I cannot believe that this was made in 2007, I have seen better Hammer films! And as for the neat end and we all live happily ever after.............. well I could have been more entertained watching paint dry..............awful
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Agreed! Argento has lost it. I thought Phantom of the Opera was a low point. At least that had a different if not crazy angle to the story. I almost felt he was laughing at us. I half expect him to come out and say it was a joke now here is the real "Third Mothers" film.
I can't even understand anyone who liked this film. WHAT IS THERE TO LIKE????? it was horrible from almost start to finish. The killings were laughable(I'm not talking about effects, I didn't expect great FX), there was zero atmosphere, There was almost a story, but barely. I know Argento isn't big on plot, but there wasn't that fantastic style he usually gives even his most mundane films. The Card Player, Trauma, and yes, Phantom of the Opera are all better films than this one.
And as some have suggested, Inferno was criticized when released in comparison to Suspiria. I say that this film will never get better with age. I loved Inferno from the first time I saw it. I knew it wasn't as good as Suspiria, but it was still an incredible film that no other director could accomplish. Any of the current horror directors could have done better than this. Il Maestro died years ago.
I reckon Argento lost the plot with this one. I can't believe the director of such great films like Suspiria, Profondo Rosso, Inferno and Tenebre is the same guy that made Mother of Tears.
I have to wonder if this film was one of Argento's practical jokes. I hope his new film Giallo puts him back on top. He should stop trying to make straight-forward b-movie horror and go back to his roots.
Granted, I am an Argento fanboy, but I must disagree strongly with you guys. Sure, Argento has been comparatively weak since "Opera," but this film had some incredibly cool set pieces that rekindled my love for the guy. I liked "Trauma" and "Stendhal Syndrome," but felt that they were lacking in visual virtuoso -- both films had a brown, washed-out palette that was uncharacteristic of one of the greatest cinematic visual stylists ever. This film, on the other hand, looked GREAT. From the acrobatic camera calisthenics and in-your-face brutality of the first murder in the museum, to the grotesque death of the lesbian couple (reminiscent of "Tenebre") with the fetishistic sharp objects, to the bizarre fantasy storyline revolving around Asia's character, everything in this film was a ballsy, jubilant return to form for the greatest horror filmmaker in history. It is a brutal, offensive, strangely gorgeous work of art just like "Deep Red," "Tenebre," and "Suspiria." I loved every second of it.
share"this film had some incredibly cool set pieces that rekindled my love for the guy. I liked "Trauma" and "Stendhal Syndrome,"
This film looked GREAT. From the acrobatic camera calisthenics and in-your-face brutality of the first murder in the museum, to the grotesque death of the lesbian couple (reminiscent of "Tenebre") with the fetishistic sharp objects, to the bizarre fantasy storyline revolving around Asia's character, everything in this film was a ballsy, jubilant return to form for the greatest horror filmmaker in history. It is a brutal, offensive, strangely gorgeous work of art just like "Deep Red," "Tenebre," and "Suspiria." I loved every second of it."
EXACTLY what you said!
I liked very much MOTHER OF TEARS,in my opinion Argento's best film since STENDHAL (even if i like too the underrated THE CARD PLAYER and the great JENIFER)
I can't wait to see it again,i'll buy the french dvd soon!
http://www.myspace.com/guillaumep
http://darioargentofr.blogspot.com/
Yeah, I haven't seen MOTHER OF TEARS yet but I believe his more recent films are just misunderstood. I loved TRAUMA, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, SLEEPLESS, and his MASTERS OF HORROR episodes. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, not so much, but I applaud him for trying something very different, although he failed. THE CARD PLAYER was good, it just wasn't a stand out Argento film. DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK? is, to me, his cheesiest film ever but that can be forgiven on the account of being a television film.
So far, I've seen every Argento film other than FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET and MOTHER OF TEARS and I've found at least a little to like about all of them.
(SPOILERS)
I've been an Argento fan since the mid-70's and anxiously awaited
this final installation to the Three Mothers trilogy.
