The Stendhal Syndrome [2 Discs]

Director: Dario Argento Dario Argento

Overview

Police detective Anna, who is on the trail of a serial rapist, is first seen walking the art-filled hallways of a museum. One painting makes her have hallucinatory visions and a stranger, Alfredo, catches her from falling. After meeting with Alfredo again, she discovers that he is the rapist.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/25/2007
UPC:	0827058201490
Original Release:	1996
Rating:	NR
Source:	Blue Underground
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround EX]
Language:	English
Time:	1:59:00
Sales rank:	28,513

Special Features

Disc 1: ; Theatrical trailer; ; Disc 2: ; Director: Dario Argento; Inspiration: Psycological Consultant Graziella Magherini; Special Effects: Sergio Stivaletti; Assistant Director: Luigi Cozzi; Production Designer: Massimo Antonello Geleng

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Asia Argento	Anna Manni
Thomas Kretschmann	Alfredo Grossi
Marco Leonardi	Marco Longhi
Luigi Diberti	Inspector Manetti
Paolo Bonacelli	Dr. Cavanna
Julien Lambroschini	Marie
John Quentin	Anna's Father
Franco Diogene	Victim's Husband
Lorenzo Crespi	Giulio
Lucia Stara	Commessa, Shop Assistant
Sonia Topazio	Victim in Florence
Vera Gemma	Policewoman
John Pedeferri	Hydraulic Engineer
Veronica Lazar	Marie's Mother
Diano Mario	Coroner
Eleonora Vizzini	Anna (as a Child)
Maximilian Nisi	Luigi
Leonardo Ferrantini	Alessandro
Sandro Giordano	Fausto
Cinzia Monreale	Alfredo Grossi's Wife
Michele Kaplan	Alfredo Grossi's Son
Laura Piattella	40-Year-Old Woman
Vincenzo Uccellini	40-Year-Old Woman's Son
Elena Bermani	30-Year-Old Woman
Antonio Marziantonio	Museum Watchman
Luca Camilletti	Hotel Porter
Graziano Giusti	2nd Coroner
Monica Fiorentini	Female Doctor in Florence
Giancarlo Teodori	Male Doctor in Florence
Antonello Murru	1st Police Officer
Marna Del Monaco	Dining Car Stewardess
Maria Grazia Nazzari	Night Watch Victim
Mario Diano	Coroner
Ennio Morricone	Composer

Technical Credits

Dario Argento

Franco Ferrini

Dario Argento	Producer,Director,Screenwriter
Giuseppe Colombo	Producer
Sergio Stivaletti	Special Effects
Giovanni Corridori	Special Effects
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua	Stunts
Luca Anzellotti	Sound Effects,Sound Effects
Carlo Palmieri	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer,Sound/Sound Designer
Franco Ferrini	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A sadistic and disturbing psychological exploration driven by the horrifying concept of a rape victim who begins to take on her attacker's dark persona, Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome is ultimately a victim of it's own excess and the director's tendency to overcomplicate a fairly simple storyline. A vast improvement in style and storytelling over the Argento's previous efforts of the 1990s, The Stendhal Syndrome can be admired for Asia Argento's impressive portrayal of a female cop who shifts from predator to prey to questionably sane victim and who runs the gamut of emotion and shifting physical appearance. Regardless of Asia's convincing performance and the somewhat surreal and ultimately passive use of then-innovative computer-generated effects, it's hard to ignore the unrelenting cruelty the protagonist endures. Critics of director Argento have often accused him of being misogynistic (Argento's own admissions that he would rather see a beautiful woman die on film rather than an unattractive man or woman certainly doesn't aid an argument against this), and those critics will most certainly site this film as the ultimate proof of that theory. Though the story remains absorbing throughout the mid-point character shift that ignites the psychological torture of the second half, the seemingly meandering plot grinds to a halt just as it should truly shine. Director Argento crafts a stunningly visual opening sequence which, accompanied by old-friend Ennio Morricone's hauntingly hypnotic score rivals anything from his Deep Red (1975) / Suspiria (1977) heyday, and though his visual scheme remains strong the energy built here cannot sustain the duration of the film. While compositions remain suitably unnerving throughout, the storyline that was needed to truly project them into the viewer's psyche doesn't provide adequate fuel for them to do so. Throughout his career Argento's horror has passed from the everyday to the supernatural, and though the internalized terror of The Stendhal Syndrome is indeed as effective as ever in moments, it will certainly be difficult for the majority of viewers to endure.