ShangOrama.com presents a 20-hr Mario Bava mini-me Movie Marathon [9 films; 1 talk’n’doc – WOW folks!!!]

Mario Bava (1914-1980) - dee Italian Hitchcock

Lucio Fulci (left) & Mario Bava // Bava at dee helm with his beloved Mitchell BNC 35mm camera folks - one of Kubrick's fave cameras, btw. (WOW & on a dolly no less, must of had a half-decent budget - thank god for that - it's what Scorsese loved best about Bava. Film is all about dee movement through time, within dee rhythm of a beautiful space folks. Y'ARRR!!!)

Boris Karloff and Mario Bava in the make-up room on the set of BLACK SABBATH (aka, TFOF: 1963) // Bava Directing (c. 1959/early '60's?)

Listen to MC Shanger & Carlo Coen's 35' radio interview promoting this & dee Dario Argento event on CKLN's CINEPHOBIA show!!! (((88.1 FM)))

Our Mario Bava programme

(For your viewing pleasure & to save on some tree's please print this and take it to dee event - Y'arrr!!!  Remember, stay well-hydrated?)

The son of legendary pioneer cinematographer and special effects designer Eugenio Bava, young Mario grew up surrounded by film. ("Ahhhh!!! That-sa me bello bambino" - his mamma) 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. Hired by his friend, director Riccardo Freda, to provide the lighting and special effects for I VAMPIRI (1956, aka THE DEVIL'S COMMANDMENT), he ended up directing half of the film in a mere two days after Freda had a disagreement with the producers. Historically significant as the first Italian horror film of the sound era, the film was a commercial flop. It was Freda's contention that Italian audiences didn't like the idea of an Italian horror film, so he hid behind the pseudonym Robert Hampton when he directed the tongue-in-cheek CALTIKI -- IL MOSTRO IMMORTALE (1959, aka CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER). Once again, Bava (credited as John Foam, "foam" being the English translation of "bava") was called upon to complete the film, which he also lit and provided the gruesome special effects for, when Freda walked. As a result of rescuing yet another troubled production, Jacques Tourneur's spectacle THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959), Bava was given the opportunity of directing any film he chose, so long as it didn't cost too much money. Inspired by the recent success of Terence Fisher's Hammer production of DRACULA (1958, aka HORROR OF DRACULA) with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Bava decided to make a horror film of his own. The result was LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO (1960, aka BLACK SUNDAY/MASK OF SATAN), a film that stood as a perfect synthesis of the Germanic expressionism of the silent era horror films (and its imitative Universal cycle in the 30s and 40s), and the more emboldened expression of violence and sensuality of the Hammer films -- this aspect, combined with Bava's peculiar sense of irony and dark imagination, helped to make LA MASCHERA into a worldwide success with audiences and critics.

Bava's subsequent films encompassed everything from gothic horrors (LA FRUSTA E IL CORPO) and pop art fantasies (DIABOLIK) to spaghetti westerns (LA STRADA PER FORT ALAMO) and action epics (GLI INVASORI). No matter what the subject matter, Bava's obsession with key themes like the deceptive nature of appearances and the destructive capacity of human nature shone through, and his wholly distinctive visual style endeared him to a generation of film fanatics. For all of that, his name remains essentially unknown. Based on the testimony of his collaborators, this is perhaps not very surprising. Bava's own view of his talent was colored by a lack of confidence, and his basic shyness prevented him from taking advantage of opportunities which would have made his name more internationally known. Fortunately, recent film sensations like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino have loudly championed his efforts, thereby establishing him as one of the most influential figures in modern cinema. In his film SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO (1964), he created and defined the "giallo" -- a form of the thriller which concentrates on violent death as opposed to prosaic police procedural. ("Giallo," Italian for "yellow," refers to the yellow covers of the Italian crime novels of the era). This film alone has had a tremendous influence on the work of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and John Carpenter. Sadly, Bava was not appreciated during his lifetime, and the unfortunate outcome of two pet projects (LISA E IL DIAVOLO, 1972, and CANI ARRABBIATI, 1974) soured his enthusiasm for filmmaking during the latter part of the 1970s. Enlisted by protegee Dario Argento to provide some key effects for his hallucinatory nightmare classic INFERNO (1980), Bava went uncredited on the final print, though Argento has often spoken of his contribution with much gratitude. Sadly, the film proved to be the last on which he ever worked. On April 25, 1980, Mario Bava died of a heart attack at the age of 65. A mere four days later, Bava's better known Anglo counterpart Alfred Hitchcock also passed away. 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.