This film had a great premise, interesting story and amazingly
graphic murders. There was even one great "scare" scene when
Sally wakes up and a "demon" appears at the foot of her bed.
Sadly, Miss Argento's acting is probably the worst of her career,
and the story slides down into the catacombs of silliness from there.
Some good special effects (demons, murders) and some laughable
effects (toy baby thrown off bridge - you can even see the dolls
arm break off!) and some wooden acting by the films supporting
cast. Beautiful sets and colors are undermined by the idiotic
"rage" scenes of violence invading Rome. The appearences of
Daria Nicolodi and Udo Kier made me long for the days when
Argento still had ahold of the horror reigns. There's no
"misunderstanding" on my part, just a mediocre film with
terrible performances. Ahhh, what could have been....
"It is a brutal, offensive, strangely gorgeous work of art just like "Deep Red," "Tenebre," and "Suspiria." I loved every second of it."
Hocus Pocus must have scared the piss out of you, then.
"Beautiful sets and colors are undermined by the idiotic "rage" scenes of violence invading Rome."
Yeah, the street scuffles were really embarrassing. I can't believe Argento couldn't think of another way to depict 'the second fall of Rome'. Heh...
"The appearences of Daria Nicolodi and Udo Kier made me long for the days when
Argento still had ahold of the horror reigns."
Agreed.
"There's no "misunderstanding" on my part, just a mediocre film with terrible performances. Ahhh, what could have been...."
Agreed.
"Cain and Abel will go to Heaven... if they can make it through Hell!"
-Los Hijos Del Topo
"Hocus Pocus must have scared the piss out of you, then."
Wow, way to contribute something useful to the conversation, dude. Is there anything productive you have to say, besides echoing what everyone else has said and twice typing "Agreed" when somebody criticizes the film? This has to be one of the most inane posts I've ever read on this site. Are you 15 years old, or just a grown man who is woefully stupid and uneducated? Argento has produced a stylish and entertaining film that is certainly not up to the level of his 70s and 80s masterpieces, but nobody can deny that the horror scenes are something you would never find in another filmmaker's body of work. Just type "Disagreed" if you take offense to my post, you braindead loser.
"Argento has produced a stylish and entertaining film that is certainly not up to the level of his 70s and 80s masterpieces, but nobody can deny that the horror scenes are something you would never find in another filmmaker's body of work."
Actually, the only genuinely interesting scene in the entire film was the first ultra-violent murder, which looked and felt more like Fulci than anything else. Now we're only talking about the 'horror scenes'? Previously you typed you loved every second of Mother Of Tears, which means you loved the film's cackling witches straight out of Hocus Pocus [ Hence my Hocus Pocus remark ]. The natural assumption then would be that Hocus Pocus holds a special place in your heart.
"Just type "Disagreed" if you take offense to my post, you braindead loser."
I'm literally laughing out loud on this end - how can i possibly take offense to your post when it's so damn funny? I believe *YOU* are the one taking offense, Mr. Argento Fanboy. =D
"Cain and Abel will go to Heaven... if they can make it through Hell!"
-Los Hijos Del Topo
Actually, upon looking up your comment history, I am realizing that you most often type "Agreed" rather than coming up with any original thought of your own. And I'm SO glad you laughed out loud at my final comment -- it was meant to be funny, and to make fun of your inanity, and I'm so glad you got the joke, and that you are laughing at yourself along with the other readers. Even YOU think you're stupid. This is so great.
"The natural assumption then would be that Hocus Pocus holds a special place in your heart."
Gee, I really don't think that that would necessarily be the "natural assumption," but good for you for thinking you're spot-on and clever. Very few people who are serious about film would claim that Fulci could ever produce something that is comparable to Argento, even at Argento's worst, and that "Mother of Tears" is comparable to a Disney film.
"Actually, upon looking up your comment history, I am realizing that you most often type "Agreed" rather than coming up with any original thought of your own."
Only when i feel someone's statement sums up my own opinion well enough.
