The Stendhal Syndrome

The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

La sindrome di Stendhal

Murder is an art — and she’s the canvas!

A young policewoman slowly goes insane while tracking down an elusive serial rapist/killer through Italy when she herself becomes a victim of the brutal man's obsession.

Date of release
1996-01-26
TMDB
5.5 / 10 (304)
Runtime
2h 0m
Genres
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Director
Dario Argento

Casting

Interesting facts

The Stendhal Syndrome (Ital. La Sindrome di Stendhal) is a 1996 Italian psychological horror film written and directed by Dario Argento and starring his daughter Asia Argento, with Thomas Kretschmann and Marco Leonardi. It was a critical and commercial success in Italy, grossing ₤5,443,000,000 Italian lira.

Production

Upon release, the alternative title was The Stendhal System.

Bridget Fonda was originally set to star in the role of Anna, but dropped out before the start of production, and Jennifer Jason Leigh was considered as a possible replacement before Dario Argento eventually cast his own daughter, Asia, in the role. Thomas Kretschmann was cast as Alfredo Grossi because he had previously worked with Asia on the film La Reine Margot (1994) and she recommended him to her father.

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

The work that Anna literally steps into is a painting by Rembrandt, depicting 17th century policemen and titled The Night Watch. The painting that causes Anna to faint in the museum is Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, by Bruegel.

The footage of Anna underwater after she faints in the gallery was shot in the sea. The huge grouper fish that Anna kisses was a remote model that was being pulled through the water by cables attached to a small float on the ocean's surface. Mere moments after wrapping the underwater shoot, the fish stopped working.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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