Mario Bava directed (or co-directed) twenty-four features during an eighteen year period, 1960 to 1978. His oeuvre consists entirely of the formula films (filone) which made Italy the most successful production centre in Western Europe in the '60s. These less-than-reputable genre films were shot with minuscule budgets and production schedules – a typical filone had a budget under $80,000 and a shooting schedule of three or four weeks – and were often co-financed to further reduce costs (this is why most of the spaghetti westerns were shot in Spain, with largely Spanish crews). Bava is best known for his horror films and giallo thrillers (to which I will turn shortly), but he worked in all of the popular genres of his day: spaghetti westerns, peplum/sword-and-sandal epics, Bond-style spy thrillers, even soft-porn Mondo Cane/World by Night romps. If Bava manages, more often than not, to transcend the limitations of his material it is because of the strength of his imagery, as well as the evident pleasure he derives from exploring the expressive potential of the medium itself: the ability of film to generate a variety of emotions – most of all, wonder and fear.

Among his earliest works as Director of Photography (DP) 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 Black Sunday (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. Henri Alekan, the great French DP, once said that the cinematographer's task was “to obtain psychological reactions out of mere technical means” and this is a good, basic description of Bava's style. When Andrew Mangravite says that Blood and Black Lace (Sei donne per l'assassino, 1964), one of Bava's best films, is “a thriller 'about' shadowy rooms, and the terrors of nightfall” he does not exaggerate. 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-five 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!!!]

The artisanal nature of Bava's filmmaking extends to story construction as well, for the haphazard nature of film production in Italy gave Bava substantial freedom to rework scripts as he saw fit. He was known to change as much as sixty percent of the material while in production and even post production. (This was not a problem, dialogue-wise, since Italian films were typically post-synchronised.) The writing credit given to film editor Mario Serandrei on Black Sunday, as [Tim] Lucas suggests, is more than likely an acknowledgement of the contribution that Serandrei made to the story after it was shot. If you ever complained, while watching an Italian genre film, that the plot “seems to have been made up on the spot,” this, in fact, is not far from the truth. Y’arrr!!!

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 shit 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… So, 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!!!

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 viewing's, 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. Enjoy, and stay well hydrated!!! Y’arrr!!! All hands on deck, yah pirates you!!! Hoist dee main-sail? Y’arrr!!!

Friday, August 17th - 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!!!

This is an introduction to dee life’n’times of Italian filmmaker Mario Bava by U of T lecturer Carlo Coen!!! Carlo is in dee middle of getting his PhD in Italian film history at U of T, and he was born’n’bred in Rome folks. I’m also proud of calling him a dear-friend, and this night would not even have occurred if it were not for Carlo, who re-introduced me to Bava’s films. Originally this was supposed to be a three-film night. But upon further investigations, and intense discussions with Carlo, I decided to do back-to-back dusk-to-dawn mini-me movie marathon, and show 9 of Bava’s 24 films. After this half-hour introduction, Carlo will then proceed to do a 5-10 minute introduction to every film in this two day dusk-to-dawn mini-me marathon. Hope you can keep up!!! I know I can. Enjoy!!! Y’arrr!!!

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.

9:30pm -  Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre  by Garry S, Grant:  2000, 60',HD-video [aspect ratio: 1.78], B&W/colour, stereo, USA - english language

- a documentary about dee life'n'times of Bava [w//Tim Burton & John Carpenter]

Dir: Garry S. Grant; Writer: Charles Preece; Rome fixer: Mark Thompson-Ashworth (credited as Mark Ashworth); special thanks: Marc Morris.
Starring: Mario Bava (yea-haa!!!), Tim Lucas (Interviewee: BAVA's biographer), Carlo Rambaldi (Interviewee: SpFx guy who worked w/Bava; he created E.T.); Samuel Z. Arkoff, Fabrizio Bava (as Roy Bava, Bava’s grand-son), Georgia Bava (Bava' grand-daughter), Lamberto Bava (Bava's son & a filmmaker as well), Allan Bryce (Horror movie expert), Tim Burton, John Carpenter, Sean S. Cunningham (Ed Wood-type filmmaker), Joe Dante, John Phillip Law (actor, Diabolik), Alfredo Leone (Bava’s sometime producer), Ib Melchior (actor), Kim Newman (film critic), Daria Nicolodi (actress), Carlo Rustichelli (composer of three Bava films), Dardano Sacchetti (co-writer of, Bay of Blood & writer of  Shock) & John Saxon (actor).

