Way back in the early 90s, the first Dario Argento flick I cast my eyes over was Opera – and boy was I wowed.

That then opened up a whole new realm for me, rattling through Argento’s back catalogue, along with the likes of Fulci, Bava etc – and I’ve never looked back.

Now, considering that my first viewing of the film was on a bootleg VHS sourced through the back pages of Dark Side magazine, I’m pretty stoked that Opera is getting the blu-ray restoration and release treatment via CultFilms, although we do have to wait until January 21 2019.

Here’s their press release:

Dario Argento (Suspiria) returns to CultFilms with this breath-taking new restoration of his visionary horror masterpiece Opera. Splattered with stylistic bloodshed and soaring cinematography, Opera shows Italy’s master of horror at the very height of his game.
When young understudy Betty takes the lead role in a new operatic production of Verdi’s Macbeth, she soon attracts the attention of a knife-wielding psycho who forces her to watch – with eyes pinned open – as he brutally despatches her friends and colleagues with sadistic delight. Can Betty free herself from this unending nightmare or does a more terrifying fate await? Opera is a ravishing return to the giallo style Argento made his name with, awash with black-gloved killers, lavish bloodletting and the director’s expressionistic Grand Guignol excess. 
CultFilms is proud to bring you this gore-soaked terror classic in a stunning new 2K restoration, with colour regrading carried out under instruction from the maestro himself and in reference to his own, preferred, original cinema print. 
Starring: Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson (Chariots of Fire) and Daria Nicolodi (Deep Red). With music by Brian Eno, Bill Wyman, long-time Argento favourite Claudio Simonetti and the divinity herself Maria Callas. 
SPECIAL FEATURES
• ‘Aria of Fear’: a brand new candid interview with director Dario Argento, revisiting his work from a fresh viewpoint
• ‘Opera Backstage’: a unique behind the scenes documentary about Dario Argento directing Opera
• Restoration featurette: from raw scan to the regraded, restored and reframed final vision
Pre-order direct from CultFilms: bit.ly/2Aj8v2J

About The Author

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Simon is a journalism tutor in London, who also just happens to be a movie fanatic, with a craving for the darker side of cinema. He has written three books - on the horror films of director Bob Clark (2014), the history of the character Norman Bates (2015) and the work of British exploitation director Pete Walker (2017). He is currently working with director Richard Loncraine to explore all avenues in a bid to orchestrate the re-release of 1978 Mia Farrow chiller Full Circle