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Opera

Play trailer 1:40 Poster for Opera R Now Playing 1h 30m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A hooded figure forces a young diva (Cristina Marsillach) to watch as he murders performers in a production of Verdi's opera "Macbeth."
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Opera

Opera

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Critics Consensus

The Opera house location gives plenty to work with for director Dario Argento, who hits his decadently bloody high notes here.

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Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Little White Lies Opera is always heading backwards to move forwards, and ends, bizarrely, with its heroine crawling in joyous derangement amidst the primordial plants and critters of the natural world, in an ultimate act of atavism. Jan 21, 2019 Full Review Ed Gonzalez Slant Magazine Argento's Opera is a film of rare beauty, a celebration of love's absence and the ferocious force of the gaze. Rated: 4/4 Dec 4, 2001 Full Review Emma Wolfe SpookyAstronauts The music's beautiful and specially paired with the beautiful cinematography in this film... I can't really say a lot for the acting unfortunately. Rated: 7/10 Oct 26, 2020 Full Review Brent McKnight The Last Thing I See In a career full of nutty, brutal, style-forward horror films, few titles on Dario Argento's resume are as strange, violent, or aesthetically singular as "Opera." Rated: B+ Jul 1, 2020 Full Review Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia Allowing us voyeurs to watch from the stalls as he demonstrates why he's such a master of his art. Jan 15, 2019 Full Review Niall Browne Movies in Focus Opera sees giallo master Dario Argento working at his most gloriously OTT and this 1987 mystery contains all the traits you would expect from the Italian director: mystery, lust, violence and impressive camera work. Rated: 3/5 Dec 28, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Wayne K Made towards the end of giallo maestro Dario Argento’s golden age, Opera contain the classic hallmarks of the genre, lots of stylish camerawork, a vivid colour palette and a real flair for stylish violence. I can comfortably say it’s a film I enjoyed more for its construction than its content. The film doesn’t have many interesting characters, features a villain with a weak motivation and a lead who, despite being pursued by a sadistic killer, appears to do everything she can to keep herself in harms way. The ending is especially lacklustre, trying to pull of a dramatic twist but doing it with so little explanation or fanfare that it falls completely flat, especially when its rendered pointless only minutes after it happens. I enjoyed the dynamic camerawork which renders the camera a character in itself, both a victim and perpetrator. The mix of classic music and heavy metal is jarring at first but makes more sense as the film goes on, and it’s a neat way to introduce the possibility that the killer could be near. It's a film I’m glad I got to see, but its not one I’ll be rushing back to. As impressive as it’s presentation may be, its storyline left me cold. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/11/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Filmed on location all over Italy and dubbed and subtitled in the United States of America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/27/25 Full Review Jesse D A Nightmarish Symphony of Beauty and Terror Dario Argento’s Opera is a fever dream of style, elegance, and brutality, a film that turns the grandiosity of the opera house into a blood-soaked spectacle of terror. From its sweeping set pieces to its inventive, almost hypnotic camerawork, Opera is one of the most visually stunning giallo films ever made, a true masterwork of horror aesthetics. The opera house itself is a gothic marvel, its towering balconies and cavernous stage draped in deep reds and golds, a place of both artistic grandeur and impending doom. The way Argento moves through this space—gliding, swooping, and tracking through its corridors and rafters—gives the film an almost dreamlike quality, as if the audience is caught in an endless nightmare of beauty and violence. And then there are the birds. The infamous bird’s-eye shots, taken from the perspective of the crows, are breathtakingly eerie, soaring over the audience like death itself watching from above. At the center of it all is Cristina Marsillach, whose delicate features and luminous presence make her the perfect Argento heroine—both fragile and strong, haunted yet defiant. Argento frames her like a tragic opera star, often bathed in ghostly blue lighting or caught in suffocating close-ups, her wide eyes reflecting the sheer horror unfolding around her. And then there’s the peephole kill—one of the most unforgettable shots in horror history. A bullet fired through the door meets its target in grotesque slow motion, an image so precisely crafted that it feels almost like a perverse painting, a