4K Restoration Of Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA To Screen In Berlin. Check Out The Trailer Here!

Dario Argento's nightmare ballet masterpiece Suspiria is heading back to the big screen in a brand new 4K restoration, as reported first by Variety. The project is a major undertaking, as the original 35mm elements of the film haven't weathered the passing of four decades terribly well. The new restoration is expected to premiere at next year's Berlinale in February in a special section, along with special theatrical screenings to follow.

According to Variety, Videa - the company who owns the rights to Suspiria - hired German lab, TLEFilms to work on the restoration. Of course, down the line there will be plenty of new home video options for Suspiria, which has had a spotty record on Blu-ray around the world. Only a few days ago, German film scholar Marcus Stiglegger posted images on his Facebook page showing the recording of a new video commentary for the 4K restoration.

Hardcore home video nerds will be aware that US cult specialists Synapse Films snapped up the US distribution rights back in 2013, and they have been working on a 4K restoration for the last couple of years. The version showing in Berlin will be a different scan of the film from the restoration that Synapse has been working on, so we can expect competing 4K versions of Suspiria in the coming year. The good news for North Americans is that we will get a restored Blu-ray of the film eventually, and it will likely also get a limited theatrical release, though it will be through a different company from the one announced above.

This follows closely on the news that the upcoming Suspiria remake has added original star Jessica Harper to the cast of their new project. Harper joins Chloe Moretz, Tilda Swinton, and Dakota Johnson in the impressively cast film to be directed by Luca Guadagnino. Guadagnino's previous films include the highly praised A Bigger Splash and I Am Love, both starring Swinton, and his pedigree lends a bit of class to this project that may have otherwise drawn instant condemnation.

Suspiria is truly one of the finest gems of Italian horror and the upcoming restoration is long overdue. Check out the new trailer below.