Mario Bava

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

Re: Mario Bava

#126 Post by Matt » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:32 pm

You mean about his setting the film in 17th and 19th century Moldavia, or was there some other historical reference you mean? The film's relationship to the Gogol story on which it's ostensibly based (but actually takes only a couple of cues from) is somewhat interesting. The Eastern European setting is one of the things that stuck (as was the exploding coffin), but I don't think Bava really knew anything about historical Moldavia. The story is set in Ukraine, but I think somebody (Bava, one of the other writers, or maybe just the translator at the dubbing company) wanted to highlight the vampire angle, so it got changed to Moldavia (which echoes the Carpathian setting of Stoker's Dracula).

There's a bunch of historical fudging in the film. I think the dragon insignia that shows up throughout the film is referred to as a griffin. Dragons have a pretty rich Slavic mythology, but griffins are more of a Middle Eastern thing. And, indeed, as everyone knows from the Coppola version of Dracula, the count was a member of the Order of the Dragon, defenders of Christianity against the Ottomans.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Mario Bava

#127 Post by knives » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:35 pm

The religious aspect particularly in reference to the torture thing that opens the film was mainly what i was referring to, but that whole mismash as you've noted is pretty interesting (to me at least).

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

Re: Mario Bava

#128 Post by Matt » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:51 pm

Yes, that whole punishment with the masks is something I should find out about: did Bava invent that or is there a historical precedent? I'm sure Tim Lucas' book has the answer (but I'm trying to avoid just writing a Reader's Digest Condensed Book version of Lucas' work).

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feihong
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:20 pm

Re: Mario Bava

#129 Post by feihong » Sun Sep 09, 2012 3:27 am

DVDBeaver has caps of the new discs, and they look pretty gorgeous.

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: Mario Bava

#130 Post by Ashirg » Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:32 pm

Maybe this can be moved to the first page -

Definitive releases -

As Director

La maschera del demonio / Black Sunday / The Mask of Satan (1960) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

Ercole al centro alla terra / Hercules at the Center of the Earth / Hercules in the Haunted World (1961) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [DVD Beaver comparison]

Gli invasori / Erik the Conqueror / Fury of the Vikings (1961) - Arrow Video blu-ray RA/RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

La ragazza che sapeva troppo / The Girl Who Knew Too Much / The Evil Eye (1963) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

I tre volti della paura / Black Sabbath (1963) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB; Kino Lorber blu-ray RA of US cut has a new Tim Lucas commentary [DVD Beaver comparison]

La frusta e il corpo / The Whip and the Body / What (as John M. Old, 1963) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA; 88 Films blu-ray RB, e-m-s DVD R2 (different color) [DVD Beaver comparison]

Sei donna per l'assassino / Blood and Black Lace (1964) - Arrow Video blu-ray RA/RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

La strada per Fort Alamo / Arizona Bill / The Road to Fort Alamo (as John M. Old, 1964) - Wild East DVD (includes English dub); Koch Media DVD R2 [DVD Savant review]

Terrore nello spazio / Planet of the Vampires (1965) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [DVD Beaver comparison]

Coltelli del vendicatore / Knives of the Avenger (1966) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [Rock Shock Pop review]

Operazione paura / Kill, Baby...Kill! (1966) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA / Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

Spie vengono dal semifreddo / Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [DVD Active review]

Diabolik / Danger: Diabolik (1968) - Shout! Factory blu-ray RA [DVD Beaver comparison]

5 bambole per la luna d'agosto / Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB [Mondo Digital review]

Il rosso segno della follia / Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) - Redemption / Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [DVD Beaver comparison]

Roy Colt e Winchester Jack / Roy Colt and Winchester Jack (1970) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [DVD Drive-In Review]

Reazione a catena / Twitch of the Death Nerve / Bay of Blood (1971) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga / Baron Blood (1972) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

Quante volte...quella notte / Four Times That Night (1972) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [Rock Shock Pop review]

La casa dell'escorcismo / Lisa and the Devil (1973) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

Cani arrabbiati / Rabid Dogs (1974) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]

Schock / Beyond the Door II / Shock (1977) - Arrow Video blu-ray RA/RB [DVD Beaver review]

The Venus of Ille (an episode of The Devil's Game (1981) - Severin blu-ray RA/RB

Co-Directorial Efforts

La donna piu bella del mondo / The World's Most Beautiful Woman / Beautiful But Dangerous (with Robert Z. Leonard, 1954) - Italian, Spanish DVD without English subtitles

I vampiri / The Vampires (with Riccardo Freda, 1956) - Arrow Video blu-ray RB (on Black Sunday disc)

Le fatiche di Ercole / Hercules / The Labors of Hercules (with Pietro Francisci, 1957) - DVDY Films France R2 DVD [DVD Beaver comparison]

Ercole e la Regina di Lidia / Hercules Unchained (with Pietro Francisci, 1959) - Concorde Germany R2 DVD (best video presentation, but looks like this version is edited) [10K Bullets review]

Caltiki, il mostro immortale / Caltiki - The Immortal Monster (with Riccardo Freda, 1959) - Arrow Video blu-ray RA/RB [DVD Beaver review]

La battaglia di Maratona / The Giant of Marathon (with Jacques Tourneur, 1959) - no good versions, but Retromedia DVD is probably the best option.

