Why is SUSPIRIA So Beautifully DISTURBING?!
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
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ABOUT THE SHOW:
This show celebrates Ryan's love for film, games, art and entertainment through personal retrospective analysis that aims to explore what made them so good.
SOURCES:
THOMPSON, Kristin.; BORDWELL, David. Film History : An Introduction (1994)
BFI - 40 Years of Suspiria: www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/...
LA Times Interview: www.newspapers.com/clip/24673...
MUSIC:
The Crows Did It by Nathan Moore
Mysterious Strange Things by Yung Logos
Melancholia by Godmode
Whole Tone Limbo by Godmode
Future Renaissance by Godmode
Familiar Things by The Whole Other
The Quantum Realm by The Whole Other
Tragic Story by Myuu
In The Void by Amulets
The Six Realms by I Think I Can Help You
Medieval Astrology by Underbelly & Ty Mayer
TIME STAMPS:
00:00-01:40 - Sponsored by ExpressVPN
01:40-04:32 - Introducing Suspiria (and its Remake)
04:32-08:00 - Emotions Matter More
08:00-12:40 - The Characters & Atmosphere
12:40-14:17 - The Reveal (SPOILERS)
14:17-17:50 - Dr Caligari & Expressionism
17:50-25:56 - The Remake & New German Cinema (SPOILERS) - Розваги
*HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ... Comment below on what I should cover for Winter!*
Go to expressvpn.com/ryan to get more out of your streaming services and find out how you can get 3 months free
Gay
The void, ginger snaps trilogy, hellraiser, fear street movies, what we do in the shadows and over the garden wall.
Funny Games
You should cover more David Cronenberg movies
As Above, So Below (2014)
Mr. Jones (2013)
Underworld series (2003-2017)
Soulmate (2013)
Ryan: "The remake complements the original in its own, *twisted* way"
*Shows Olga*
Oh, the subtlety.
🤢
Yeah, it was a very clever *tie-in!*
RIP, she had bonitis.
I love how different the original and remake are from each other, at least aesthetically: Argento's movie is a colorful dreamland, and Guadagnino's film is harsh and gritty. The sabbath-scene of the 2018 version might be one of my favorite scenes of all time.
Definitely! Both films are fantastic and unique. I almost think that they are different stories… almost. And I love the ending of the 2018 version.
@@damianarvizu1095
They are different stories. The premise and names are all that is the same.
What happens snd how, along with who Suzy is, as well as Mother Suspiriam are all completely different.
Suspiria is a perfect example of how remakes should be made. They should carry the same bare bones plot but execute the story in a drastically different way that they feed off eachother, otherwise why would you make a shot for shot remake if you can just watch the original instead *cough* looking at you psycho
The Olga Dance is up there too.
@@damianarvizu1095
"Definitely! Both films are fantastic and unique. I almost think that they are different stories… almost. And I love the ending of the 2018 version."
For me there isn't any 'almost' different stories about a comparison. They are completely different.
The original is trying to be a giallo, a murder mystery as to who or what is murdering these people, relying on supernatural outcomes. Since Argento's body of work relies mostly on gialli, this makes sense. You aren't fully aware, unless you pay attention (Goblin's ridiculous "Witch" vocal), that this is a coven of witches. Suzy is merely the final girl, and with some thinking gialli are proto-slashers it would make since. The movie doesn't relying on much plot, just as many have suggested.
Suspiria 2018, a masterpiece, does have a plot. And I hear Argento doesn't like the movie. With his own being mostly style over substance, I understand his turn to negativity. Suzy isn't the same character. Her character from the original is basically transferred to Sarah in this movie. The fact that Suzy is Mother Suspiriorum isn't known until the climax, making anyone who knows the original call it a twist. It really isn't. Watching as Blanc slowly indoctrinates Suzy into the coven shows a much different dynamic. The original shows Suzy becoming fodder for the witches, but not completely. The end of the original in which Blanc says they must get rid of Suzy is kind of ridiculous in my eyes. If they are truly as powerful as the movie suggests, they wouldn't have to worry about Suzy. They'd just keep eating her spirit.
The remake takes a subtle turn. In fact, the remake is how I imagined the original was going to be. Down to earth with earthly tones. My mind kept seeing dead leaves in puddles before I actually watched the original because that is what I feel when I think about witches and witchcraft. Instead, I saw a cartoony colored menagerie of psychedelia, which, two decades later, I can kind of appreciate now.
As stated, the remake is grounded, and has a much more clever presentation. The dances in which the students attempt bring upon spells. This is so much better than Suzy trying to dance but hemorrhaging from the witches taking her life essence. Suzy is a conduit for the magic, and the reason for their admission to the story is significantly more realized.
Once we know who Suzy really is, the whole premise usually takes the hardcore fans of the original out of the movie. Some who portray themselves as active story buffs who want more plot suddenly become distracted by an actual plot within the remake. Many Suspiria 1977 fans hate the remake because of the change in the characters. Having Suzy be the antagonist rather than those who run the dance academy is pure genius for my mind. She's drawn from childhood to this school, which is why her past is so troubled within her family and community. She is sin, as her mother points out.
I'm usually looking for more story than just style. This is why the two and a half hour runtime seemed much less restless for me than the original. There is plenty of style in the remake, but it comes with substance, unlike the original.
Style is substance. Too often people are so focused on the script that they forget that film is a "visual" medium.
Agreed, there are plenty of narrative podcasts and books to consume if someone is so interested in a story
Style CAN be substance. Isn't always. Because -ironically- people are so focused on the fact that film is a visual medium, that they forget the script.
@@majimasmajimemes1156 What makes film different than other forms of narrative media is that it tells its story visually-the script only serves as a foundation, but it’s not the whole.
Too many people focus waaaay too much on exposition and PLOT that they don’t allow themselves to become invested in the film. That’s what Ryan is talking about. To just allow yourself to let a film wash over you, rather than critically distance yourself just so you can talk about “plot holes”
And when I say plot I don’t necessarily mean that the story doesn’t matter. But I find that people demand movies to inform them of character motivation via dialogue or narrative devices as opposed to relying on visual cues or the acting. And I don’t think that’s right.