For years he was practically unknown, but in recent years Italian director Mario Bava (1914-800 has acquired an incredible following. Here's a concise reason why, as this documentary takes an in-depth look at such masterworks as "Black Sunday," "Black Sabbath," "Baron Blood," "Lisa and the Devil" and more. The grand master of Italian horror, Mario Bava captivated audiences around the world with his dreamlike, horrifying, and visually breathtaking films, all of which relied on creativity and visual trickery rather than big budgets. Though marketed as B-movies during the 1960s and 1970s, Bava's films have earned a large cult following for their artistry and their ability to chill viewers with uncanny skill.

11:00pm -  The Mask of Satan  La Maschera del Demonio:   1960, 87'', 35mm [1.65], B&W, mono, Italy - w/subtitles

- also known as, Black Sunday [Bava's 1st-film & stars dee legendary Barbara Steele]

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story: Based on "The Vij," by Nicolai Gogol; Screenplay: Ennio De Concini, Mario Serandrei, and Mario Bava; Camera Operator: Ubaldo Terzano; Editing: Mario Serandrei; Music: Roberto Nicolosi (NB: U.S. version re-scored by Les Baxter).
Cast: Barbara Steele (Princess Asa/Princess Katia); Ivo Garrani (Prince Vaida); Andrea Checchi (Professor Kruveian); John Richardson (Dr. Andre Gorobec); Arturo Domincini (Javutich); Enrico Oliveri (Konstantin); Tino Bianchi (Ivan).

“Bava remains best known for his first film, Black Sunday. The prologue, in particular, seems engraved in the minds of those who have seen it. We are in seventeenth century Moldavia. A woman has been sentenced to death. A poker with the letter 's' is held over an open flame. When it is red-hot it is used to sear the prisoner's flesh – to mark her with the brand of Satan. This is just the beginning. The Grand Inquisitor orders that his assistants “cover her face with the mask of Satan.” We realize, with mounting horror, that a spike-lined bronze mask is to be secured to her face with the hammer blow of a hooded executioner. As the executioner advances, mask in hand, we are placed in the position of both victimizer and victim: first, we see the woman from the point-of-view of the mask, then a shot from her perspective of the spikes advancing toward their prey.

‘There are several reasons why this scene is so memorable. The primordial imagery (perfectly rendered in high contrast black-and-white) returns us to our childhood, when we were alone and afraid. It is also perversely erotic. The sexual nature of the events we are witnessing is alluded to in both speech (we are told that Princess Asa is being punished for her “monstrous love” for Prince Javutich) and in the visuals: the close-up of Asa's seared flesh (the indentation caused by the red-hot poker); the spiked-lined mask with its promise of a defilement-without-end. This confluence of brutality and eroticism does not contradict the initial impression of childhood recollection, but enhances it – for was not the whole world once charged for us with such obscure sources of pleasure and terror? (In psychoanalysis, Freud will discuss this confluence by way of the primal scene.)’

‘This sequence could serve as the prologue to just about every film Bava has ever made. Each of his works seems somehow a consequence of this originary trauma, this initial (initiatory) act of violation. As though each subsequent work were an attempt to understand, to unfold, the repercussions of this originary event. Nowhere are the repercussions more deeply felt than in the trio of works which Bava made in quick succession between 1963 and 1964: Black Sabbath (I tre volti della paura, 1963), Whip and the Body (La frusta e il corpo, 1963), Blood and Black Lace.