"And I'm SO glad you laughed out loud at my final comment -- it was meant to be funny, and to make fun of your inanity, and I'm so glad you got the joke, and that you are laughing at yourself along with the other readers. Even YOU think you're stupid. This is so great."
Actually i was laughing at the negative reaction my comments were able to get from you, to the point of immediately being called a 'brainless loser'. I have to hand it to myself for getting you so angry so quickly. =D
"Very few people who are serious about film would claim that Fulci could ever produce something that is comparable to Argento, even at Argento's worst, and that "Mother of Tears" is comparable to a Disney film."
You're kidding, right? I enjoy Argento's 'best' like anyone else, but I'd say they're inferior to Fulci's Beatrice Cenci, Don't Torture A Duckling, The New York Ripper, etc. Argento couldn't help but blatantly plagiarize [ Or is it 'reference'? ] key elements from Sunset Boulevard [ The homicidal has-been actress ] and School Of The Holy Beast [ The murder victim hung from her neck amidst shattered stained glass ] for Deep Red and Suspiria; at least Fulci twisted and subverted his inspirations into something different. As for comparing Mother Of Tears with Disney's Hocus Pocus, i can't think of anything more fitting to illustrate Argento's downfall, seeing that Disney's Snow White & The Seven Dwarves was a major influence on Suspiria. My, how the mighty fall...
I wouldn't put it past Argento to attempt intellectualizing M.O.T. by saying it's a 'satire of the contempoary image of witch-craft' or something. I'm glad Fulci's dead - Argento's current state could very well have been his, if Fulci was alive today. Maybe Argento should have died 12 years ago too.
"Cain and Abel will go to Heaven... if they can make it through Hell!"
-Los Hijos Del Topo
If you ask me the film still held its own despite the change in standards for today's "horror" movies. It certainly wasn't bad considering it was supposed to be the final part in a trilogy in which the 2nd part was made over twenty years ago. And it still had that good ol Argento quirkiness. :D
And you can tell the rating is low cause Saw fanboy losers sit on here and vote over and over with different accounts. Doesn't change the fact that it was a great film.
Tommy: lol did you just have 4 different mood swings in that PM?
:D :( :@ :<3
And you can tell the rating is low cause Saw fanboy losers sit on here and vote over and over with different accounts. Doesn't change the fact that it was a great film.Seriously? You are delusional if you think there is more than one person who would bother to do that simply to downvote a film. But don't take our (the layman) word for it. Check out the critics rating:
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I, too, simply love the movie. It took me back to the days of "Opera" and Argento produced fare like "The Church" and "Demons".
Loved the music, the visuals, the gore. I was VERY pleased.
And for the record, I haven't really enjoyed an Argento movie since, well, "Opera".
Most people who hate this movie simply can't understand that there can exist an opinion outside of their own negative ones.
I think the problem was this: SUSPIRIA and the concept of the Three Mothers was born in Daria Nicolodi. She helped Argento write SUSPIRIA and INFERNO, but except for an appearance here, the script duties were left to Dario and a pair of Americans whose entire resume combined is virtual wall-to-wall remakes of 70s and 80s films. Fans actually EXPECTED this to be good?? Daria truly is his muse, regardless of how they feel about each other now (bad blood, from what I've heard). She was involved with all his best films and it's just a pity that he didn't ask her, "How should the Three Mothers story end?" As it stands now, even the much-troubled INFERNO is a better film than this one.
shareArgento lost his magic and that is pretty disappointing while he had 25 years to make this third installement.
shareI literally WORSHIP Argento, but it was so extremly disappointed by this movie. Not only this being an Argento film, but a sequel to two of my favorite movies of all time - SUSPIRIA and INFERNO. In the first two, the gore was artistic, and gorgeous to look at, Argento had the ability to turn grusome scenes into beauty. But not in this film. The deaths are splatter,over the top and tasteless. There is pure CGI, terrible acting, bad story that is a big rip-off of "Omen III: The Final Conflict" and bad Hollywood cliches. There was some nice pothography though, specially at mater lacrymarum´s house at the end, but WERE ARE THE BAVAESQUE COLORS?! Claudio Simonetti´s score was also horrible. I can´t believe it´s the same guy who wrote the most haunting score in a motion picture (Suspiria) and other goodies such as Phenomena, Tenebre and Profondo Rosso.
shareI have yet to see the apparently atrocious 'Phantom of the Opera', but I will say with heavy heart that this is by far the worst movie Argento has directed. The acting, direction and script were all well below par and the score was nothing to write home about. What a scalding disappointment.
