THE STENDHAL SYNDROME

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME represented Argento's return to Italy, following his brief period in the US (TWO EVIL EYES, TRAUMA). It is a film of re-acquaintances for Argento - once again he was working with his daughter Asia. Once again he was working with music maestro Ennio Morricone (who hadn't worked with Argento since 1972 on FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET). Once again he was working with Sergio Stivaletti, his FX genius and budding protégé (Stivaetti was given the directing reigns for THE WAX MASK by Argento when Lucio Fulci sadly passed away). Once again he was working with Luigi Cozzi, his friend, FX assistant and assistant director. And once again he was working with the great Franco Ferrini, giallo writer extraordinaire! The film was given a much larger budget than is usual for Argento, and was the first Italian film to feature CGI (computer generated imagery) effects.

Asia plays Anna Manni, a police inspector on the case of a serial killer/rapist. She goes to Florence, where she takes in the sights and visits an art gallery (the Uffizi Gallery). Whilst looking at a painting (The Fall of Icarus by Breugel), she experiences a severe faint, imagining the painting coming to life. This is the titular 'Stendhal Syndrome' (named after the French writer Stendhal, who suffered from the syndrome and was the first to write of it) - a sufferer will faint when exposed to beautiful works of art. The killer (called Alfredo Grossi) meets her whilst she is ill, and befriends her. He rapes her later and rapes and kills a prostitute. She returns to Rome, where she finds herself unable to return to a normal life, and in an increasingly disturbed mental state. Meanwhile, another girl, a prostitute, is killed. Alfredo captures Anna and rapes her once again, and keeps her prisoner, tied to a bed. He leaves for a while, and when he returns she fights back, in the most violent scenes of the film, stabbing his neck, goring his eye out, kicking him, shooting him and beating him with the gun butt, then finally kicking him down a hill, and over a cliff into a river far below. However, is he really dead? The thought taunts Anna and she finds herself even more confused. Her French boyfriend (called Marie) is killed, and she is driven over the edge... To say more would spoil the twisty ending for anyone who hasn't seen the film, so at this point I shall stop.

The story of STENDHAL is one of Argento's most contrived (though it has to be pointed out that the source material was a novel - La Sindrome di Stendhal by Grraziella Magherini), which is saying quite a lot! The whole premise of the syndrome itself is somewhat unbelievable and is almost irrelevant to the 'real' story, coming across more as a gimmick than as an effective plot device. The twists in the story are in one way effective, and in another way laughable. It's hard to decide whether or not the film succeeds in walking the tightrope between these two extremes, but either way it will keep you guessing (almost) to the end. Interestingly, the film is not a giallo in the truest sense of the phrase - in a giallo, the murderer is always unknown, and is only revealed at the end. However, in STENDHAL, we are shown almost from the beginning exactly who the murderer is (though we still get a rather silly scene from the killer's POV in which he stalks like the killer in Fulci's NEW YORK RIPPER for no obvious reason!!!), although the film employs enough giallo elements and twists to just about qualify.

The use of computer graphics in the film is a real mistake. Argento's violent scenes have always succeeded very well using traditional effects (even the rubber arm scene in TENEBRE still looks great to me), and it's a bit of a shame that he felt the need to resort to CGI. His next film, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, made use of CGI to even worse effect. The first use of CGI is quite effective, with Asia literally going into the painting, diving below an ocean, and meeting a strange ugly fish which kisses her! I like this scene a lot, but sadly the rest are a bit silly. There's a totally pointless and very silly looking effect when Asia takes some pills which is supposed to show them traveling down her throat. There's the much-touted effect when Alfredo shoots a girl though the mouth (from one side to the other) in slow motion - this is quite an effective shot, but still seems somehow out of place and silly. There's a scene in which we see Alfredo's reflection in a bullet as it's fired - again, this is quite effective, but just doesn't gel with the rest of the film. A scene which really does stand out is the narrative-jumbling one in which Asia walks through a door in her apartment wall which has appeared where a painting was. She wanders through and out into a confused street scene, with police running about. She interacts with her colleagues, despite being dressed for bed and sees a murdered girl in a car. All the while, the open door remains in the side of a building, light pouring out. This scene is hugely confusing initially and only later does one realise that this was a flashback, and explains her reasons for being at the gallery at the start of the film. This is typical Argento - playing with the audience's expectations, and making the viewer feel most disconcerted. Great stuff, and it's a shame that the rest of the film doesn't keep this standard up.

