Opera opens with a very close-up shot of a bird's ever-watching eye and thus begins one of Argento's most bizarre, and enjoyable, features (my second favorite in fact, behind Deep Red). Granted, at times, the movie is pretty absurd (the lack of real concern after murders, the bird attack, the burnt dummy, that ending…) but this is Argento's fantastical world and once you come to terms with that, you'll find that it works. I do not mean to completely dismiss these faults though, rather that the artistry of the film more than makes up for them. For example, the aforementioned bird attack is completely over-the-top in theory, yet look at the wonderful execution of it; crows flying in chaos, adding their enraged squawking to the driving rock beat, the crowd in panic as seen through the circling, bird's-eye view camera-work, and then the focused attack; aria of terror indeed. Argento's amazing, flowing cinematography is on full display in Opera, and clearly one of the film's highlights. I also enjoyed the soundtrack of operatic themes and rock music, a nice contrast of music with each used effectively (the rock kicks in with the murders in perfect timing and gives the scenes a very frenzied feel). The sound effects deserve a nod too, stabs, scissors, beaks, and all.<br /><br />Inspector Alan Santini: "I've seen a lot of your movies. Yes, you're really an expert in this field. I'd be very interested to know your opinion."<br /><br />Marco: "I think it's unwise to use movies as a guide for reality, don't you inspector?"<br /><br />Inspector Alan Santini: "Depends what you mean by reality."<br /><br />Being that this is a giallo, stylish murders are a must and Dario does not disappoint (the "bullet through the door" scene is quite possibly one of the greatest deaths ever shot, if you'll forgive the pun). The black-gloved, deep-voiced, pulsating brained (cool shots!) killer is cold and brutal, and having him tape pins under our heroine's eyes so that she was forced to watch the murders was a nice touch. That all said, as a giallo, Opera doesn't quite have as good of a mystery as it should. The killer is kept secret from the audience well enough but there's little effort in the film devoted to actually solving the murders. This, and the strange ending, could've used more work. Despite these problems though, Opera still manages to be a worthwhile and satisfying horror film.<br /><br />One final note: it was nice to see a movie, for once, show the correct view through binoculars (just a circle, not two circles together)! Nice eye for detail, Dario!