1:00am -  The Three Faces of Fear  I Tre Volti della Paura:  1963, 92', 35mm [1.85], Technicolor, mono, Italy/France/USA - w/subtitles

- aka, Black Sabbath [w//Boris Karloff & is dee inspiration behind PULP FICTION (1994)]

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story: Based on "The Telephone," by Howard Snyder, "The Wurdalak," by Count Alexi Constanovich Tolstoi, and "The Drop of Water," by Anton Checkov; Screenplay: Mario Bava, Alberto Bevilacqua, and Marcello Fondato; Camera Operator: Ubaldo Terzano; Editing: Mario Serandrei; Music: Roberto Nicolosi (NB: U.S. version re-scored by Les Baxter)
Cast: Story # 1: Il telefono [The Telephone]; Michele Mercier (Rosy); Lydia Alfonsi (Mary).
Story # 2: Il wurdalak [The Wurdulak]; Boris Karloff (Gorka); Mark Damon (Count Vladmir D'Urfe); Susy Anderson (Sdenka); Glauco Onorato (Giorgio); Rika Dialina (Giorgio's wife); Massimo Righi (Pietro).
Story # 3: La goccia d'acqua [The Drop of Water]; Jacqueline Pierreux (Nurse Chester); Milly Monti (Maid); Harriet White Medin (Concierge); Gustavo De Nardo (Inspector); & Boris Karloff.

“The Italian title of this film translates as THE THREE FACES OF FEAR, and serves as a loose representation of the three types of horror which fascinated Bava. Each segment deals with a very specific kind of fear: "Il telefono" deals with Bava's obsessive linkage of corrupted sexuality and violent death; "Il wurdalak" deals with the internal destruction of the family unity by a member who has been corrupted; and lastly, "La goccia d'acqua" concentrates on the demons of the mind, and the havoc which they can cause.” [TMBWP]

3:00am -  The Whip and The Body  La Frusta e il Corpo:  1963, 91', 35mm [1.85], Technicolor, mono, Italy/France - w/subtitles'

- starring Christopher Lee in quite possibly his best role-ever, after LOTR of course!!!

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava (under pseudonym, "John M. Old"); Story: Ernesto Gastaldi; Screenplay: Ernesto Gastaldi, Luciano Martino, and Ugo Guerra; Camera Operator: Ubaldo Terzano; Editing: Renato Taiquiri; Music: Carlo Rustichelli.
Cast: Daliah Lavi (Nevenka); Christopher Lee (Kurt); Luciano Stella (Christian); Gustavo De Nardo (Count Menliff); Luciano Pigozzi (Losat); Harriet White (Giorgia); Isli Oberon (Katia); Jacques Herlin (Priest).

“Set in the 19th century, the story deals with the twisted relationship between Kurt Menliff and his sister-in-law Nevenka, his previous lover; he is a sadist who gets sexual pleasure from whipping his lovers, while she is locked in a loveless marriage with his spineless brother Christian. … Bava encourages the audience to sympathize with Nevenka. Initially she appears to be a victim, yet she is actually very much in control of the situation. She genuinely loves Kurt, and the pain he inflicts is definitely arousing to her. In a way, she uses Kurt to fulfill her deepest, darkest fantasies. Above all else, LA FRUSTA is a story of familial guilt.” [TMBWP]

“His most beautifully sombre work, Whip and the Body turned out to be Bava's most controversial. The producer was put on trial for charges of obscenity, and it was later distributed abroad in heavy edited versions (in the US, it was released with the unforgivable title What!). This controversy is understandable. Whip and the Body transforms a tale of ghosts and sadomasochistic violence into a classic work of l'amour fou, alongside Buñuel's L'Age d'or (1930) and Wuthering Heights (1953), Joseph H. Lewis' Gun Crazy (1949) and Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958).” [SOS]

5:00am -  Kill, Baby. . . Kill!  Operazione Paura:  1966, 85', 35mm [1.85], Eastmancolor, mono, Italy - w/subtitles

- a very-real Transylvanian gothic tale [The last of four films released in 1966]

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story: Roberto Natale and Romano Migliorini; Screenplay: Mario Bava, Roberto Natale, and Romano Migliorini; Camera Operator: Antonio Rinaldi; Editing: Romana Fortini; Music: Carlo Rustichelli and Roman Vlad.
Cast: Giacomo Rossi-Stuart (Dr. Eswai); Erica Blanc (Monica); Giana Vivaldi [as, Giovanna Galetti] (Baroness Graps); Fabienne Dali (Ruth); Max Lawrence (Burgomaster Karl); Piero Lulli (Inspector Kruger); Giuseppe Addobbati (Innkeeper).

