ShangOrama.com presents
a 20-hr Mario Bava mini-me Movie Marathon!!!
WOW, 9 of his 24 films will be screened over TWO back-to-back dusk to dawn nights. Y'arrr!!!
Christopher Lee (TW&TB) // Mario Bava (1914-1980) - dee Italian Hitchcock (even though he looks like Dali here) // Blood and Black Lace
Listen to MC Shanger & Carlo Coen's 35' radio interview promoting this & dee Dario Argento event on CKLN's CINEPHOBIA show!!! (((88.1 FM)))
Friday, August 17, 2007 - Gothic Horror night (doors open at 8pm)
9:00pm - Introduction to Mario Bava by Carlo Coen a U of T lecturer, via his hometown, Rome: 30' - to be followed immediately by dee documentary!!!
9:30pm - Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre by Garry S, Grant: 2000, 60' - a documentary about dee life'n'times of Bava [w//Tim Burton & John Carpenter]
11:00pm - The Mask of Satan La Maschera del Demonio: 1960, 87 ' - also known as, Black Sunday [Bava's 1st-film & stars dee legendary Barbara Steele]
1:00am - The Three Faces of Fear I Tre Volti della Paura: 1963, 92' - aka, Black Sabbath [w//Boris Karloff & is dee inspiration behind PULP FICTION (1994)]
3:00am - The Whip and The Body La Frusta e il Corpo: 1963, 91' - starring Christopher Lee in quite possibly his best role-ever, after LOTR of course!!!
5:00am - Kill, Baby. . . Kill! Operazione Paura: 1966, 85'- a very-real Transylvanian gothic tale [The last of four films released in 1966]
Saturday, August 18th - Giallo Thriller night (doors open at 8pm)
("Giallo" Italian for "yellow" refers to the yellow covers of the Italian crime novels of the era)
9:00pm - The Girl Who Knew Too Much La Ragazza che Sapeva Troppo: 1962, 92' - starring dee an evil-eyed Leticia Roman & John Saxon
11:00pm - Blood and Black Lace Sie Donne per L'assassino: 1964, 88' – aka, Six Women for the Murderer [chic Haute Couture fashion houses were never dee same after this]
1:00am - Diabolik 1967 [Released: Jan 1968), 100'- aka, Danger: Diabolik [BATMAN time: starring John Phillip Law (Diabolik) & sidekick (Eva) Marisa Mell; w//Terry-Thomas]
3:00am - Hatchet for the Honeymoon Il Rosso Segno della Follia: 1968 [Released: June 1970], 88'– 1st film after Diabolik [acute Oedipus-complex time folks]
5:00am - Bay of Blood Reazione a Catena: 1971, 84' – aka, Twitch of the Death Nerve; Ecology of a Crime [see dee genesis-film for dee FRIDAY THE 13th movies]
See you here @MAJLIS: 163 Walnut Ave.
---MAJLIS is exactly 1-1/2 bks due S. of Trinity-Bellwoods Church [which is on Queen W]; 1-bk W. Niagara [2-Little Lights W. Bathurst]---[[[View Map]]]
Remember, our Shanger & Daughter Cafe is just here for some of your shangin' comfort needs. OK? Shang! Shang! Shangers!!!
Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966)
Diabolik (1967)
(((Please print this 8-1/2"x11" poster and post it somewhere in your hood. Thanx Shangers!!! Y'arrr!!!)))
---Print/Download PDF version of this poster (1.4MB)---
Mario Bava was born on July 30, 1914, in San Remo, Italy. The son of cinematographer/special effects designer Eugenio Bava, young Mario grew up surrounded by film. So strong was his father's influence on him that Mario gave up his initial desire to be a painter to pursue a career as a cinematographer. He got his break in the 1930s, assisting his father initially, and then branching off as a distinguished cinematographer in his own right. By the 1950s, Bava's innovative lighting techniques and his genius at creating realistic special effects on a shoestring cemented him as one of Italy's top film technicians. … Just as much as Hitchcock, Bava's films have had a tremendous influence on the development of the modern horror/thriller film, yet his genius is only just beginning to be recognized. Bava will perhaps never find the audience acceptance of a Hitchcock -- his films are too stylized, too disturbing and too weird for that type of adulation -- but for serious film buffs, his filmography remains one of the most distinctive and consistently satisfying in the history of film.