@@TheSkaOreo Are you maybe meaning that one saying: "The medium is the message" ?
Suspiria is not only one of the most haunting, atmospheric acid trip horror movies ever made, but it's one of the rare cases where I like the original and the remake about the same.
I watched this film with a class of people at college about 15 years ago but I still remember the whole thing. It left a big impression O_O
Always a good sign when one Media Analysis UA-camr you follow comments on the video of another Media Analysis UA-camr you follow.
What, class, were they?
Dom! 🙋♀️
Oh nice to see you here. The UA-camr who advises me what to read and the UA-camr who advises me what to watch in one place. :)
That moment you remember youtubers don't just exist in the universe of their own channels.
Hi, Dom! 😁
The remake does exactly what a remake should do:
Take an idea and develop your own twist on it. Most remakes just rip off the original without having a voice of their own. The 2018 one is so incredibly different from the original that the only thing it has in common with it is the name and the outline of the story.
I do love the aesthetic of the original but I feel the themes and depth is better in the remake.
The remake is much better than the trash it’s based on
@@xipetotek8216 No it ain't
@@xipetotek8216 I'm not a fan of the original. It was hard to sit through. But please respect it and don't call it trash just because you don't like it.
I wasn't a huge fan of 2018 Suspiria but I will give them credit for one of the most disturbing and creative death scenes I've ever witnessed (the dance scene).
Nah, the remake bring interesting themes on the table, but it never goes into them, very superficial
While movies shouldn't require homework, there's a massive difference between a movie assuming a basic familiarity with the sociopolitical climate of its historical setting (Suspiria 2018) and a movie expecting you to read up on reams of made-up, retconning scifi lore before buying your ticket (Alien: Covenant).
Also having known very little about the German Autumn, the film still does a great job of establishing the confusion and chaos of the events and making it feel like a looming issue that impacts the insular narrative
I have literally no idea what "homework" you think Alien: Covenant requires. The film was self-explanatory.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks I suppose it has something to do with attempting to bridge the gap between Prometheus (IMO a bad film which also doesn't really belong in the Alien universe) and the rest of the Alien films. But yes, I don't remember having to do much homework, and I don't imagine it would have been less clear if I hadn't seen any of the other Alien films. Though it would have been less clear had I not seen Prometheus.
That and Suspirira 2018 set itself in an actual period of time wherein the sociopolitical elements had immense bearings on the story as opposed to outer space aliens exclusive to the Aliens franchise.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Yeah, Alien: Covenant has many issues, but the "homework" thing isn't one of them.
Only Dario Argento could make a movie using wild colors scary.
And campy, ridiculous, and garish. I'm not being sarcastic.
*_angry Richard Stanley noises_*
Ever heard of Mario Bava?
I admire both Suspiria movies. Also, I just recently bought the book that Argento’s film loosely bases the story on: Thomas De Quincey’s “Suspiria de Profundis”!
Have you had the chance to read it yet? I’m building my. Horror coffee table book collection and would love a little review. I pretty have a tin of Clive Barker and was gifted with the Hereditary hardcover screenplay, but Suspiria is my fave.
@@LaFlor718 would also love a review, to see if is worth it
@@LaFlor718 I haven’t gotten it in the mail yet lol
Also, I publish videos on my UA-cam channel too! I cover literature, religion, philosophy, among other things!
@@originoflogos soooo… if I sub will you do a book review..?
I also love both. They don't step on each other's toes.
I prefer the original purely for how uncannily bizarre the overall tone and visuals are. It’s an experience, as a film. It feels like a fairytale that’s been corrupted halfway through. Beautiful!
I still like 2018 film better, but I agree with you about the tone. The original feels like a hex itself
I love the aesthetics of the original movie so much.
Yeah, it's gorgeous in a theatrical way. But the remake is a better movie.
@@knedy disagreeee
@@mrchiefbs why so? Explain please I thought the remake was better as a film since the writing and acting was phenomenal.
Probably has to do with the original being an Agento film
I really liked the remake, but never see anyone else talk about it. It’s an enormous amount of sensory input, so I agree it needs a separate analysis. I appreciate the original more and more as time goes by, but remember how baffled I was on my first viewing. Great video, I can tell it took a lot of work!
I loved the remake. I saw it in Japan so I missed a bit when they were speaking in German. But that only added to the mystique of the movie. The movie stuck with me for some time
There are hundreds, if not thousands of videos on the 2018 movie on UA-cam, unless they’ve been taken down by the studio copyright striking them.
I too love the remake! I only recently discovered it, but I feel like one could make a really interesting thesis about feminism, body horror, and the performing arts using this and The Perfection as case studies.
I love this. As a dancer myself, “Suspiria” captured a lot of the complexities of existing in the dance world. The idea of being manipulated into feeling like you can’t escape is very much a thing one feels growing up in a more traditional dance school environment. This art form and form of expression that you love becomes twisted in the hands and standards of other people and weaponized against you. It’s hard to put a name to so that the feeling takes on an eldritch quality. That and the fact that if you don’t have the right body type, aren’t progressing at the right level, etc. you’re punished for something out of your control. It’s the worst aspects of religion and worship filtered through using your whole body to create art and tell stories. You feel like you have to take all the good you feel from dancing in tandem with the standards set by dance schools even though that’s a false construct.
Again, “Suspiria” captures that eldritch fear that’s so hard to put into words. The remake contextualizes the way that controlling environment manifests in real life and I do appreciate the light being shown on how damaging it can be, but it doesn’t capture how that eldritch terror actually feels from someone who’s experienced it like the original. It’s the difference between reading about it and experiencing it.
After watching the Rich Man's Frug dance scene from Sweet Charity I learned of saying Bob Fosse dancers had, "If it doesn't hurt, then it isn't Fosse".
The dancers have to contort themselves is such stylized poses its amazing that they could actually move. There does seem to be an abusive quality to it.