“Dr. Eswai, a coroner, arrives in a secluded Transylvanian village to perform an autopsy. At the inn, he meets with Inspector Kruger, who is investigating the death of a young girl who was employed as a maid at Villa Graps. The inspector has summoned Eswai to the village so that he can perform an autopsy on the girl, much to the dismay of the locals. With the assistance of Monica, who has just recently returned to the village for the first time since she was a child, Dr. Eswai performs the autopsy. They make an incredible discovery, namely the presence of a gold coin imbedded in the girl's heart. Monica reveals that this is consistent with local superstition. "Only with money in the heart," she says, "can one who meets a violent death ever rest in peace." The theme of greed, so central to Bava's work, factors into this film as well, so it is doubly ironic that money should be the only way to insure a peaceful afterlife in this particular narrative. … OPERAZIONE PAURA is truly one of the last -- and best -- subtle pieces of horror filmmaking. In this case, Bava sets out to chill the audience instead of shocking them, and he does so admirably. The atmosphere he creates is so powerful that the film seems to exude a hypnotic, hallucinatory effect.” [TMBWP]

NB: This film ends around 6:30am, just when dee sun is starting to rise!!! Y’arr!!! Do we programme a great night, or what?!? Dusk-to-dawn folks!!!

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)

“No matter what the subject matter, Bava's obsession with key themes like the deceptive nature of appearances and the destructive capacity of human nature shone through, and his wholly distinctive visual style endeared him to a generation of film fanatics. For all of that, his name remains essentially unknown. Based on the testimony of his collaborators, this is perhaps not very surprising. Bava's own view of his talent was colored by a lack of confidence, and his basic shyness prevented him from taking advantage of opportunities which would have made his name more internationally known. Fortunately, recent film sensations like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino have loudly championed his efforts, thereby establishing him as one of the most influential figures in modern cinema. In his film SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO (1964), he created and defined the "giallo" -- a form of the thriller which concentrates on violent death as opposed to prosaic police procedural. ("Giallo," Italian for "yellow," refers to the yellow covers of the Italian crime novels of the era). This 1964 film alone has had a tremendous influence on the work of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and John Carpenter.” [TMBWP]

“Bava's directorial career can be roughly divided into two periods. During his first six years as a filmmaker, Bava directed over a dozen films and it is during this initial burst of activity that he made many of his best films. 1966 was a year marked by personal and professional misfortune: the death of his beloved father; the death of Mario Serendrei, his film editor (who also worked with Luchino Visconti); the end of Bava's collaboration with cameraman Ubaldo Terzano, who began working as Bava's camera operator in the early 1950s and became his director of photography with Black Sabbath. Although his title was believed to be purely nominal (since Bava took on most of the responsibilities associated with a DP), there is a striking difference between the works Bava made with Terzano and the ones he made, beginning in 1965, with Antonio Rinaldi and others. The Bava-Terzano films are distinguished by the remarkable motility of the camera, even more remarkable when you consider that, with the exception of Black Sunday, they never had the budget to rent professional cranes and dollies.” [SOS]

9:00pm -  The Girl Who Knew Too Much  La Ragazza che Sapeva Troppo:  1962, 92', 35mm [1.85], B&W, mono, Italy - w/subtitles

- starring dee an evil-eyed Leticia Roman & John Saxon

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story and Screenplay: Ennio De Concini, Bruno Corbucci, and Eliana De Sabata, with the collaboration of Mario Bava, Giorgio Prosperi, and Mino Guerrini; Camera Operator: Ubaldo Terzano; Editing: Mario Serandrei; Music: Roberto Nicolosi (NB: U.S. version rescored by Les Baxter); Song "Furore," performed by Adriano Celentano.
Cast: Leticia Roman (Nora Drowson); John Saxon (Dr. Marcello Bassi); Valentina Cortese (Laura Craven-Tierani); Gianni Di Benedetto (Professor Craven-Tierani); Jim Dolen (Priest); Lucia Modugno (Nurse); Luigi Bonos (Hotel Porter); Chana Coubert (Aunt Ethel); Dante Di Paolo (Andre Landini); Gustavo De Nardo (Inspector).