Among his earliest works as Director of Photography were two shorts by Roberto Rossellini: Il tacchino prepotente and La vispa Teresa (both 1940). Bava spent the next twenty years refining his craft, serving as a cinematographer on nearly thirty features before directing his first film THE MASK OF SATAN (La Maschera del demonio, 1960), at the age of forty-six. His subsequent career could be understood as a continuation by other means of his work as cinematographer, for it is clear that Bava's approach to filmmaking is primarily cinematographic. Bava's films are primarily about the affective qualities of light and shade, of colour and movement. He is credited as his own cinematographer on eight of his twenty-four features, but even when he did not officially shoot his films Bava took an active role in the design of each image: setting up the lights, taking charge of the little red wagon which served as his makeshift dolly, creating optical effects with glass mattes, etc.’ [Just like Kubrick folks!!!]
Mario Bava once described his extreme production methods as such, "Then, I had to make films in a hurry: twelve days at most. With everything in my head. I used to shoot having the editing already clear in my mind, knowing where to cut, without wasting anything, not even a foot of film." I love his films!!! Bava always prided himself on bringing his films not only on time, but on budget. WOW, eh!!! But then again dee "big bullshits" he put up with. Goddamn B-producers. Bava explains, “I think of myself as one who manages to get along. I don't care about being successful, I just want to go on and on. My father used to tell me this, and he was in the movies since 1906. I'll never be another Antonioni; I love to improvise, to solve problems, to create new scenes out of emergency. In my opinion a good director shouldn't do this: he should stick to the original script and schedule. I'll accept anything they give to me. I am too willing to accommodate any difficulty. This is not the way one creates masterpieces. Also, I'm too cheerful and the producers don't like that: they want people who take things very seriously, and above all, who take them seriously. But how can I? SO, after putting up with all this big bullshits, I shoot a film and then I run to the nearest bank to collect the cheque in order to pay the arrears, taxes and so forth, and guess what? It's a dud cheque, and I've worked for free.” For shame folks!!! Revenge is at hand tonight!!!
For a director whose name is so little-known by the general public, Mario Bava's films have had a tremendous impact on the development of modern cinema!!! In America, Bava's film BAY OF BLOOD served as the unacknowledged inspiration for Paramount's lamentable FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH series, which kicked off in 1980, the year of Bava's untimely death. The previous year, Ridley Scott's blockbuster ALIEN impressed viewers with its "inspired" view of outer space. Little did critics or viewers realize it, but some of ALIEN's key set pieces (the exploration of a fossilized space craft, for instance) were lifted -- almost verbatim -- from Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES. Even more prophetically, Bava's 1964 masterpiece BLOOD AND BLACK LACE served as the blueprint for all subsequent slasher films - including those films of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci.
Fortunately, not all of Bava's American protégées have borrowed from him without credit. Martin Scorsese has paid open tribute to Bava in many interviews. In fact, his stylish remake of CAPE FEAR (1991) can be seen as an exercise in Bava-esque stylistics, from the flamboyantly expressionistic cinematography of Freddie Francis to the shocking bursts of intense violence. In particular, the scene in which Joe Don Baker tries to bait the killer with a crude booby trap is a modified photocopy of an identical scene in THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. Tim Burton also pays tribute to Bava's odd brand of stylistics in his expressionistic BATMAN films. Apart from the obvious comic book model laid down by Bava in DIABOLIK, Burton has also singled out THE MASK OF SATAN and HERCULES AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH as particular favorites. An even more blatant homage has been paid by Quentin Tarantino, whose use of camera movement and cutting reveals a strong Bavian influence. Interestingly, Tarantino - who has noted that Bava is one of his one of his favorite directors - attempted to re-release BLOOD AND BLACK LACE to theatres in its original Italian dialect. The project fell through due to lack of interest on the part of the Italian owners of the film, but such an idea is a touching tribute in and of itself. Tarantino's model for his blockbuster hit PULP FICTION (1994) was none other than Bava's anthology THE THREE FACES OF FEAR (aka, Black Sabbath). Martin Scorsese was also inspired by this image, presenting Satan in the form of a little girl in his controversial film THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988), while David Lynch used one of KILL, BABY... KILL!'s most memorable scenes -- a man chasing his double through a time warp -- in the finale of his cult TV series TWIN PEAKS.