As a one-time elite level ballet student myself, (and still an avid amateur, decades later) I am convinced that Suspiria had dancers deeply involved in the production, and that reading it as metaphor for an art form that destroys its artists through a form of psychological torture, and only semi-metaphorical blood sacrifice, is absolutely valid. In a high-stakes dance school, friends can quickly become vicious, paranoid rivals, a single mistake can cost you months of progress, and your own body can become your worst enemy. Not to mention that the level of work and athleticism expected is greater than that of most Olympic athletes, but the ideal dance body is dainty and slender, meaning that eating disorders are more the norm than the exception. Oh, and don't look up pictures of "ballet feet" on Google! But we dancers have put ourselves through this, twisting our minds and harming our bodies, because we *DO* love our art - when I get good hang time on a big jump, it feels like flight, as does gliding across a floor in a row of perfect pointe pique turns.
Is it worth it? I don't know. I've still got a fraught relationship with body image, injury, and the systemic flaws of the dance world, but I can't imagine not dancing. Maybe that's the most insidious horror of all...
Yeah, I left a dance company in 2019 because I was just emotionally, physically, and spiritually trashed. And I won’t lie, while I love both versions of Suspiria, the remake definitely felt rather confronting having lived through 6 years of manipulation and abuse personally. I am not surprised that the power dynamics that make dance companies function are a great allegory for the topics that saturate the themes of the remake.
Madam Blanc states that “dance can neither be beautiful nor cheerful again” and I think that for professionals of the dance world (and much of the art world) that is a sentiment that is very relatable.
However, I don’t agree that this has to be the case, and I encourage any dancers who have seen either Suspiria or films like Black Swan to know that abuse doesn’t make great art nor great artists. There are companies and organizations that can make quality work without the ego, power dynamics, and manipulation. Some companies need your “guilt and shame… but not yours.”
After a few years of hiatus I’ve started to train again, and sometimes I revisit this movie to remind me of what to do differently in the future, so I’m grateful for that.
@@micklefox *"There are companies and organizations that can make quality work without the ego, power dynamics, and manipulation. Some companies need your “guilt and shame… but not yours.”*
Thank you for saying this. After taking time off ballet, to recover from both an eating disorder and a nasty hip fracture, I went back and tried out dancing again at a number of different schools, as an adult dancer working back from an injury, and finally found one with a supportive, healthy, respectful attitude toward their students and dancers. I learned to *love* dance again, rather than just feel I needed it, my physical issues were respected, and I became a better dancer than I'd thought I could ever be again. Training became something that was enjoyable, rather than necessary torture. And I've even had the chance to perform again occasionally, which is more than I'd hoped for. If only more schools and companies would take this approach, we could see an explosion of strong, healthy, confident dancers without the mental and physical wounds that so many of us carry.
Why are dancers and stage actors sooo pretentious? They have all these grandiose opinions of themselves and what they’re doing but the output is not equal. You’re moving your body in rhythm to music, big deal.
"But frankly and honestly I just don't have that energy in my life anymore"
Same *disintegrates into a pile of ash*
I genuinely love both Suspirias, my preference for the original is totally a matter of taste, because the photography and light are just incomparable.
I really like the original Suspiria, but I am one of the people who likes Guadagnino's movie better. It's absolutely breathtaking, one of my favorite films of recent years. I can definitely understand why a lot of people find the movie too heavy with meaning, even impenetrable, but I think there's a thematic justification to it. The characters in this movie are all choking on unprocessed generational trauma, which manifests as chaos, confusion, unexplained violence, and walls of silence that trump every attempt to unravel it. Hence, the feeling of being overwhelmed by and struggling to understand the subtext of the movie actually adds to the experience of trying to make sense of trauma that is slowly suffocating you to death (sidenote: it really pays off to examine this movie through the lens of trauma studies / literary trauma theory).
That motif of choking on something or being suffocated can be seen all over the movie, such as the sound design that highlights the noise of labored breathing, and in the dance choreography that often features hands on necks. It also adds meaning to the title of the movie, and to the name Mother Suspirium, the mother of sighs. A sigh is what happens when somebody releases a breath they've been holding. It's often an expression of sadness, maybe of letting go, but it also brings one relief and the ability to breathe freely again. That's very much what the end of the movie is about, in my opinion.
I like that Argento's and Guadagnino's Suspirias are so different. You can enjoy both without feeling the need to praise one and pan the other, even if you do prefer one over the other. It's actually hard to call the latter a remake because it's such a wildly different take on the premise of the original movie.
Ryan: ...in a twisted way. / Olga being twisted
DiCaprio pointing his finger at the screen.
I have made the same exact comment, glad to know someone else noticed 🤣
I only watched the original Suspiria because of Jessica Harper after I saw the Phantom of the paradise. I don't remember making it all the way through that one. But I definitely gave the Remake a shot once I had a chance, and I absolutely adore that thing.
During the seventies, Argento, Fellini, Ken Russell and a few others made did the most astonishing things with color. I'm not talking "colorful" though they are that, I'm talking specific use of color.
Susie must've used the HOYEVER scholarship to get into the dance academy.
I’m one of the people who absolutely adore the remake, but the idea of rewatching it does feel daunting. It’s a long movie with a lot of ideas jammed in. I highly recommend it though.
You pick up on something new each time you rewatch it.
As an Italian I feel proud to flex such a horror movie legend like Dario Argento
The original movie is easily one of my favorite movies ever. Something between the grim fairy-tale set design and exaggerated lighting gives it a really cool theatrical feel, and not just because it takes place in a ballet school.
That damn scene with the dog gets me every time.
I was a scaredy cat as a child - I couldn’t even handle the first 10 minutes of Hocus Pocus. Suspiria as a preteen started my love with horror movies and is still one of my top faves to this day.
I feel like Gaspar Noe's Climax ties neatly into the subjects and implications present in both 1977 or 2018 renditions of Suspiria, if you ever want to go down that hole.
Climax was such a trip of a movie, too.
Well, Suspiria is one the VHS tapes standing beside the telly during the prologue of Climax.
Watching Guadagnino's version at the cinema was quite an experience for me. It was a nippy, rainy afternoon and I was all by myself, a private screening practically. That, I reckon, brought the intensity of the film up to eleven. In all honesty I've never felt so hypnotised and disturbed by a film and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days. Thom Yorke's work on the soundtrack was brilliant as well.
