Berberian Sound Studio

Berberian Sound Studio

Berberian Sound Studio

Berberian Sound Studio

I could applaud it for being experimental, but it's so lackluster as a story, characterization and the script is almost non existent. Toby Jones is a great actor and works with what he's got here, which is basically bread crumbs. This was a complete waste of time and a missed opportunity, because in the hands of someone who had some imagination the concept could have worked.

Good build up to absolutely nothing Made for sound engineers exclusively apparently , because I don't get it. How is this getting 6 stars on average??? Holy crap, I want my 90 minutes back.

and Imaginary Spoiler Alert... because I foolishly imagined I knew what the end was going to be (thinking Wicker Man) and was disappointed when I didn't get it. I promoted my theory to an expectation when Sylvia asked Gilderoy if he ever wondered why they chose him... in proximity to musings about the script's need to include some sort of human sacrifice. Clearly Santini, a director so intent on realistic performances, would naturally have stumbled on the idea of putting actual people (our docile and unwitting hero perhaps) thru actual tortures for the sake of a more fantastico soundtrack. Given all the hints and innuendo pointing toward the sordid demise of their patient and long-suffering English visitor, I think filmmaker Strickland realized he was perilously close to making a snuff film, and backed off under pressure from the Italian Board of Tourism.

As nearly every professional critic mentions, this movie is more of a cinematic freakout than a story, though there's enough story to grab on to. Is it good? Is it self-indulgent with a whiff of pretension? Is it cryptic enough to leave you without an easy answer? Yes, yes and yes. It isn't really a horror movie, except for in a psychological, David Lynch way. I would say that the main weakness (and here's the mild spoiler) is that it gives us yet another metadramatic "Is it real? Is it a fantasy? A dream? Is he insane and it's all in his head? Is it about filmmaking itself?" kind of thread to pull on. And I think that thread is threadbare this decade. It's been beat to death. This said, I half-expect to change my score to a 3 or a 9 after I eventually see this movie again. It's so weird that I'm not even sure if it's good, lousy or great.

Let me first say that this film is beautifully shot. It really is a masterpiece of foreboding ominous eye-candy. Unfortunately though, movies should lead the viewer to be able to draw some conclusions about the film they've just watched. This film provides so little information about it's characters, plot, or direction that after the end credits roll it feels pointless. And that's such a shame because visually this movie is fantastic. So.... I say to all you makers of film out there today....artsy for the sake of being artsy does not equal art.

For the first 70ish minutes I found this movie genuinely astounding. Unique is a massively over-used word nowadays, but I'd challenge anyone to name another film that resembles Berberian Sound Studio in any way. I almost wish I'd stopped watching at that point, as writer/director Strickland seems to have either (a) run out of money/time; (b) run out of ideas; or (c) suffered from a massive embolism. Until that point, the movie had been other-worldly, creepy and disconcerting, but in one scene it veers suddenly to just plain weirdness for it's own sake. At first I thought there may be some point to this, but the film just continued in this vein until an abrupt stop. It doesn't have an 'ending', it just stops. Very dissatisfying.

(very minor spoilers hinted below) I really enjoyed this gem of a film. Inventive, gorgeously filmed, original… lovingly true and nerdily detailed in texture, props, graphics and the workings of analogue sound. And film making. It might help that I worked as a sound engineer for years myself... and enjoyed my fair share of horror films. Still, this was a great film. Great in that it managed both to emulate the structure of the B-rate horror movie and at the same time actually be scary _and_ make a comment on shallow effects. Great also in the attention to detail (quarter inch tape-delay, choice of tools for sound effects) homage to Italian horror and lovingly black-comedy takes on the stereotypes of the film industry. Great also in meta-horror/comedy – while staying true to classic horror form. An interest in vintage horror movies probably helps in enjoying all subtle in-jokes. Still I'd rank this something of an instant classic. Highly recommended.