"Wow, BOB, Wow!"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098936/
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I agree that this is horrible, yet I cannot turn away. Dario has some great visual ideas, but this film is very thin on plot and the acting is horrible.
shareI agree. This movie had some interesting ideas but for the most part was just bad. I believe the original complaints for Suspiria and Inferno were "all style and no substance" well, the style is gone anyway.
shareI enjoyed it for it's campiness(Still haven't decided if it was done deliberately, if it was, GENIUS!!) but one thing that keeps getting brought up is the acting. I'm not sure if I'm seeing the same Susperia and Inferno as the other people on this board, but the acting in those two movies are hardly Oscar caliber. Some peoples posts are offended by Asia's performance? It's about on par with the other leads in the previous films.
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I really don't think so. Jessica Harper's performance as Susy Banion in SUSPIRIA is way much better than Asia Argento's nancypancy performance as Sarah Mandy in MOTHER OF TEARS which considering Asia's great acting talent, surprised me as how badly she acted in the film or was possibly badly directed by her father in this film. Asia gave much better performances in THE STENDHAL SYNDROME & TRAUMA than in MOTHER OF TEARS. Harper's performance in SUSPIRIA is widely considered by many Argento fans as the best heroine in an Argento film so far with Jennifer Connelly in PHENOMENA & Stefania Rocca in THE CARD PLAYER a close second and third in that list of great heroines in Argento films.
I've been a fan of Argento's films since 1969 with BIRD. Mother of Tears is horrible. Everything about it was bad and Asia was horrendous. It's hard to believe this is an Argento film, starting with the shockingly drab cinematography. Dario still has severe issues with women but I have to commend him for casting that Israeli actress as the Mother. What a hottie.
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I agree with your opinion.
Just out on DVD here, and I have to agree - it's not "weaker than his usual," it's not "mediocre"...it's just flat-out bad. If "Do You Like Hitchcock?" was a small step in the right direction, "Mother of Tears" is three giant leaps back. Never mind the acting - this is Dario Argento, his movies are *always* poorly acted, we forgive him for it because he's such a fantastic visual director...isn't he? Honestly, if not for the final fifteen minutes and his name on the credits, I wouldn't have known this was an Argento film. Suspiria's story was weak, and Inferno really had no story at all to speak of, but both of them were still very watchable and unique, due almost entirely to Argento's fantastic use of color and architecture, as well as the Goblins' excellent soundtrack. "Mother of Tears" displays almost none of the visual innovation that was evident in the previous films in the trilogy. Despite a couple of welcome cameos from Nicolodi and Kier, and some vaguely surprising twists connecting this to the other movies, this was just painfully, inexcusably boring.
shareI saw this in the theater at a small cinema in Oakmont, PA. Near the end of it, the audience had turned this crapfest into MST3K and were laughing hysterically. I have to admit that this is the only thing that made me stay and not walk out.
Please Argento, give us the true finish to the Three Mothers. This can't be it!
Argento is really not that great of a film maker and he never was. the only aspect of cinema he mastered was visuals, and it's no coincidence that his best films were also his most aesthetically pleasing. without visuals the man is nothing; he has no idea how to direct actors or tell coherent stories. His skill was creating the right atmosphere to tell a story through visual means and now he can't even do that.
Asia is a terrible actress. yes she is attractive,but if she is a good actress then Jessica Alba is too.
i had to laugh at the pathetic 'rushed' introduction to MOT that was full of ridiculous coincidences. he is still living in the 70's.
I must agree - it's really pretty bad - no suspense, no tension, no atmosphere!! A major disapointment from a once great director who has sadly lost his way.
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