Thank you for showing us scaredy-cats the wonders of the horror-genre, Ryan.
Also from us "idk I don't even really watch movies just like the channel" crowd
How old are you two?
27. why? 94 gang baby
@@theeoddments960 22. Why?
I’m not a fan of either or mentalities when it comes to art. I like both versions of Suspiria and wish you had followed through with the comparison you originally planned. I think it could almost have been a mini walkthrough of a generation worth of horror films. Argento was amazing at the Italian giallo filmmaking. The use of color and art production and costume is something that got lost in horror films for a long long time, especially when the giallo slasher trend came to America the late 70’s/80’s and stayed for about 3 decades. However the reawakening of “modern horror” has brought style back to the forefront and can be circled back to the Suspiria remake as an almost book end. I’m glad it’s not a carbon copy of the original bc what is that point in that, yet takes the criticism of the original (ie plot and info dump as you said) and improves upon it. The atmosphere of a post WWII Cold War 70’s Berlin feels essential when it comes to a story about a hidden lurking evil that is missing in the original. Despite my trepidation of the remake I ended up really liking it as much if not more than the original. They both deserve appreciation and recognition in my opinion. Also I would love for you to talk about Dead Calm :).
Adore the remake, that Thom Yorke score 😩👌🏼
The body horror dance scene you mentioned from the remake is one of my favorite pieces of horror ever.
The dance scene in the remake is so powerful that just you talking about it made me physically uneasy. And its been a year since i last saw it.
"I know alot of people who may be terrified of horror movies and watch my videos to see what their missing"
I feel attacked...
That being said Ryan was the one that got me watching horror movies for this exact reason.
This movie is a rainbow of nightmares and I love it.
Argento is one of the directors who has come closest to truly capturing the feeling of a nightmare. I understand why he's not to everyone's taste, but as someone who grew up terrified and conversely obsessed with my own morbid imagination, Argento's movies capture what I've only seen in my own dreams. It's the tone he gets right- the commitment to unreality. The source of fear is enigmatic, sometimes even illogical, but that's exactly how it is in a nightmare too. And all the little details only add to it. The bold but softly focused lighting, the discordant score, the strange visual details. Just like a nightmare can become less scary the moment we wake up and apply logic to it, the only way to be scared by an Argento film is to be willing to fully give yourself over to the experience.
Inferno is my absolute favorite for that reason, despite being one of his least well received movies. The scene where Rose finds a submerged ballroom in the basement of her building and just... swims down there- it's pure dream logic. The malignant force of the film is in shadow for so long you can barely comprehend it. The lack of traditional pacing gives it the meandering, moment to moment flow of a dream. I love it so much.
Wow you encapsulated exactly how I feel about Argento.
Much more eloquently than I could ever put it .
Are you dreaming or watching a film. I find myself confused even with multiple viewings of his work. I love the scene in Inferno where the man being eaten by rats is randomly killed. To me nobody portrays nightmares like Argento
I watch Argento to relax is that weird lol?
My friend had seen the remake and wanted to go with me to see it. On the way, we were talking about our horror preferences and I said, “As long as it’s not like body horror where bones are broken or sticking out, I’m good.” He laughed a little and said “great”.
I really enjoyed the experience though.
I prefer the original, but I have such respect for the "remake" going in its own direction with the premise instead of being yet another entry in a sea of pale imitations made with newer technology. I do enjoy the remake too, but it feels like such a different film to the original I can't bring myself to compare the two.
This is una of my favorite movies. It made me realize how little I care about plot in movies actually.
Like, sure I need a story with the bare minimum of interesting things going on but if the visuals and the music are good enough it's fine.
It made me think like "okay if I wanted just the story part I'll be reading a book" because I want interesting cinematography, music leading my emotions through, beautiful colors, interesting perfomances (be it good or bad) and all of that.
17:25 Woah, but I've actually been watching horror movies for as long as I can remember for that specific reason. When I was a child they didn't scare me; so since then (at least for me) horror movies ARE the way to ENJOY feeling bad, depressed and miserable.
Kinda hard to explain, but that's also why I love watching horror movies with family and friends... because I see the adrenaline rush and scares and the psychological fear THEY get from watching it. When I'm with people, a horror movie turns into a more fun and positive experience - because I get a sense of those feelings by watching THEM.
Fun side note - the band Miranda Sex Garden released an album (titled -surprise - Suspiria!) entirely inspired by this movie. If you like ethereal, 90's, fetish-goth music, with heavy classical and medieval influences, I'd highly recommend it. Katherine Blake, their lead songwriter and vocalist, credits Dario Argento and LSD as two of her biggest musical influences. Make of that what you may.😉
Oohh, I'll give it a go!!
I do like listening to Goblin's score for this movie.
wiiiiittttcccch!!
well that was an unexpected approach for an essay, but great that you find a way to express your feelings for this movie and let us have a very personal insight too.
i just recently rewatched the remake and i have to say it is one of the most terrific and haunting film experience i had in the last decade. a fabulous crafted piece in direction, storytelling and photography which just sucks me in everytime and doesnt let me go for two and a half hours. a bit like you explained your escapism with the old one. i just adore the world building of this school, the art of practicing magick through dancing and having this evil and somehow isolated coven of witches existing next to the evil of the world. maybe it is because im german and having grown up in the post-raf era, where this revolutionary and radical political position of the german youth was nearly non existent that i pushed this context of the movie mentally aside to just enjoy and ravel in the bleak and unsettling reality of this dancing school. i strongly enjoyed that the dancing in general took a greater part of the story compared to the original where it felt mere as a groundwork for the whole setting. maybe i should watch some fassbinder (which i shamefully should have anyway) and look deeper in the historical context of this movie now.
thanks anyway ryan for your honesty and another enjoyable essay!
Don’t mind me, just driving up engagement so Ryan talks about more Argento films in the future.