We certainly think if you stayed for dee whole programme here, we will give you a great grounding as to dee genius filmmaking of Mario Bava. For those that have seen some or all these nine films already, then this night is certainly not to be missed!!! I find that when you watch a filmmakers films in a compact time-frame of a movie marathon setting, you tend to see new themes emerging because of things you missed on previous viewings, You will then experience a nirvana of cornucopia delights as you finally arrive at the neither-regions-of-dee-mind of Mario Bava. To guide us through this journey is your humble narrator - MC Shanger - and one Carlo Coen, who is not only a U of Toronto lecturer, but as well, he is in dee process of getting his PhD in Italian Cinema there. His PhD thesis is on Italian Horror films of the 60's & beyond. WOW!!! You can't get much better then that folks. Unless maybe, if Bava was to be resurrected and actually show up, eh. (((Well?... He still might?))) Anyhow, to kick-off this great event, I have asked Carlo to do a half-hour intro to Bava's life'n'times, AND, to do a 5-10 minute intro to every film - just to keep things all in perspective folks. Enjoy, and stay well hydrated!!! There will be a 20ish-minute break between every film. OK? Y’arrr, yeah pirates you!!! All hands on deck!!! Hoist dee main-sail? Y’arrr!!! Support dee shangin' cause ya'll...
NB: These two-evenings were programmed out of numerous and spirited discussions by Carlo Coen & MC Shanger. We know you will be thrilled by our collective results here.
(L-R) Carlo Coen & MC Shanger @Scream in the Park's afterparty (Toronto: Monday, July 9, 2007) - Y'arrr!!!
(Photo: Kathleen Emerald)
(L-R) MC Shanger, Maurizio Guarini (Argento/Goblin composer), Carlo Coen, Cinzia Cavalieri (Argento's music editor & consultant) & Kathleen Emerald (back to us)
@ Jackie Brown's birthday party... on one wild Sudbury Saturday night in dee Tdot, Aug 11, 2007) - (Photo: Carlos Weisz)
About Carlo Coen:
Carlo Coen (b. 1951) has been the Director of the Italian Cultural Institutes in New Delhi, Melbourne and Toronto, and directed the Cinema Section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome for 3 years. He has been in the Italian Foreign Service since 1981, until he decided to call it a day: he quit the job, and settled in Toronto. We do not know yet if this was a welcome acquisition for Torontonians or not. Most probably, no one has noticed any change at all. He has been a film buff all his life, devouring any kind of film, but as an academic he is definitely a self-taught one, as he graduated in Philosophy at the University of Rome. He started programming films in Rome a long, long time ago, in his film club, soon after his graduation. Then, in India, Australia and Canada, he could finally get paid for his activity, much to his relief. He has written a few things on Italian and Indian Cinema and has continued his activity of programmer both in Italy and abroad (the Italian Film Festival and the Art of Love Film Festival in Toronto, quoted only in the hope that somebody heard something about these Festivals). At present he teaches Italian Cinema at the University of Toronto, in the Department of Italian Studies, where he enrolled as a PhD student. After so many years spent around the world, busy with all the chores a foreign service official is supposed to perform, he could finally stop spinning and now he can gather his thoughts. His doctoral thesis (in progress, very far from completion) will be on the Italian Horror cinema. Of course, Mario Bava will be a pivotal figure in his research.
