If you aren’t sure who director Luca Guadagnino is, don’t worry because you will. His newest film, “Call Me by Your Name,” is almost ready for release, and is going to put the director on the map in a big, big way. The picture has been getting tons of awards-season buzz, and as happens with every buzzworthy director, fans are clamoring for what’s next. For Guadagnino, what’s next is a remake of none other than Dario Argento’s “Suspiria.”
In a recent interview with Criterion, Guadagnino gives a lot of great info about “Call Me by Your Name,” but also gives out some details about the upcoming “Suspiria”:
“I have three months until I finish it. It’s a very special film, and I’m proud of it. I wonder all the time how people will react to it, being that it is based on a masterpiece. I often find myself in the position of saying ‘Oh, it’s ridiculous!’ when I hear stories that they want to remake a movie like ‘8½,’ so I don’t know if I’m going to be served the same dish. But I can say that my ‘Suspiria’ is a very personal film; it’s like oxygen to me. When I saw the original movie thirty-two years ago, the emotion I felt was so strong, so mind-blowing, and so important to my upbringing. I wanted to investigate the experience I had watching that film.”
For fans of the original “Suspiria” that worried about this remake, you have to be pretty relieved to hear these words from Guadagnino. He’s clearly reverential to the film, calling it a masterpiece. The director is well aware that there are going to be fans that cringe at the very thought of a remake of the Argento classic, and recognizes his own reaction when he hears news of redos of classic films. However, even with that being said, he says he’s turning in a deeply personal film that he’s proud of.
Of course, he would never say otherwise, but these are the exact words that can give Argento fans a little bit of hope. Yes, remakes tend to be reviled, at worst, and underwhelm, at best, but perhaps Guadagnino has something special on his hands.
Guadagnino’s “Suspiria” is expected to release sometime in 2018. Before that, make sure you go see “Call Me by Your Name” when its released November 24th. You’ll be very happy you did.