Search - Stage Fright on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Gore Movie Release: 1987 DVD Release: 02/19/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 32 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Horror, Slasher Film See Also: Stagefright

Horror film actor Michele Soavi's directorial debut was this stylish giallo thriller about an escaped lunatic terrorizing the cast of a stage musical who get locked in a theater after dark. David Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, and perennial victim Giovanni Lombardo Radice (aka "John Morghen") lead the cast, most of whom spend their time sniping at each other with amusingly typical backstage cruelty. The murder scenes are the film's primary attraction, artfully handled by Soavi in setpieces such as a blue-lighted stage strewn with feather-covered bodies. The killer wears an owl mask, which is offputting at first but seems progressively more sinister as the film goes along. Soavi's stylistic mentor, Dario Argento, directed the similar Opera the same year, while this one was produced by Aristide Massaccesi ("Joe D'Amato") from a script by actor Luigi Montefiori ("George Eastman"). ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

David Brandon
Barbara Cupisti
Ulrike Schwerk
Martin Philips
Mary Sellers

Before director Michele Soavi made a name for himself on this side of the Atlantic with films like The Church and the fantastically bizarre cult favorite Cemetery Man starring Rupert Everett, he made this stylish satire of the slasher film subgenre. Winner of numerous genre film awards, Stagefright also earned Soavi the chance to direct the second unit on Terry Gilliam's bloated fantasy epic The Adventures of Baron Munchausen after Gilliam saw the film at a Brussels film festival. Working on Munchausen helped further his career in Italy and abroad, although rabid fans of this feature knew all along that Soavi was going to go places. Anchor Bay Entertainment's disc unfortunately lacks any extras other than a bio for Soavi and a theatrical trailer. Nevertheless, the availability of this title on DVD is worth it alone since the title has been regulated to the "gray market" videotape realm for far too long. The film is presented in its proper aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (enhanced) and in both a decent two-channel soundtrack and a very rich five-channel track. There are some crackling and some minor audio distortion with the two-channel option, although nothing too distracting. But the five-channel track is definitely the way to go with this one. The picture is a bit soft and the colors (especially the reds) tend to flare at times, but overall the transfer looks fine. ~ Derek Hill, All Movie Guide