moment of carnage frozen in time. But Opera isn’t just about beauty—it’s about contrast. Argento’s brilliant decision to juxtapose classical opera music with jarring, pulsating heavy metal during the murder sequences adds an extra layer of chaos and unease. The elegance of Verdi and Puccini is shattered by the raw energy of electric guitars, mirroring the way art and violence collide in the film’s world. The lighting and atmosphere in Opera are also pure Argento magic. Deep blues, rich reds, and bursts of golden light give the film an otherworldly quality, almost like a haunted painting come to life. Shadows stretch impossibly long, reflections distort reality, and even the stillness feels charged with menace. It’s a film where every frame is meticulously composed, every movement designed to unsettle. In the end, Opera is more than just a giallo—it’s a visual symphony of terror, a film that transforms a place of artistic beauty into a grand stage for nightmares. Few horror films feel as meticulously designed, as lush and eerie, as hauntingly stylish. Argento’s vision is in full force here, and the result is a film that lingers like a ghostly aria long after the final curtain falls. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/25 Full Review Allan C I’d make the case that OPERA is Dario Argento’s last great film, telling the story of an opera singer stalked by a mysterious Phantom of the Opera-like killer. Prior incarnations of The Phantom always had a tinge of romanticism to them, but he’s basically a serial killer, which Argento leans into in the loose retelling of the oft-told tale. As with most Argento films, it’s the set pieces, music, and visuals you most remember, but OPERA has a better story and characters than most of his films. Although Argento reportedly clashed with lead actress Cristina Marsillach, later calling her the most difficult actress he had ever worked with, her opera understudy heroine is one of the most well-rounded of any of his female protagonists. Still, it’s the horrific set pieces that really stand out. The Phantom in this incarnation forces the hapless opera singer to watch him kill those close to her by tying her up and taping needles under her eyes so she cannot close them without blinding herself. Besides this ghastly close-up image of needles precariously close to terrified eyeballs, there are some incredible set pieces, such as a bullet shot through a door peephole, a mysterious voyeur creeping through the heroine’s apartment air ducts, and a fantastically suspenseful finale with (SPOILER ALERT!) our heroine trapped in a burning room at the opera house. OPERA features some dynamite cinematography from the directory of photography on GANDHI and TOMMY, including a fantastic opening shot of the entire opera house reflected in a raven’s eye. There is also some enjoyably funky music from Brian Eno of Roxy Music and Claudio Simonetti of Goblin. Unfortunately, the soundtrack also features unpleasant and distracting heavy metal music, which did not age well at all. I’m a fan of heavy metal, but it’s out of place here and does not fit the feel of the film. More Eno and Goblin-like music would have worked way better. My other main complaint about the film is that it has an unnecessary second climax to the film set in the Swiss Alps. Anyone who read Thomas Harris’ RED DRAGON will know the ending used here, but Michael Mann wisely excised this second climax from his version of the story in MANHUNTER. This film would have greatly benefitted from doing the same. Still, the film’s many assets outweigh its deficits and make it a well worth watching. OPERA is one of Argento’s more memorable films and is a must-see for giallo fans everywhere! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/25 Full Review Sams K Absolutely great, a masterpiece of the genre. I don't think the false ending structure fits with the movie, I think it ruined the whole work, but still a very good one by Argento. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/29/24 Full Review Thom G Opera is another masterpiece from the master of horror, Argento! It delivers a suspenseful giallo at its finest, complete with tension, blood, terror, sensuality, innocence, and poetry. An incredible camera work wraps it all up beautifully. Watching Opera also makes you realize that many recent horror films haven't brought anything new to the table. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/11/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Opera

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Movie Info

Synopsis A hooded figure forces a young diva (Cristina Marsillach) to watch as he murders performers in a production of Verdi's opera "Macbeth."
Director
Dario Argento
Producer
Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori
Screenwriter
Dario Argento, Franco Fraticelli
Production Co
Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinema
Rating
R
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 18, 2014
Runtime
1h 30m
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