Mario Bava

Dorado (Dorado) 2007-04-23 15:01:04 UTC #1

I have the feeling that there is some Mario Bava fans in here so I thought I would start a thread on Him.
My personal interrest in his films is rather new however, therefore I would be interrested to hear which of his films you think is his best.

I just received the Bava collection volume 1 from Anchor Bay.
Besides that I have ordered Rabid Dogs also from AB.
My only experience with him prior too this was his awful SW Roy colt and whinchester Jack.

Yodlaf_Peterson (Yodlaf Peterson) 2007-04-23 15:21:54 UTC #2

Bava has made some outstanding films.
here are a few that are required viewing in my opinion.

BLACK SUNDAY
BLACK SABBATH
LISA AND THE DEVIL
BARON BLOOD
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
SHOCK

the list could go on but these are quality films, Bava also shot the underwater sequence at the start of Dario Argento's INFERNO.

Dorado (Dorado) 2007-04-23 15:30:18 UTC #3

BLACK SUNDAY.
BLACK SABBATH.
and THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is part of the great box-set from Anchor Bay.
All 3 films are great, my personal favorit of those 3 is BLACK SUNDAY, this is a brilliant pice of film nior.

Yodlaf_Peterson (Yodlaf Peterson) 2007-04-23 15:35:43 UTC #4

i didn't know what was on the anchor bay boxset as i already have the image discs, does anybody know if it is worth upgrading to the AB release?

Dorado (Dorado) 2007-04-23 15:48:12 UTC #5

The Bava Box-set from Anchor Bay contains the following.

Black Sunday
Ratio 1.66:1
87 min
English + english sub.

Black Sabbath
Ratio 1.77:1
92 min
Italian with English Subtitles.

The girl who knew too much
Ratio 1.77:1
86 min
Italian with English Subtitles.

Knives of the avanger
Ratio 2.35:1
85 min
Italian with English Subtitles.

Kill baby...Kill
Ratio 1.85:1
80 min
Italian with English Subtitles.

All films have lots of extras.

Yodlaf_Peterson (Yodlaf Peterson) 2007-04-23 16:19:27 UTC #6

all the image discs were good transfers (i gather these are better) but the old VCI kill baby...kill was a pretty shit print.

Dorado (Dorado) 2007-04-23 18:02:33 UTC #7

Wether an upgrade is necessary or not depends of course on the quality of the discs you already have. One thing I can say for sure is that the quality on the AB boxset is excellent.

Silver (Silver) 2007-04-23 23:46:15 UTC #8

All great films........also Five Dolls For An August Moon, and Planet Of The Vampires are very good, and personally i very much like The Whip And The Body. It's a little slow and melodramatic for some but given the subject matter, it's quite a startling film for the time it was made.

Oh and did someone mention Roy Coltand Winchester Jack? That was one of the most disappointing couple of hours i've spent in front of the TV! :-\

kevinbellamy (kevinbellamy) 2007-04-24 13:26:15 UTC #9

I plan to pick up that boxset. Fangoria has been running ads for it in every damn issue

Yodlaf_Peterson (Yodlaf Peterson) 2007-04-24 13:37:03 UTC #10

I didn't know that Fangoria was still about! i haven't read it for years

kevinbellamy (kevinbellamy) 2007-04-24 13:44:28 UTC #11

I was a subscriber around 2002-2003 then stop reading issues till a few months ago and i finally decided to save a lil money and order a subscription again.

Great magazine but extremely expensive. $9 issue? WTF

Check out Rue Morgue also. I like the material they cover.

El_Pistolero (El Pistolero) 2007-05-01 05:04:14 UTC #12

I really liked Blood and Black Lace, the color and lighting, it's like nothing I've ever seen, until I saw this film.

Bill_san_Antonio (Bill san Antonio) 2007-05-03 21:55:20 UTC #13

Now that I think of it I haven't seen that many Bava films as I remembered. Black Sunday, Bay of Blood, Hatchet for the Honeymoon and of course Roy Colt. And I just watched Kidnapped.

I've also seen Lisa and the Devil but the version I saw was called House of Exorcism and I'm not that sure if it can be called Bava film really. Haven't seen the original version but this one was very strange.

Yodlaf_Peterson (Yodlaf Peterson) 2007-05-03 21:57:36 UTC #14

Lisa and the devil is a much better cut of the film without all that exorcist crap that thay added to the house of exorcism!

Bill_san_Antonio (Bill san Antonio) 2007-05-03 22:02:47 UTC #15

Yes, all that stuff seems so out of place. Do they any other differences?

Yodlaf_Peterson (Yodlaf Peterson) 2007-05-04 07:54:05 UTC #16

i can't remember what other differences there are but Lisa is a superb film where for a quick cash in they totally ruined it with Exorcism!

slaughterlord (slaughterlord) 2007-05-11 01:53:42 UTC #17

Just For Those That Don't Know AB Used The Same Transfers As The Old IMAGE Dvds,And Filtered Them.
On The Plus Side The Their Version Of KILL BABY KILL Has A Much Sharper Image Than The Still Unreleased Dark Sky Version.

Yodlaf_Peterson (Yodlaf Peterson) 2007-05-11 09:13:00 UTC #18

Do you think it's worth me selling my Image releases and getting the Anchor Bay boxset, it hasn't got all the image releases in it has it?

slaughterlord (slaughterlord) 2007-05-11 16:10:26 UTC #19

I'm Holding On To Mine,And I Refuse To Buy The AB Box Set.They Took The Cheap Way Out.Instead Of Seeking Out Better Source Prints They Just Cleaned Up The
Old Image Releases,While Doing This They Removed Not Only The Grain But Also Some Of The Color.(The Same Way No-Shame Did With CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD).

slaughterlord (slaughterlord) 2007-05-11 16:17:26 UTC #20

The Set Contains:
BLACK SABBATH,BLACK SUNDAY,GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH,KILL BABY KILL& KNIVES OF THE AVENGER