ISMN: "Black Sabbath" (1963) Thursday March 22nd 7:30 PM @ the Art City Mansion (Springville)
This week's feature:
Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath" (1963)
aka "I Tre Volti Della Paura"
VHS/English AIP Version/around 93 Mins/Not Rated
This film has been on the ISMN waiting list for a long long time. From the same director of such favorite films that we've shown in years past like "Danger Diabolik" and "Planet of the Vampires" comes this stylish trilogy of three chilling short tales.
Bava made two versions of this film. One in Italian and one in English. I'm showing the rare AIP English version only available (to my knowledge) on VHS. I love this version better, mainly because it's how I was introduced to this film on late night television as a young lad.
Some of Karloff's host segments are different in the English version, and I prefer the supernatural slant given in English to the second giallo story "The Telephone" in the middle of the film. (This is the first story in the Italian aka European version of the film). Funny how the English version is now the rare one, when it used to be the other way around.
(Above: The AIP Engligh Version VHS + The DVD cover of the European Version release.)
But first, a cameo review by cartoonist/film historian and Video Watchdog writer Steve Bissette connecting last week's film "Queen of Spades" to tonight's feature:
(Above: A random photo I found of Steve Bissette (friend/comic book artist of Saga of the Swamp Thing/1963/Tyrant etc.) and me off the internet. Back when he was my mentor at the Center for Cartoon Studies.)
The overdue notes on QUEEN OF SPADES:
* This adaptation of the haunting Alexander Pushkin 1833 short story was shot in England in 1948 under incredibly impoverished conditions: reportedly, if the camera were turned even a fraction of an inch to the right or left, the edge of the tiny sets would have betrayed the fragility of the screen illusions. Despite the paucity of money and means, director Thorold Dickinson made the most of what he had—including a marvelous cast (Dame Edith Evens, Anthony Dawson, Miles Malleson, etc.)—crafting one of the most deliciously chilling of all British pre-Hammer horrors. Dickinson knew how to raise hackles, having previously helmed the original film version of Patrick Hamilton's play GASLIGHT (1940), starring Anton Walbrook; Walbrook stars here, and was responsible for the drafting of Dickinson with only five days notice when the scheduled director walked and the project neared implosion. Fans of Mario Bava's own inventive, usually low budget Italian horror films of the 1960s and 1970s will recognize Bava's nod to Dickenson's QUEEN in "The Drop of Water" episode of BLACK SABBATH (1963)... to say more might spoil first-time viewers of both films. The less you know going in, the better.
The Black Sabbath storyline from IMDB:
A trio of atmospheric horror tales about: A woman terrorized in her apartment by phone calls from an escaped prisoner from her past; a Russian count in the early 1800s who stumbles upon a family in the countryside trying to destroy a particularly vicious line of vampires; and a 1900-era nurse who makes a fateful decision while preparing the corpse of one of her patients - an elderly medium who died during a seance. Written by scgary66
Some fave reviews from the Interweb:
Welcome to Mario Bava..., 5 October 2005
Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England
1945's Dead of Night introduced horror cinema to omnibus films, and Mario Bava's Black Sabbath brought it back! Italian produced films were making a lot of money in the early sixties, and hot on the heels of his success with Black Sunday, former cinematographer and horror genius Mario Bava was brought in to direct this compendium of horror tales. The great Boris Karloff adds a further lure to the proceedings, and these two giants were on to a winner before they started filming. This film is like an overview of what Mario Bava is all about. The first tale, a Giallo-like thriller, echoes films such as The Girl Who Knew Too Much and Blood and Black Lace, while tale number two; The Wardulak, is pure Gothic horror, a la Black Sunday. The climax story, The Drop of Water, is the most horror orientated of the trio and gives a good early showing of the adrenaline that would go on to make the likes of Baron Blood and Bay of Blood the great films that they are. Mario Bava has a lot of fans and many of his films could easily be considered his best, but there is no doubt for me. The best film Bava ever made is Black Sabbath.
And you will live in terror..., 30 March 2008 (Condensed)
Author: chaos-rampant from Greece
"I don't know if Sam Arkoff knows it, but the moment AIP renamed "I Tre Volti Della Paura" into "Black Sabbath" for the American release they were writing 20th century history. A couple of years later a relatively unknown band from Birmingham, inspired by Mario Bava's Gothic horror anthology, would name their band Black Sabbath and proceed to become one of the most well known and influential bands of the last 30 years.
...What makes Black Sabbath so vibrant and captivating is the use of colour in lighting. Going against every rule and defying every sense of historic realism, Bava employs colours from every end of the palette (from magenta to cyan) and lights his sets in the most imaginative ways. It may seem arbitrary, and it may very well be, but the effect cannot be dismissed. It works. Imagine Seijun Suzuki circa Tokyo Drifter doing Black Sunday in colour and you get pretty close to what Bava strives for lighting-wise. There's a pop art sensibility that contrasts beautifully with the stern tone of the movie. Combined with misty exteriors, long shadows and a baroque opulence, Bava mutates Gothic horror into a unique beast that is simultaneously very familiar and extravagantly exotic.
What's even more admirable is that Black Sabbath is actually scary. Well not in the traditional sense anymore, no. But there are genuinely chilling moments. I can't even begin to imagine how horrifying the ending of A Drop of Water or Boris Karloff's face seen through a smudged glass in The Wurdulak would have been to unsuspecting audiences back in 1963.
In conclusion; seek this movie out, but know what you're getting into. This is old school Gothic horror with a unique visual flair, a penchant for atmosphere and a great Boris Karloff. In the Gothic horror Bava scale, I would rank it somewhere between Kill! Baby! Kill... (Bava's other masterpiece) and Lisa and the Devil, if that means anything."
I personally love this film very much. Not even knowing who Mario Bava was growing up, this was a film I watched time and time again. Like the review says above, this is stylish gothic horror and (pre-Suspiria) incredibly colored and designed. Absolutely beautiful, and something I consider somewhat of a masterpiece. This is definitely part of my TOP 3 favorite Bava films, though it's hard to decide which one I love best. It is however my favorite Karloff film by far. He's absolutely brilliant. I could ramble on and on about how much I love this film, but much has already been said by far too many people.
(Above: Can anyone explain this poster? It seems to be a poster for "Black Sunday" but it has the screaming nurse from "Black Sabbath")
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Bonus Short Film: Puppet animated horror drama "MUM" a student film by Nicholas Peterson. (Someone I used to home teach when I was in a ward full of Cal Arts students).
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Time of events: Thursday March 22nd @ 7:30 PM (or 7 PM if you want to see the next episode of Dungeons and Dragons: "The Hall of Bones" ;)
Place: The Art City Mansion - 363 w 300 s, Springville, UT
Free as always. Food and new friends always welcome.
Good Midnight to Ya,
(Above: Found this picture online of a zombie comic book anthology that I have a couple short stories in along with Steve Bissette (who also did the beautiful cover - I actually watched him draw some of this!), I hope it isn't our last. I never got a copy of the finished product!
Check out Steve's latest website here: http://srbissette.com/