At this point I should probably state that I am in no way a fan of Asia Argento - I don't find her particularly attractive and I think her acting stinks! Laying all that aside, I still feel that she is the main problem in this film. She seems to just sleepwalk through scenes, giving the impression of someone whose heart is not really in what they're doing. One reviewer called her performance in the film 'catatonic' and I think this just about sums it up for me too. I found her quite acceptable in TRAUMA, a film which I seem to like better than most people. Since then, she just seems to go downhill - awful in this film, and downright terrible in PHANTOM. Her non-Argento performances seem to be much better - she was one of the only good things about Ferrara's awful NEW ROSE HOTEL (Christopher Walken being the other!), and was enjoyable in B MONKEY. For some reason she just seems to make no effort in Argento's films. Some blame for her performance in this film must lie on the fact that she was dubbed by another actress. The dubbing seems to have been recorded with the actress speaking in a constant hissing whisper, and this detracts from her even more. Thomas Kretschmann's turn as the psycho is also not terribly gratifying - he fails to convince in the nastier scenes, whilst seeming uncomfortable in the normal scenes. However, he doesn't really get much screen time, and can't really get too much of the flak! Argento's strong point has never been directing actors, but in this film more than any of his others it is a problem.

The film is still much better than many critics would have had you believe. I remember clearly some of the very strong reviews that were written, condemning Argento in every possible way. I think that a lot of the disappointment that people felt was related to their very high expectations for Argento's return to Italy and the giallo (though TRAUMA is very much a giallo, even if it is Americanised). Argento approaches a difficult subject with some tact, and was undoubtedly very brave in casting his daughter as the rape victim. The film does have its supporters, and seems to be gaining more appreciation with time, but I still don't think anyone could honestly compare it to TENEBRE or DEEP RED.

Overall then, the film must be considered a bit of a failure - there are some glimpses of Argento's genius, yes, but sadly not enough to make up for the bad acting, silly effects, dodgy contrived story and poor ending. There are some plus points - Morricone's lovely score, some attractive photography, some effective violence, but overall the negatives outweigh the positives, in my opinion. I am a fully-blown Argento apologist, but I still find this film, after several viewings over the past few years, to be Argento's least effective work. I even prefer PHANTOM, and that's saying something! I'm looking forward to I CAN'T SLEEP with great enthusiasm. Hopefully Argento can give us a true return to the classic gialli for which he is known and (rightly) revered.

DVD Specification
Original year of release - 1996
Approximate running time - 113min.
Aspect ratio - Widescreen (1.66:1)
System - NTSC (colour)
Rating - Unrated
Sound - Dolby Digital Stereo (2.0)
DVD release - Troma
Region Coding - Region 0 (code free)

DVD Extras
Interview with Argento by Lloyd Kaufman (Troma President)
Interview with Argento by Ronny Svensson
Interview with Sergio Stivaletti (FX)
Interview with Ruggero Deodato (!?)
Film bio's of Argento and Asia Argento
Troma extras (Troma Rap Feat. Julie Strain, Troma Studios Tour, TIT 2, Tromaville.com, The Radiation March)
Theatrical trailers, including THE STENDHAL SYNDROME
Special introduction to the film, by Lloyd Kaufman
Liner notes about the film by Cliff McMillan
Picture gallery

