Just curious, if you're a Italian horror fan, what Mario Bava films are your favorites? You may divide your vote if you wish, like I had to: Artistic/Cinematic level: Dangeriabolik & Black Sabbath 70s Sleaze level: Five Dolls for an August Moon Anyone else?
One of my favorite directors. Love "Black Sunday" the most, but also love "Bay of Blood", "Blood and Black Lace", "Black Sabbath", "Shock", "Kill Baby Kill" with "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" and "Planet of the Vampires" right behind.
I will say that 5 Dolls is probably the least "horrific" of Bava's films with a "murder mystery" angle but it's' portrayal of 70s Euro trash, with their decadence common to Giallo films of the time, paired with the loungey music is fun. And yes, Black Sunday is great, almost worth seeing for its terrific cinematography alone..
Except for the endcap, which is embarassingly stupid.
The color and atmosphere are so seductive. The re-cut English version has more Karloff and the proper ending but the Italian version is a seriously better film. Get the Arrow blu-ray for the Italian version.
After that, I liked BLACK SUNDAY (1960) very much (again, watch the European version on the Arrow blu-ray which also has the English cut), followed by PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (the Kino blu-ray).
LISA AND THE DEVIL (1972) is Bava's most potent nightmare and sophisticated film after BLACK SABBATH. Watch the Italian version on the Kino blu-ray.
After the first couple of viewings I stopped watching the slasher / giallos, although I have them in the box sets. They are fine exercises in visual style and offer a certain cleverness in how to kill people but the stories don't reward repeated viewing.
THE WHIP AND THE BODY (1964) needs a better transfer before I can recommend it. The film is a Gothic to relish but the DVD's are too brown, whereas the blu-rays are over-saturated with the color blue and the densities so dark all detail is lost. I suppose the browned DVD from VCI is the least inaccurate.
iabolik & Black Sabbath
