The Stendhal Syndrome

The Stendhal Syndrome is 1996 Italian thriller, written and directed by Dario Argento and starring his daughter Asia Argento. It was the first Italian film to use computer-generated imagery (CGI).^{[citation needed]}. Stendhal Syndrome is a real syndrome, first diagnosed in Florence, Italy in 1982. Named after the French writer Stendhal AKA Marie-Henri Beyle who reportedly experienced like symptoms in 1817. The director, Dario Argento, said he experienced Stendhal syndrome as a child. While touring Athens with his parents young Dario was climbing the steps of the Parthenon when he was overcome by a trance that caused him to become lost from his parents for hours. The experience was so strong that Argento never forgot it and immediately thought of it when he came across Magherini's book, which would become the basis of the film.

Plot

Detective Anna Manni (Asia Argento) travels to Florence on the trail of a serial killer (Thomas Kretschmann). While at a museum, Anna is struck by the Stendhal Syndrome, which causes people to become overwhelmed by great works of art. The killer uses this disorder against Anna, kidnapping and raping her. She escapes, but is deeply traumatized. She eventually finds redemption and a whole new perspective to life.

Cast

• Asia Argento as Det. Anna Manni
• Thomas Kretschmann as Alfredo Grossi
• Marco Leonardi as Marco Longhi
• Luigi Diberti as Insp. Manetti
• Paolo Bonacelli as Dr. Cavanna
• Julien Lambroschini as Marie
• John Quentin as Anna's father
• Franco Diogene as Victim's husband
• Lucia Stara as Shop assistant
• Sonia Topazio as Victim in Florence
• Lorenzo Crespi as Giulio
• Vera Gemma as Policewoman
• John Pedeferri as Hydraulic engineer
• Veronica Lazar as Marie's mother
• Mario Diano as Coroner

Production

Director Dario Argento tried at first to get Bridget Fonda and then Jennifer Jason Leigh to play the role of Anna. He eventually cast his own daughter, Asia Argento, in the role. Thomas Kretschmann was cast as Alfredo Grossi because Dario Argento had seen him working with star Asia Argento on the set of Queen Margot (1994). Argento was impressed enough by Kretschmann that he would later think of him for the role.

Ennio Morricone's eerie music score for the film follows the same tune played either forward or backward.

The opening scene' was shot in Florence at Italy's famed Uffizi Gallery. Argento is the only director ever granted permission to shoot there.

The painting that Anna literally steps into is a Rembrandt painting of 17th Century policemen entitled Night Watch. The painting that causes Anna to faint in the museum is by Brueghel, it's called Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.

The footage of Anna underwater after fainting in the gallery was actually shot in the sea - not a swimming pool. The huge grouper fish that Anna kisses was a remote model that was being pulled through the waters by cables attached to a small float on the oceans surface. Mere moments after wrapping the underwater shoot, the fish stopped working.

This would be the last fiction feature film for acclaimed director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno. The following year he shot a documentary on Marcello Mastroianni before retiring.

Graffiti artists were brought in to cover the underground lair of Alfredo with graffiti. In one night the group created over a hundred square feet of graffiti-covered walls on the location.

This is the second of four films in which Argento has directed his daughter Asia: the three others are Trauma, The Phantom of the Opera, and the upcoming The Mother of Tears. She also had roles in Demons 2 and The Church, which Dario Argento produced, along with her directorial debut Scarlet Diva.

Argento planned on making a sequel to the film which would follow Detective Anna Manni on another case. However, Asia was unavailable, so the character's name was changed (to Anna Mari) and Stefania Rocca was cast. The resulting film is 2004's The Card Player.

Alternate versions

In the U.S., the film is distributed by B-movie company Troma Entertainment. A new special edition DVD of the film was released by Blue Underground on August 30, 2007.

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.

The Italian release is around two minutes longer than the English export version, including an additional scene where Anna calls the husband of one of Alfredo's victims, and another where she meets Marie's mother, played by Veronica Lazar (whose name is included in the credits of all versions, even those in which she does not appear).

This film premiered on video in the UK, but 11 cuts totalling 2m 47s were made by the distributor before submission to the BBFC for a video certificate. These cuts are to rape scenes, violence and some dialogue. The 2005 UK DVD release, by Arrow Pictures, has had all previous cuts waived and represents the full-length English version, although like all English releases it omits the two scenes exclusive to the Italian version. Since the uncut version has never been submitted to the British Board of Film Classification, this version was withdrawn and re-released in a cut form. The new cut release has a colour graphic on the disc itself, whereas the uncut version had a black and white label.

Blue Underground released The Stendahl Syndrome on Blu-Ray in 2009, and contains the entire film uncut, including the additional 'Italian only' scenes (still in Italian, with English subtitles)

External links

• An analysis of The Stendhal Syndrome
• 'La Sindrome di Stendhal (The Stendhal Syndrome / Stendhal's Syndrome) at the Internet Movie Database
• 'La Sindrome di Stendhal (The Stendhal Syndrome / Stendhal's Syndrome) at Allmovie