DVD Ratings (out of 5)
Picture - 3
This is a hard one to call. Firstly, there has been much debate over the letterboxing of the film. The correct aspect ratio as I understand it is 1.66:1. The French DVD (more about this below) is letterboxed at 1.85:1, whilst the Japanese laserdisc was letterboxed at 1.66:1. This release is also presented at 1.66:1. However, there has been some suggestion that Troma could not obtain a film print and had to work from an older panned-and-scanned print, which they then masked off to give the appearance of letterboxing. This does not seem at all likely to me. For a start, there are several points in the film when imperfections are visible at the edges of the print. Had the print been matted off, these would have been covered up. Also, I have compared it to the Japanese laserdisc, and the amount of material visible both at the top and bottom and the sides seems to be the same. The print used by Troma looks very similar to that used for the laser, with similar tones and colours. Leaving all this aside, what about the picture quality? Well, overall I was quite impressed by the disc. Many people slagged the DVD off without actually having seen it (remind you of anything?) and I think that they have been proven wrong. Yes, Troma aren't exactly renowned for their quality, letterboxing or general attention to detail. But, they seem to have made a real effort with this disc. Had Anchor Bay or a similar company released it, we would probably have a better disc. However, the presentation is more than adequate - the image is quite sharp. Colours are well-defined. There isn't much grain, or noise in the print. If anything, the main complaint one could level at the image is that it seems generally a bit washed-out. However, to be more critical about the image would be without grounds. Troma have done quite a good job with the film and have probably provided the best quality transfer possible working with their resources and manpower. I've given it a '3', mainly because the film is quite recent, and it's not as if Troma have had to do a restoration job or anything. Really, when a film is only a few years old it should be possible to get a better transfer than this. However, as I've said before, one has to bear in mind Troma's limited resources. Lack of anamorphic enhancement is also a minus point.
Sound - 3
2-channel stereo. Perhaps we could have expected more from a film as recent as this, but the stereo track Troma give us is more than up to the job. Morricone's excellent score (his best in some time) sounds fantastic. I'm very grateful that Troma didn't put a mono track on the film (I wouldn't have put it past them!) The track is clear, free from hiss and generally very good.
Extras - 3
There has been some bitching concerning the extras that Troma have dug up for this release. I would not really agree with any of this as I feel Troma's extras are more than up to the job. The interview by Kaufman is surprisingly revealing, with Argento speaking very frankly about many issues. I've seen and read many Argento interviews, but still found this one both interesting and educational. Argento comes across very well, friendly, humorous and interesting, whilst Kaufman, although undoubtedly annoying, is still quite engaging (though he does insist on calling the film THE STONDHOL SYNDROME!!! Argento says some very complimentary things about Troma, and says that he'd much rather his film got a limited release in its intended form than that the film got a big release, but was cut. He also says that he has no interest in making a Hollywood film (hooray!) The Svensson interview is likewise very worthwhile, with Svensson asking some intelligent searching questions, and Argento once again coming across very well. The Stivaletti interview is quite good, not as good as the Argento ones, but then that is probably only to be expected. Why there is a Deodato interview on the disc is anyone's guess, but it's always nice to see material like this. The interview is quite good, but the subtitles appear to summarise a lot of dialogue in few words. The hidden Argento footage is probably the worst extra, as it's poorly filmed, the sound isn't very good, and the questions are more mundane. The film bio's are reasonable, though obviously most people buying this disc won't need them. You also get lots of Troma extras for your money. I can't say that I'm much of a Troma fan (an understatement perhaps!), but it's still more extras. We also get the original trailer for the film, plus trailers for other Troma films. The introduction to the film by Lloyd Kaufman is the only bit of intrusive Tromabilia - quite why he chose to add this is beyond me, but it adds nothing to the film, and its tone is quite inappropriate for the (quite seriously themed) film that follows.
Overall Rating - 3.5
Troma have done a fair job of bringing one of Argento's lesser works to US DVD in the form that its director intended (well, nearly!) Uncut Argento films are always welcome, and this even more true when they're on DVD. A good package of extras backs up the presentation, with some surprisingly revealing interviews. The menu screens are nice, quite attractively designed, and very easy to navigate. Chapter selections are animated and the whole disc seems well put together. Packaging is also quite attractive, though it always seems strange to see the Troma symbol next to Argento's name! The disc is particularly welcome given the appalling state of the UK DVD - cut to bits and poorly packaged. The French DVD is undoubtedly a good alternative but for anyone who doesn't like having French sub's on the picture, or who is concerned about possible incorrect framing (though that issue hasn't necessarily been resolved with this disc either...) the Troma DVD is a solid buy. Also, it's very cheap ($17.50 from DVD Express!) and provides good value for money. Sure, it's not an Anchor Bay standard release, but it's leagues above the UK releases of Argento's films to date, and is much better than one would have expected from Troma. A '3.5' would probably be more appropriate, but I would round up to a '4' rather than down to a '3'!

Film Tag Lines
"The colour of fear is... silver!" (original Italian tag line; 'Argento' means silver in Italian. Also, this is a play on words due to the fact that the giallo is traditionally associated with the colour yellow)

AKA
LA SINDROME DI STENDHAL (Italian language title)

Alternative versions
Up until now, this has been a surprisingly difficult film to get hold of uncut in the UK. GUILD released it on video in the UK a few years ago, but they heavily cut it (to the tune of 2 minutes and 47 seconds!!!) before submitting it to the BBFC, who passed it without further cuts. This was a pan-and-scan video. Guild not only cut most of the violence but also seemingly edited the film at will, removing any narrative coherence that was originally present.
The most common uncut version was the Japanese laserdisc released by Columbia Video. This was letterboxed at about 1.66:1, but was taken from a poor quality, dark print. The film was in English, with Japanese subtitles.
An uncut, pan-and-scan version was released in Italy by Medusa Video.
Last year, a UK company (Marquee Pictures) released the film to DVD. The original release was completely uncut (the distributors having mistakenly believed that the film had been passed uncut by the BBFC, and had therefore not been cut previously), though pan-and-scan. It had a black-and-white picture on the disc. This was hastily withdrawn and the butchered Guild release was issued instead, which had a red picture on the disc.
A French DVD was released earlier this year by Pioneer. This was uncut, but letterboxed at 1.85:1. This was also 16x9 enhanced. The print used was English language, but the French subtitles are not removable (though apparently they don't show up on certain players).

Movie Facts
The film not only stars Argento's younger daughter Asia, but also involved his elder daughter Fiore (who played the girl killed at the beginning of PHENOMENA) - she worked as line manager on the filmm.
Both Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh were first considered for the role that Asia Argento finally won.

Easter Eggs
Keep pressing 'up' on the main menu till the razor blade above the options is highlighted. Press ENTER. You will now see footage of Argento at a film festival in Stockholm.

Awards
Nominated for the "Best Genre Home Video Release" by the Academy of SF, Horror and Fantasy Films, USA.

Official Site
For more info on Argento and his films visit DARK DREAMS