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The Stendhal Syndrome

Original title: La sindrome di Stendhal
  • 1996
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
9.7K
YOUR RATING
Asia Argento in The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)
Home Video Trailer from Troma
Play trailer0:40
1 Video
94 Photos
GialloHorrorMysteryThriller

A detective falls under hallucinatory spells while trying to capture the sadistic man who raped her.A detective falls under hallucinatory spells while trying to capture the sadistic man who raped her.A detective falls under hallucinatory spells while trying to capture the sadistic man who raped her.

  • Director
    • Dario Argento
  • Writers
    • Graziella Magherini
    • Dario Argento
    • Franco Ferrini
  • Stars
    • Asia Argento
    • Thomas Kretschmann
    • Marco Leonardi
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    9.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Dario Argento
    • Writers
      • Graziella Magherini
      • Dario Argento
      • Franco Ferrini
    • Stars
      • Asia Argento
      • Thomas Kretschmann
      • Marco Leonardi
    • 92User reviews
    • 83Critic reviews
    • 42Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Stendhal Syndrome
    Trailer 0:40
    The Stendhal Syndrome

    Photos94

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    Top cast32

    Edit
    Asia Argento
    Asia Argento
    • Det. Anna Manni
    Thomas Kretschmann
    Thomas Kretschmann
    • Alfredo Grossi
    Marco Leonardi
    Marco Leonardi
    • Marco Longhi
    Luigi Diberti
    Luigi Diberti
    • Insp. Manetti
    Paolo Bonacelli
    Paolo Bonacelli
    • Dr. Cavanna
    Julien Lambroschini
    • Marie
    John Quentin
    John Quentin
    • Anna's father
    Franco Diogene
    Franco Diogene
    • Victim's husband
    Lucia Stara
    • Shop assistant
    Sonia Topazio
    • Victim in Florence
    Lorenzo Crespi
    Lorenzo Crespi
    • Giulio
    Vera Gemma
    Vera Gemma
    • Policewoman
    John Pedeferri
    • Hydraulic engineer
    Veronica Lazar
    Veronica Lazar
    • Marie's mother
    Mario Diano
    • Coroner
    Eleonora Vizzini
    • Anna, as a child
    Maximilian Nisi
    • Luigi
    Leonardo Ferrantini
    • Alessandro
    • Director
      • Dario Argento
    • Writers
      • Graziella Magherini
      • Dario Argento
      • Franco Ferrini
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews92

    6.09.6K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    Eviljomr

    Excellent Argento thriller

    I don't really understand why so many Argento fans dislike this film, I think it's one of his best works. It's not always easy to watch, it has some very nasty violence, even for an Argento film, I wouldn't recommend the film to sensitive persons; but it's not for exploitational purposes. Argento does a good job of juggling real-life horrors with a dreamy, hallucinatory atmosphere, and pulls off some typically Argento-esque setpieces, such as the one in which a bullet is followed through a woman's mouth with the aid of CGI. The great Ennio Morricone delivers possibly his best score for a horror film, the haunting main theme with his trademark wordless female vocals stayed with me long after the film was over. Frequent Fellini cameraman Giuseppe Rotunno does an excellent job on the film too.

    The Stendhal Syndrome isn't for everyone, but it's worth a viewing for fans of European horror and psychological thrillers in general.
    5ernesti

    Fantastic atmospheric music score but the film isn't that fantastic

    Argento had seen his better days as a movie director and surely it's not easy to top such masterpieces such as Suspiria and The Inferno.

    Asia Argento as detective Anna Manni isn't the best casting choice but as an actress she certainly did her best. It's difficult to believe that she really is a police detective at such a young age. It's obvious that a more mature actress should have been cast. Nevertheless that obscurity could have been used to make the film better. Would it be a better film if Anna Manni was just a woman living in her delusions.

    The film certainly had it's moments but on the other hand it has some annoying flaws such as very bad cgi effects. Why use experimental effects if they look dumb. They should have gone back in time to the 70's or 80's how they made the effects without computers.

