The Stendhal Syndrome: Dario Argento’s controversial thriller comes to Blu-ray in a 3 disc set from Blue Underground and we have the official art and teaser trailer
Dario Argento’s 1996’s psych-horror headtrip The Stendhal Syndrome is one of the master’s true final masterpieces before he started his inevitable decline. One of Argento’s most brutal and most controversial films, The Stendhal Syndrome put his then young daughter Asia Argento through the ringer from hell in her leading role, subjecting her to rape, explicit nude scenes, beatings and worse. If you can get past that, the movie that frames these unsavory scenes is really stylish and always interesting. And man, is Ennio Morricone’s score immaculate, a menacing and yet delicate bit of orchestral mayhem that elevates the depravity and makes even the most unsavory elements of the film somehow beautiful.
The ever-lovely Asia stars as Anna, a detective in Rome who is slave to the titular condition, which causes her to trance out while in the presence of fine works of art. It is indeed a real deal syndrome. While tracking a brutal sex killer, she falls prey to the syndrome and is brutally sexually assaulted by the murderer. Later, the killer now dead, Anna suffers trauma and is seemingly stalked by the apparently-deceased murderer. When the bodies pile up, Anna thinks she might be losing her marbles. And she might be. Or maybe not. We’ll never tell. Just watch the movie!
Today, our pals at Blue Underground announced that they will be releasing The Stendhal Syndrome in a 3-disc limited edition (only 3000 units pressed) with a new 2K restoration struck from the totally uncut negative and presented for the first time ever in its original 1:85:1 ratio. Extras are plentiful (and many of the interviews are new).
The Stendhal Syndrome will be released on July 25th, but you can pre-order yours on June 22 from Blue Underground.You can check out the official box art above and see the official preview trailer below.