It's funny; before she was in the 1977 Suspiria, Jessica Harper starred in Brian de Palma's The Phantom of the Paradise in 1974, playing that movie's Christine Daae equivalent Phoenix, and then in 1998 Dario Argento would release one of the worst Phantom of the Opera adaptations ever. 😆🙃
I adore both the original and the remake. It isn't even really a remake as it is so different. It is quite rare to have both films be so distinct and stand out in their own, very different ways. Really enjoyed your perspective on this!
When it comes to this and it's remake from a few years ago, I love how they are both oddly hypnotic in their own ways. What's consistent between the two is something always seems off in their own little ways, bet it in neon drench or cold glitz. If the original film is a fairy tale, it's remake is a fever dream.
Just wanted to say Ryan- your feelings about film school, dorms, everything, it’s exactly what I felt after my first term at film school. Honestly it nearly broke me and I feel that I’ve only just started to recapture my passion now that I’ve graduated and started making my own productions again. It’s funny how I would never call myself the most creative or skilled Director but I felt creatively destroyed as everyone I worked with seemed more creative and skilled than me. I was terrified and it’s funny how watching this film at Uni, was almost calming. It became an escape from the creativity and films that I loved making prior to university putting them under a lens next to all the talents I was up against.
As someone who did Modern dance and interested in dance history as a whole I was completely thrilled with the remake. But I’ve always recognized that my very specific niche interests of horror expressed through dance is a bias that endeared me to the film. The director, writer, and choreographer of the film put so much effort and research into how dance is used in the film. However, from talking to people about the remake and looking at reviews, it is an acquired taste for those who wish to delve into the weeds of its immediate and more subdued theming and elements. I almost wish it was it was it’s own original entity so it could be analyzed in its own right without constantly being compared to the original, because I feel like that comparison gets in the way of conversation about the film. While I understand why people love the original so much, I find it frustrating that how the two films contrast is enough reason for some to dismiss the 2018 film. It’s not perfect. I do think a lot of thematic elements could be more seamless and it almost feels like in an effort to say everything it wanted to say, some things got dropped. But so many judge it without taking the time to attempt to understand it.
Hell yes. As a ballet lover I adored the way dance was incorporated to the plot and themes of the 2018 version. I can't think of any other modern films that utilize contemporary ballet the way this film did. I think the "Volk" performance is one of the most hypnotizing scenes in recent movie history.
@@vickhs My poor friend who went and saw it with me had to deal with me gushing about all the references and and inspirations when we got out of the theatre. I was just so excited!
I saw Dune last week in theaters and I got that feeling of awe and wonder I haven’t felt watching a movie in ages
I blame Hollywood for the slow death of pure escapism. Because they won't just let a film BE and just let loose,it always has to be an allegory for some current event,which will inevitably date the thing.
It's kinda annoying
I wonder if the rise of internet culture and social media has a lot to do with it, as well. It used to be enough to have purely escapist fantasy, action, or horror films that were fairly light on plot so long as the other elements kept people's attention, but in an age where people are spoiled on amazing visuals and we're all so jaded to where we feel like there's nothing new or original, what keeps people talking about and sharing your movie around, or encourages a million video essays to be made on it? In other words, what gets the clicks? It's having your movie be "deep," or at least tricking people into *thinking* it is by throwing in an excessive amount of lore and symbolism to dissect, making the entire movie a metaphor for some social ill, or barely explaining anything that happens... That, or making it highly meme-able. Honestly, I (admittedly cynically) wonder if the reason there seemed to be this trend some years ago of ending movies "ambiguously" was because the director thought a). it would add depth to an otherwise unremarkable film, b). it would keep people talking about the movie far longer than they might if they didn't have to argue over what the ending "meant," and c). they'd be called as a genius and applauded by pretentious-types for "respecting the audience's (i.e. their) intelligence" by leaving things vague and unsatisfying. I'm not saying *every* director who leaves a film open-ended does it for these reasons, but I suspect a few of them do.
Sorry, that went a little off the rails, there, but to bring it back, maybe that's why I appreciated Kong vs Godzilla so much this past year. I know many complained that the movie was dumb, the story was ridiculous, and they broke physics about a million times, and... yeah. But it never tries to be anything other than entertainment for entertainment's sake without feeling the need to remark on the human condition, or teach us a deeper truth about ourselves... It's basically just a very high budget wrestling match between munke and lizurd that's drenched in neon... Pure escapism and a lot of fun, yes, but not a movie people are going to be analyzing under a microscope any time soon.
You blame hollywood for movies not settling for being dumb anymore? There is not a single thing not wrong with that statement.
@@Spectra651 what a bunch of bullshit. Try look before the 90's, you think sophisticated movies were invented the last five years? Imagine complaining about an artform striving for more than "hey, turn your brain off and waste away for two hours looking at empty, meaningless crap that there is no reason to remember exists" and then have the guts to make insulting assumptions about any artist who attempt to break the mold of crap devoid of any value or ambition and about the people who actually try to engage with a struggling artform in a deeper way. What, are you struggling to find mindless crap coming out of hollywood? Really? 50 identical superhero movies a year and fast and furious are not enough for your "entertainment" that you need to complain about people still caring about film?
@@marcogianesello6083 Ah yes, because all the "gritty realism" that is just washed out colors and people looking depressed is so much less dumb than fun high flying swashbuckling.
One is at least being what it said it was.
@@hawkticus_history_corner what the hell does realism has anything to do with what anyone said? What? You made a insanely generalized silly statement and now want.to back it up with a ridicolously specific complaint that has nothing to do with the first one?
Give me the "however" and no one gets hurt.
I agree, hyever…
I haven’t seen Suspira since before my brief stint in art school but I’m going to have to rewatch it now. I was honestly a bit taken aback when you started drawing connections between your experience with film school and Susie’s experience at the dance academy. Any time at art school was exactly the same. For my entire life up until going to college I drew whenever I had a spare moment. I had really bad social anxiety all throughout school and drawing was a great distraction from it. I started painting at some point as well and I watched myself continue to improve in various art mediums over time until I was genuinely really proud of my work and, at that point, art school felt like really the only obvious option for me. I’d dedicated more time to my art than anything else, not for any actual purpose aside from just simply creating for it’s own sake and that creativity and drive felt like a massive part of myself.