    Ennio Morricone's score is amazing though and certainly does a big favor for the film's atmosphere. To sum it up this film is watchable even for Argento fans but it isn't anything like his films used to be. It's really evident that Italian film industry had been in a recession since the late 80's.
    matt-201

    Through the looking-glass darkly

    What makes up the singular pleasure that is Dario Argento? Maybe it's the crossroads where High Romanticism and hardcore porn meet. (I'm referring to the feeling of his work--not the images.) Argento seems doomed, like Peckinpah and like Lynch, to have summed up his world-view in a single masterpiece, the 1977 SUSPIRIA; the thrillers that came before and the low-budget shockers that came after may offer delights, but nothing close to that unity of vision.

    Seeing THE STENDHAL SYNDROME projected in Los Angeles, I was struck with newfound sympathy for the Star Wars fans protesting way too much in favor of THE PHANTOM MENACE. If you love THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, you love Argento, and that is that--you may see the flaws, but they don't ruin your pleasure. The picture has too many Achilles heels to enumerate here, but what's important is that nobody in world cinema today is wrestling with his soul in the psychosexual mire the way Argento does. He puts his misogynistic demons and his almost sentimental compassion right out there; and only Cronenberg has such a direct pipeline to his own unconscious. Not to mention the fabulous, cascading images--Argento's stock-in-trade is Victorian Liebestod, Edward Gorey gone porno, and THE STENDHAL SYNDROME has sequences that rank with his best.

    The sketchy thing about STENDHAL SYNDROME, like the maestro's TRAUMA, is his use of his daughter, Asia Argento, in scenes one cannot imagine a father watching, much less filming. Whatever memoirs come down the pike twenty years later, it must be said: Argento for certain lets it all hang out, and the land-mined terrain he maps is, to my taste, thrilling.
    cread

    underrated intelligant thriller

    La Syndrome di Stendahl has met cruel critical comments on its initial release but although it is not at all like his earlier work, it is in fact a far more intelligent and mature affair. Anna Manni, the character played by Asia Argento, has more compassion than any other character in an Argento film, quite unlike the carelessly created cartoon-like characters of his other work. It is true, however that the film drags slightly in the middle, although picks up the pace again for a surprising and beautifully directed finale; and although the film is not as bloody as tenebrae, the violence on display is brutal and sexual (leading to it being cut for release in Britain) and genuinely disturbing. Perhaps not as good as Deep Red or Suspiria, but definitely one of this unusual director's better efforts.
    8dennis70

    Pretty solid

    Regarded as one of Argento's lesser works, I find this one much more plausible than any of his early films. Let's face it, Argento doesn't care much about plot or even acting. His films are probably the frustrating I've ever seen: There are things I love, and things I hate about them. I grew up watching much of his films mutilated by Italian Television. I was a kid back then, and strangely enough his films never scared me when they were supposed to. They were really over the top. But I loved the colours, the pictures and once in a while I found myself humming Claudio Simonetti's electronic scores.

    Now with this film Argento has Morricone, who is definitely a master and he does a great job here. Anna's character is really intriguing. Some people dismiss Asia's acting style, but I think it goes very well with her father's aesthetics. You wont find the crazy colours here. Everything is more restrained. The opening for example scene is great. But the film looses interest towards the end. Still I think is one of Argento's most solid pieces. The idea is truly interesting and Anna's relationship with the killer is fascinating. The hallucinations scenes of Anna going into the paintings are masterfully done.

    After the huge disappointment of Il Cartaio, I hope he truly returns to form, and start doing what he's good at: Going crazy with film. La Sindrome Di Stendhal is a pretty good step.

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    Related interests

    Jacopo Mariani in Deep Red (1975)
    Giallo
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The opening scene was shot inside the famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence. As of 2014, Dario Argento is the only director who's ever received permission to film inside the museum.
    • Goofs
      Though featuring prominently during the film's opening sequence set at the Uffizi in Florecne, Peter Bruegel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' is actually housed at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.
    • Quotes

      Insp. Manetti: You're young. I can trust you.

    • Alternate versions
      US DVD release by Troma release is the complete version of the English language edition, but, like all English releases, is still missing around 2 minutes of material exclusive to the Italian print.
    • Connections
      Featured in Il mondo di Dario Argento 3: Il museo degli orrori di Dario Argento (1997)

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    FAQ18

    • How long is The Stendhal Syndrome?Powered by Alexa
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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 26, 1996 (Italy)
    • Country of origin
      • Italy
    • Language
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Stendhal sendromu
    • Filming locations
      • Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy(Studio)
    • Production companies
      • Medusa Film
      • Cine 2000
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,800,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 53m(113 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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