Opera

Betty, a young soprano, goes on in Macbeth when the star falls ill. Then the killings start in the opera house. The killer forces her to watch each one, taping rows of needles beneath her eyes so she cannot close them. Ravens are part of the story too and enter it directly at the end. Dario Argento wrote, produced and directed; it was his most expensive film to that point, at 8 million dollars. Cristina Marsillach plays Betty. Shooting began in April 1987 at the Teatro Regio in Parma. The production was troubled. Argento worked on the screenplay for about two years and the early drafts carried excessive violence. He had earlier been arrested for drug possession along with Daria Nicolodi. During pre-production, on 19 April 1987, he learned of his father's death. It opened in Italy on 19 December 1987 and took 4.737 billion lire. It was well received in Italy and struggled abroad; after Orion Pictures dropped its distribution plans it only reached limited US screenings in 1990. Who it is for: viewers who like giallo, an opera-house setting and Argento's camera. Who it is not for: anyone who cannot take the needles and the eyes. The film uses that image not once but repeatedly.