And then art school fucking sucked, I felt so alienated from the people around me and from the work I was producing for my classes. It sucked all of the joy out of the process for me and it fucked up my mental/emotional approach to creating. It’s been like four years and I’m still working to get that back.
So, I’m definitely gonna have to rewatch Suspiria now.
One of the best commentary channels on movies out here. Recently I felt like I had a lot of shit to go throught, Instantly I've remembered of this channel and how youtube've never showed me any new videos and 've come to miss it. (And I do mean really mean a lot of shit) So I've watched one "heavy film", without one of it heaviest scenes (still knowing it was there). I've tought the movie would help me throught these times, putting me in a state of anxiety, alert, I'm not quite sure right now, but it did. It have made me feel like my problem was so stupid it went throught like I didn't even gave a f. When you've said about this rush we get watching those movies it ressonated so much, the power of a good story telling still very underrated. Thanks for these good takes o/.
I really enjoy both Suspirias, but the remake is one I can watch over and over. It has a really nice fall/winter vibe, so I feel like I can watch it before and after Halloween rolls around. I really like the themes of the 2018 one - as well as the queer theme running throughout. Ever since Guadanino confirmed it's queer, I went back and realized how much Suzy and Blanc's relationship isn't just a mentorship, but perhaps something more. Also agree on that disturbing dance scene where Suzy and Olga are mirroring each other; it's truly horrific! Great video Ryan!
In answer to your question - I prefer the original, but think the, "remake," has value as a film, too. I just think remake is the wrong word, not that I can think of a better one. It's at best influenced by the original.
How awesome, I felt as though I hadn’t seen a video from Ryan in ages and binged probably 3 hours of his vids today. What a treat 🌟
Thanks for the work, Ryan. It’s pretty cool to see your content evolve over the years 🔥
Thank you for this beautiful video- I love when your video essays transcend the form and become their own things through your Personal experiences and passions. I deeply love Suspiria (as many do) and their is a disillusionment in stating that: do I feel strange because it holds something so dear to me and many other people share similar experiences. Yet, I find peace in knowing that we all experience life differently and these shared experiences only seem to connect us. Sorry for my rambling but I really really appreciate your videos and I look forward to them vastly!
I haven't seen the original suspiria yet (it is totally on my to be watched list) but Suspiria (2018) is one of my top four films.
I understand how some people may not enjoy it (which is perfectly valid because all art is subjective and what I may like could be completely different from what you look) because it is a long and dense film, but I personally love being able to do research about a film and get new perspectives on it (speaking of the homework line, I totally agree except for when I really like a film and then it doesn't feel like homework, it feels more like uncovering a mystery.)
I had never heard of the German Autumn until this movie and I watched a youtube video about it (I can't remember the channel but it was a very good video and I highly recommend) and compared what was happening socio-politically to the plot and talked about the resilience on the human spirit and how that sentiment really applies to today. I also just adore the performances, everyone gave their best in the film and Dakota Johnson catipulted herself to one of my favorite actresses with this performance.
I like both suspirias but i find myself rewatching the newer one more. They are both such visual beauties. Im so happy that you're talking about them and i truly liked your take. Thanks😊
When i was a kid, i was up to late and my uncle was watching this. He asked me what i thought, but the plot was going over my head, so i said "it looks like they spent the whole budget on the lights and they were gonna use it". For the rest of the movie, i would shout the name of the color of the each new light.
This was an interesting video of yours... I enjoyed the format but it was very much Suspiria and other works. Like there was so much on so many other works and things those other films took inspiration from. I find your videos like a pyramid usually... there's a central thesis > ways it will be explored > evidence for it > how it affects the overall impact of the film... with each level is larger than the last. This one felt more like a treasure map with small ideas that draw you to new locations that are very different than the last. Sometimes these looped back but other times they kind of... didn't. It was just tangled weaving line... but I liked it. It introduced so many bite- sizes ideas about things I know nothing about that can lead me down new rabbit holes of research and I appreciated that... proof you can't really make a bad video :) .
The original Suspiria came out just before I moved to Belgium in the late 1970s. I have never seen the movie because the U.S. ads for it gave me nightmares for years. Your explanation of the socio-political-historical side of it has made me think that, possibly, I could see it and appreciate it.
I was 11 when the Munich massacre happened. I remember the raid on Entebbe. I lived in Germany in the mid-1980s after my time in Belgium and had a fascinating relationship with different generations of Germans and their reaction to WWII. (One elderly gentleman in my apartment building in Mannheim had gone to the U.S. during the Depression and become a U.S. citizen. He couldn't talk about the war with any of his neighbors of the same age because he'd been an officer in the U.S. Army, so they'd fought on different sides.)
As one of the wimps who watches your channel to decide whether I can take seeing a movie -- mostly, I can't -- I appreciate more than I can say the awareness you've given me about the genre(s) that make up horror, your respect for spoiler warnings, and your cogent analyses.
I've been waiting on Ryan to do this movie for years!
Saw Jessica Harper die in a recent tales from the crypt episode with conjoined twins . It was amazing. Also the 2018 one is a “reimagining “ not a “remake”.
I have never watched the original Suspira, but the remake creates a mood of overwhelming dread unlike any other film I ever seen while tipping its hat to 1970’s horror. The original does look gorgeous. Is that a baby Udo Kier with brown hair? My Thompson and Bordwell book was used so much when I was in grad school that it fell apart.
I’ve only seen the remake. I saw it alone in a theater with 3/4 other strangers.
I’ve never felt so on edge and confused, haha I loved it.
I’d really like to watch the original
I'm one of those pretentious types who loves both films equally. That says a lot for the 2018 film's quality as I was a huge fan of the 1977 long before the remake was announced. I went into it skeptical and walked out of it incredibly impressed. If I'm introducing a friend to Suspiria, we make it a double feature kind of night.