Agi Murad, il diavolo bianco / The White Warrior (with Riccardo Freda, 1959) - no good versions, but VCI DVD is probably the best option.

Esther e il re / Esther and the King (with Raoul Walsh, 1960) - KSM Klassiker Germany R2 DVD [DVD Beaver comparison]

Le meravigli di Aladio / The Wonders of Aladdin (with Henry Levin, 1961) - Kino Lorber blu-ray RA [CineSavant review]

L'ultimo del Vichingi / The Last of the Vikings (with Giacomo Gentilomo, 1962) - no good versions. There are many PD releases.

Le avventure di Ulisse / The Adventures of Ulysses (with Franco Rossi, 1968 - feature length version of the Italian TV mini-series "Odissea", which includes the episode "Polifemo", directed by Mario Bava) - TV series are on Italian DVD, without English subtitles

Inferno (with Dario Argento, 1980) - Blue Underground blu-ray RA / Arrow Video blu-ray RB [DVD Beaver comparison]
Last edited by Ashirg on Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:20 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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DeprongMori
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
Location: San Francisco

Re: Mario Bava

#131 Post by DeprongMori » Mon Oct 31, 2016 12:07 am

Has anyone else encountered problems with The Mask of Satan on Arrow's Black Sunday BluRay?

Mine is repeatedly freezing at 38:11 through 39:04. This is my first play of the disc fresh out of the shrink wrap.

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MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
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Re: Mario Bava

#132 Post by MichaelB » Mon Oct 31, 2016 3:07 am

Definitely a faulty disc. I QCed this title and had to watch it multiple times because of the various soundtracks, so I would definitely have noticed.

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Ovader
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:56 am
Location: Canada

Re: Mario Bava

#133 Post by Ovader » Tue Aug 28, 2018 5:29 am

A few days ago Tim Lucas mentioned he is working on a commentary for the forthcoming blu-ray of Hercules in the Haunted World for Germany's Koch Media. You can access Lucas' Facebook profile for occasional updates.

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What A Disgrace
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:34 pm
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Re: Mario Bava

#134 Post by What A Disgrace » Sun Sep 02, 2018 9:58 pm

I suppose that means we can expect an Arrow and or Kino release sometime in the near future. This is my most sought-after of the Mario Bava films I have yet to see, so this is an exciting prospect to say the least.


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Ovader
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:56 am
Location: Canada

Re: Mario Bava

#136 Post by Ovader » Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:19 pm

This is news to me but maybe not to others as I happened to come across a 2006 post on Video WatchBlog that American International Pictures (AIP) made attempts to film a version of H. P. Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror" that would have starred Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee to be directed by Mario Bava. What a missed opportunity as I can't imagine the wonderful possibilities of that collaboration if that project came to fruition!

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feihong
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:20 pm

Re: Mario Bava

#137 Post by feihong » Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:48 pm

Aw. That would have been so cool. It would have been a classic.

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Ovader
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:56 am
Location: Canada

Re: Mario Bava

#138 Post by Ovader » Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:47 am

A brief article about the unmade Scarlet Friday aka The Dunwich Horror.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Mario Bava

#139 Post by dwk » Mon Nov 14, 2022 5:02 pm

Severin just announced another Black Friday title and it is the television series The Devil's Game, the second episode of the series is Bava's final film, The Venus of Ille.

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: Mario Bava

#140 Post by Ashirg » Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:21 pm

88 Films is releasing The Whip and the Body in UK in March, hopefully with correct color.

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jsteffe
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:00 am
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Mario Bava

#141 Post by jsteffe » Thu Mar 16, 2023 11:27 am

There's an except from the new restoration of THE WHIP AND THE BODY on YouTube.

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: Mario Bava

#142 Post by Ashirg » Mon Jun 26, 2023 7:38 pm

Does anyone know about Malomba Films? They are releasing The Road to Fort Alamo.

https://malombrafilms.com/shop/ols/prod ... on-blu-ray

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