordant coupling of Verdi’s melancholic arias with thrashing heavy metal riffs, is a perfect aural metaphor for a filmmaker always balanced on a knife-edge between high and low art. This presentation is in Italian with English subtitles.
Related
Red Rooms Red Rooms
Drama 2023 118 mins Director: Pascal Plante
The allure of the serial killer is explored in this deeply unsettling and unforgettable exploration of the impact of extreme violence.
Sleep Sleep
Horror 2023 94 mins Director: Jason Yu
A recently married couple find their lives turning upside down as a result of the husband’s nocturnal behaviour.
Starve Acre Starve Acre
Horror 2023 98 mins Director: Dan Kokotajlo
Dark and sinister forces invade a couple’s home in this wildly eerie British folk horror, with unflinching performances from Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark.
The Horrible Dr. Hichcock The Horrible Dr. Hichcock
Horror 1962 87 mins Director: Riccardo Freda
A widowed doctor has gruesome plans for his new wife in this lush, Hitchcockian Italian gothic horror.
Witchfinder General Witchfinder General
Horror 1968 87 mins Director: Michael Reeves
A witchfinder traverses 17th-century England executing those he suspects of witchcraft.
Street Trash Street Trash
Comedy 1987 101 mins Director: Jim Muro
A deadly liquor rips through a community of vagabonds living in the junkyards of Brooklyn, in this outlandish 80s body horror.
Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
Four Flies on Grey Velvet Four Flies on Grey Velvet
Horror 1971 98 mins Director: Dario Argento
Unavailable for many years, the once lost finale of Argento’s so-called Animal Trilogy is a thrilling hint of things to come.
StageFright StageFright
Horror 1987 90 mins Director: Michele Soavi
Dario Argento's protégé, Michele Soavi, made his directorial debut with this deliriously stylish slasher opus.
The Sect The Sect
Horror 1991 117 mins Director: Michele Soavi
Michele Soavi's delirious and surreal satanic horror follows a teacher drawn into the schemes of an evil cult.
The Church The Church
Horror 1989 102 mins Director: Michele Soavi
A librarian discovers an ancient evil lurking underneath a cathedral, in this spectacular gothic horror co-written and produced by Dario Argento.
Four Flies on Grey Velvet Four Flies on Grey Velvet
Horror 1971 98 mins Director: Dario Argento
Unavailable for many years, the once lost finale of Argento’s so-called Animal Trilogy is a thrilling hint of things to come.
Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
Watership Down Watership Down
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 92 mins Director: Martin Rosen
An apocalyptic vision pushes a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation.
Tchaikovsky's Wife Tchaikovsky's Wife
Biopic 2022 144 mins Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov (Petrov's Flu) charts the tumultuous relationship between the 19th-century composer and his wife, in this poignant and powerful biopic.
Nezouh Nezouh
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Soudade Kaadan
Enchanting feminist coming-of-age drama, from award winning Syrian director Soudade Kaadan.
The Turin Horse The Turin Horse
Drama 2011 155 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr’s devastating, starkly pared-down final feature, inspired by Nietzsche.
Werckmeister Harmonies Werckmeister Harmonies
Drama 2000 147 mins Director: Béla Tarr
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky.
The Man from London The Man from London
Drama 2007 139 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.