I love what you said about how going to school for film and sitting in a room with people discussing the same reasons why a film works made the art form lose some of its special uniqueness to you personally, Ryan. What a mouth full that sentence was, I can't quite word it right! But I know what you are talking about! I love watching video essays about films that I find fascinating or know nothing about. But I have always been adverse to watching essays and critiques on films, shows, and music that I LOVE. I.e. I had an analysis of the song Hotel California in my Watch Later playlist forever, but never wanted to click on it. I never got why until what you said in this video - I think some media is so personal to me that I don't even want to hear other people's takes on it, even if they are going to be positive or neutral, because I don't want them to touch that special place they have in me. So interesting! Thanks for that insight, I loved it.
Dario Argento’s Suspiria might be my favorite film of all time.
Yees! I love Argento's Suspiria (and Goblin's soundtrack, too)! Such a messed up psychedelic nightmare of a movie. For me watching it feels like a nightmare. Stuff happens, but why and what exactly is not important. It just has this dreamish vibe to it. It's not Style over Substance - it's Style *is* Substance. My all time favorite. ❤️
I saw a lot of horror films lately that tried to capture that expressive colorful lighting aesthetic.
I've been mulling over the connection between the remake and New German Cinema and I think I need to rewatch it with that in mind. I have seen it once. It was in the theater when it first came out. I thought of Fassbinder's "the third generation" at the time since it was about the terror attacks that it used as a chronological bookmark, but I didn't think much more of it than that. Fassbinder was fascinating since he was prolific and all his films had great moments but there was always a fatal flaw in each and every one of them which makes it hard to give an unqualified recommendation. However, the same can be said about Argento. For me, I'm thinking the new 'Suspira' is more like something Syberberg would churn out. His version of Wagner's "Parsifal" is unique in that every frame of that film, couldn't belong in any other film. How can a film be so brilliant and so ponderous at the same time?
Don't worry about feeling old, thinking about those uni days, Ryan. About five years before you started your undergraduate years, I was completing my Hons thesis, discussing splatter films and the like in terms of the aesthetics of astonishment. A lot of the things you say here, in terms of early cinema audiences and the feelings that are elicited through watching horror films that emphasise visual spectacle, has a lot of consonance with what I proposed in that work. It was nice to hear your rendition...
As much as I think Suspiria (2018) is one of the best remakes I've ever seen, I expect that Argento's Suspiria will be the one to which I will continue to return because of the way it makes me feel.
I’m surprised it’s taken this long for Ryan to do Argento. Especially when referencing this masterpiece in other videos.
I agree with Ryan’s thoughts on the 2018 film. Think I stopped watching halfway in because it was so long and boring; I like the director’s work but this didn’t hold my interest that well. It’s not awful by any means, but just meh
Meh
Not meh it was a masterpiece, but just like the original it's an acquired taste. Both suspirias are my favorite films of all time
@@JesusGomez-ob2qt agreed.
it truly was meh. i torrrented the moving and it still wanted my money.
original was great though.
I loved how horror could explore themes in such a unique way, but I could never watch them cause I was so afraid of them. Your videos were some of the videos that got me familiar with them to the point that I can actually watch horror movies (for the most part)
I adore both versions of Suspiria for almost entirely different reasons. I think I slightly, slightly prefer the remake.
It was news to me, though, that Kajganich had adapted The Terror for tv. I…kind of hated The Terror. It wasn’t bad, by any means, but I’m going to be one of those people and say the book is a thousand times better.
I'm pretty excited to watch both. Sometimes you have a dozen films waiting to be watched and all you need is a nudge & you sharing your thoughts is motivation enough
18:30 To me the theme of this film centred around (and Guadagnino even said this himself) how on both a political level and a familial level trying to reverse a great injustice with the same fanaticism that caused that other injustice in the first place only leads to the mistakes of the past being repeated. These were very much the background sociopolitical conditions that shaped the original film into what it was and is deeply rooted into the Early Modern idea of witches themselves, which emerged out of an environment of misogyny and were seen by men in power as women coming together to thwart that misogyny. The film combines this with the modern #MeToo and other social justice movements surrounding guilt and shows how this fanatical, almost dogmatic approach to averting the past can be toxic if taken too far (and there are definitely instances where, for all the excellent things these contemporary movements have brought, there is a rigidity in some areas which is dangerous, and I know this myself, having had some very bad experiences in this regard). You can also see this demonstrated in the film by the relationship between Suzie and her mother, the discussion of the Amish vs the Mennonites, the backdrop of the divided Berlin, Klemperer’s guilt over his lost wife, and the relationship between Blanc and Markos (who I’m certain based on the clues we’re given were mother and daughter). Add to that some stunningly well choreographed dance sequences, some stunning makeup work to transform Tilda Swinton into a man, a soundtrack that’s utterly divine, some really strange and bewildering production design, a sense of the avant-garde uncanny mixed with political undertones reminiscent of Alan Moore, Angela Carter, Bruno Schulz, and even to an extent the last three Dune novels by Frank Herbert (which I think are really underrated and take the story in a really interesting direction), and a genuine sense of tragedy induced by great and really sensitive performances from Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mia Goth, and others, and you’ve got a solid work of art. Also, I find the music by Whom Yorke to be really hauntingly beautiful and introspective in the way it deals with trauma and the burden of being swallowed by that trauma, and feels far more subtle than the classic Goblin score. Also, that beautiful monologue near the end by Dakota Johnson and how tragic it was to see the trapped girls choose death during the climax scene literally brings tears to my eyes.
Another reason for me liking the remake is that, even though I haven’t actually seen the original Suspiria yet, I have done my fair share of research into it, and it seems at bottom that what Dario Argento sees this whole story as being about isn’t any of these deep themes about fanaticism and guilt, but just a bunch of people running around killing each other for the entertainment of it, with all surface but no depth. If I had to choose between that intent and Guadagnino’s, I’d pick the latter. Also, in my opinion, Argento ended his film in the most rote and predictable of ways.
I've still yet to watch either movies- but the originals striking colours and style are so intense, every time i see even a screenshot of that movie I'm constantly going;
"Oh yea... i REALLY need to see suspiria"
great video as usual!
The soundtrack by Goblin set the entire mood for the movie.
The Giallo movies from Dario Argento like Deep Red or Tenebrae are criminally underrated. They are timeless classics of the slasher/thriller-genre. If you haven’t watched them, I can really recommend them to you.