About MC Shanger:
"Gio. Shanger” was born in Australia in 1959. Son of Italian parents, they soon moved to Italy, and eventually settled in Toronto in 1969. A 1986 film studies degree from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, led to a Sr Motion Picture Technologist position in that department, where he worked until 1996. He left to pursue his full-time experimentations in new ways of approaching documentary filmmaking. As a result, he has made film history with Ice Rushes: An Icelandic Odyssey, an experimental-documentary about the spirituality and freedom in Iceland. For the first time, the visuals have been shot "1:1", that is everything that he shoots, in the order that he shoots it in, is the final film and then wrote a sound design which was recorded in front of a live audience, all in one take, with no overdubs! He permanently moved to Iceland between 2000-04 as a result of making his film Ice Rushes – the second film of his Rushes trilogy, which he conceived of as an exploration into his "1:1" style, by means of a tribute to his three mentors. The first film is Rail Rushes: A Railroad Odyssey (a tribute to Stan Brakhage) and the last is New York Rushes: A Stanley Kubrick Odyssey (both remain unfinished). Ice Rushes is a tribute to my number one filmmaker and the one that has influenced my work the most, Robert Flaherty. An Angry Black Dog Farts at Midnight is the epilogue to the Rushes trilogy. It’s strange stereo filmmaker approach to making a film, It’s premise is simple: can two filmmakers make a 1:1, with one camera. The answer folks is NO! So we used two cameras. Enough said there folks!!!
The Rushes Trilogy is the result of over twenty years of experimentation in his "1:1" style. He has made only eighty S-8 & 16mm films over that time, but has amassed over 700 "films" on video, mostly documenting the live performance arts in Toronto since 1980 until the present-day. Yes folks I have made almost 800 films (please don’t call dee Guinness folks). As a hermit filmmaker, he almost always works alone. Ice Rushes and ...Black Dog... are only his second and third films that he has allowed to tour on the film festival circuit; where he never applied, but rather, was asked by astute programmers. "One hundred years from now, I will be the last filmmaker on earth. Traveling with my film projector and trusty dog, I would be hand-processing the film that I shot that-day, and narrating my films at night to anyone that wants to remember what film was like – since by then we will all have holodecks."
On Oct 11, 2006 he started ShangOrama.com, which is an extension of all the film exhibition experimentations of The Bio Reykjavik Film Collective (Iceland), of which he co-founded in 2002, and was it’s head for its first three years. Hence why ShangOrama.com is dee world’s only Icelandic cinema outside Iceland. Enjoy this evening folks!!! Y’arrr!!! Oh, he authored two books: Kubrick: A Biothon Biography, and dee 36-hr Stanley Kubrick Biothon programme (over 4000 Icelanders showed up for this one, that's 1.5% of dee whole 280,000 Icelandic population folks; "Biothon" means "movie marathon" in Icelandic). For dee last three-years he has been working on a mammoth book on just Frank Zappa dee filmmaker (tentatively) called, Studio Z: dee Frank Zappa filmmaker-filmography!!!
Listen to MC Shanger & Carlo Coen's 35' radio interview promoting this & dee Dario Argento event on CKLN's CINEPHOBIA show!!! (((88.1 FM)))
Browse our archives:
Event #5 - "Dario Argento's Goblin Trilogy" (Sat, Aug 25, 2007)
Event #4 - "a 20-hr Mario Bava mini-me Movie Marathon" (Fri&Sat, Aug 17&18, 2007)
Event #3 - "Remember Our Fallen Filmmakers Night!!!" (Sat, Nov 11, 2006)
Event #2 - "2 Banned Hell-o-ween Films" (Tues, Oct 31, 2006)
Event #1 - "12-hr 'Friday dee 13th' Movie Marathon" (Fri dee 13th of Oct, 2006)
CONTACT & Mailing List additions: shanger@shangorama.com
Shang-O-Rama.com came on-line & was beamed-out from Toronto at precisely: 10:10am (10/11/06) --- Can't wait for dee next Halloween - ACO & The Droogs gang rules that night!!! Viddy well folks. Viddy well...
© 2007 Gio. Shanger!!!