Ryan Hollinger with the year round Halloween content making it extra special on Halloween
When I was in high school, my Italian teacher said he was looking for an Italian movie to show the students. I jokingly suggested Suspiria, and he just said “No, those are so corny!”
1:15 There's several uploads of Dawn of the Dead on UA-cam (I watched the complete cut last night)
Every year for Halloween I try to pick a theme or a director to focus on, and this year I've finally gotten around to Dario Argento. It's been quite a ride so far, but I've greatly enjoyed everything so far, except maybe Mother of Tears. I just love the combination of mystery and surrealism in his movies, even if I'm not a huge fan of gore.
This is one of the rare times when I genuinely think the original and the remake are just as good and both being something new to the table.
I'd like to recommend to you The Head Hunter by Jordan Downey. Also the film Ascension directed by Karim Hussain.
They're both slow burn, tension building, low budget films. The first I love for how it is constantly showing instead of telling and the second I love for kinda of the opposite reason where the film's setting would usually require spectacle, the story its self takes in the only location where you can't see it. I don't know if you'll get anything out of them, neither are rated highly and they do suffer in certain regards. Yet that just makes them more interesting to me.
Anyway love you videos, keep 'em coming.
Im always pumped to watch whatever vid you post but it really is something else to be eager for whenever i find that it's on a film I've already watched *and* really like.
And though I haven't gotten around to watching the original, the remake was amazing. It was a fever dream in the best way possible. I really do wish we had more horror films like this.
I love, love, LOVE the remake of Suspiria! I love the dance-magic, I love the setting, I love the cast's performances, and I love how the movie makes you uneasy at the start, horrifies you about a third of the way in, and then rides that tension all the way to a visually insane climax!
Another great vid, Ryan! Now you have to review both of the Candyman films! 😈
I love the original Suspiria with my whole heart, but the trailer for the remake was so intriguing... I went into the film with an open mind and watched it as a stand-alone and came out of it basically loving both movies for entirely different reasons. At this point I don't even see the new one as a remake, just its own movie. Only qualm was I wish there was a bit more colour in the remake, I thought the original was so smart with its use of colour theory and style, if that was in the remake just a teeny bit I would have been very happy. That use of colour makes it Suspiria to me. Otherwise, I also like how they portrayed the witches in this movie, they are terrifying in the way real witches would be, and it keeps in line with the original lore but expands on it very creatively. I also appreciated that they focused on tying in the dancing as spellwork, which is a real practice in some occult circles. That was something ignored in the original that I felt was a missed opportunity. But yeah, awesome stuff!
The original film's soundtrack by Goblin is the scariest music I've ever heard. 😨
I was lucky enough to watch the original Suspiria on a big screen the first time I saw it. Our local art house theater brought it back for Halloween one year when I was in my teens and my dad, a huge fan of Argento's "Bird With the Crystal Plumage," took me to see this one because he was cruious. We both loved it. I was never scared by it but there's something so beautiful in the way it's filmed and in the simplicity of the story that I still love it.
I missed your uploads, R.H!
Welcome back.
Late to the party here. I once saw a scene from this movie as a child and got really scared and disturbed by it. (I think it was the girl getting grabbed through the window pane.) For years I thought it was a fever dream until the remake came out. I'm almost tempted to watch it as an adult now after listening to you describe the main character's struggle. And hearing you describe your own disillusionment when attending college was incredibly relatable. There was no film school where I lived so I tried theater instead thinking it could get me where I wanted to go. Finding so many others like me who thought they wanted the same thing was somewhat discouraging, especially when I realized how little I knew of the industry and how far behind it made me feel. Great video. I love your style and breakdowns.
Watched the remake and loved it and was horrified and now I’m too scared to watch the original. It felt as deep as my nightmares and very few times does a film touch that level in my psyche.
Never put someone in charge who hates the source material.
"I'm very aware that some people watch my videos because they're terrified of horror movies but are interested to know what they're about"
That's me! I'm some people! Hi Ryan!
This is what I've been doing all day. Everyone has been uploading horror media analysis because it's almost Halloween so I'm binging because I'm absolutely fascinated by horror and the macabre but also terrified of it (no psychoanalysis needed here 👀) so I end up reading a bunch of Wikipedia synopses and very carefully watch youtube videos about them. Had to slam my eyes shut v fast at some points in this though 😂.
oh man, i am feeling really seen! yeah, like once a month i binge whatever videos you've posted while working because i am really interested in scary movies but i just havent the stomach to watch even the mildest ones anymore
I've always felt a strange and deeper connection to the og Suspiria. Same with Ocarina of Time and certain songs. I've even wondered if I will ever find someone that shares those exact feelings if that's my person. This probably sounds ridiculous but it's a feeling I can't really hone in on it's more than just liking something bc it's my preference. It's intriguing.
About a year ago, my friends and I were having a seance. Before that, we told some scary stories in candlelight to get the mood going. I was telling a story with an intrigued smile on my face while holding a candle, when suddenly one of my friends said: "You look like you should be wandering the hallways of a girls' academy in the middle of the night." Apparently my white dress had made me look like the main character of this film.
I thought that Suspiria (the original) hadn't bothered me at all by the time I finished it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it greatly! But I felt like it hadn't gotten to me. But the score and the imagery stuck with me so hard. I remember skirting past the windows in my house at night as fast as possible and being so unsettled I didn't even want to look out of them just in case I was being watched. I had that deep, growling "la la la" playing in my head nearly 24/7. It's a piece of art to be sure, but it's also not to be underestimated as a horror film.
The 1977 version is one of my all time favourite films, and I consistently get my friends to watch it.
SPOILERS FOR THE 2018 VERSION:
With that said, NOTHING in the original came close to fucking me up as much as Olga’s death scene did in the 2018 remake…that shit made me take a year to finish the film, I immediately turned it off after that scene. I’m glad I finished it though, cause it’s a great film in its own right.
What a Halloween surprise lol! I love both so much and was waiting for you to talk about it. The set design in the first one was peak. But thom Yorke doing the remakes soundtrack was ethereal. The standard for feverdream cinema