“Part dark comedy, part suspense thriller and part slasher film (though that term did not come into being until much later, even after Bava literally creates the genre in SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO), LA RAGAZZA tells of Nora, a sexually frustrated American girl who journeys to Italy to visit her elderly Aunt Adele. … Though not the first thriller to be made in Italy (that honor seems to belong to CORTOCIRCUITO, 1943, directed by Giacomo Gentilomo), LA RAGAZZA was nevertheless the first to introduce explicitly horrific aspects to the proceedings and, as such, can be considered the true starting point of the giallo. Though an efficient, stylish and enjoyable mystery-thriller, LA RAGAZZA CHE SAPEVA TROPPO nevertheless shies away from the more disturbing aspects of the giallo film. In his later thrillers, Bava stocks the narrative with sordid, untrustworthy characters and emphasizes irony and a strain of disturbing, reflexive psychology over the basic mechanics of mystery plotting. With his next giallo, SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO, Bava finally pushes the idea of voyeurism (an idea explored for the first time by Bava in this film) the kind of chilling, intensely personal treatment it needs. By contrast, LA RAGAZZA is merely interested in keeping the viewer guessing -- it is a more superficial enterprise in every sense.” [TMBWP]

11:00pm -  Blood and Black Lace  Sie Donne per L'assassino:  1964, 88', 35mm [1.85], Eastmancolor, mono, Italy/Monaco/France/West Germany - w/subtitles

– aka, Six Women for the Murderer [chic Haute Couture fashion houses were never dee same after this]

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story and screenplay: Marcello Fondata, with the collaboration of Mario Bava and Alberto Bevilacqua; Camera operator: Ubaldo Terzano; Editing: Mario Serandrei; Music: Carlo Rustichelli.
Cast: Cameron Mitchell (Massimo Morlacchi); Eva Bartok (Countess Christina Cuomo); Thomas Reiner (Inspector Sylvester); Dante Di Paolo (Frank Scaolo); Claude Dantes (Tao-Li); Mary Arden (Peggy); Arianna Gorini (Nicole); Luciano Pigozzi (Cesar Lesar); Massimo Righi (Marco); Franco Ressel (Marquis Richard Morrell); Francesca Ungaro (Isabel).

“Isabel, a model at the chic Haute Couture fashion house, which is owned by the recently widowed Countess Christina Cuomo and managed by Massimo Morlacchi, is brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. The subsequent police investigation, represented by the arrogant Inspector Sylvester, reveals the salon to be a veritable hotbed of drugs, corruption and blackmail. When it is discovered that Isabella kept a diary which detailed these indescretions, everything is thrown into a quandary. … Initially designed by the West German co-financiers to be a routine, by-the-numbers police thriller in the Edgar Wallace mold, SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO represents a tremendous advancement in the development of the modern horror film. It is, in fact, arguably the first ever slasher film, though that label cheapens Bava's achievement for reasons that will soon become apparent. In this film, Bava de-emphasizes character and psychological motivation, thereby creating a literal symphony of violence in which nobody is what they appear to be. In the film's paranoid millieu, nobody is to be trusted. Seemingly respectable business men turn out to be sadistic killers; everybody else is either self-righteous and holier-than-thou (for instance, the inspector) or a treacherous blackmailer. Needless to say, viewers looking for an up-beat movie about wonderful, happy people need not apply here. Bava uses his camera to physically make the audience a part of the action, yet he does not encourage the viewer to sympathize with the characters; for this reasons, many critics continue to vilify SEI DONNE, taking Bava to task for creating a remorseless celebration of sadism. … Even if the films it has inspired (including John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN, 1978, and Martin Scorsese's CAPE FEAR, 1991) are not, SEI DONNE remains a film of substance and power, and a classic in its own right.” [TMBWP]

1:00am -  Diabolik  1967 [Released:  Jan 1968), 100', 35mm [1.85], Technicolor, mono, Italy/France - in English

- aka, Danger: Diabolik (USA); Danger: Diabolik! (France) [BATMAN time: starring John Phillip Law (Diabolik) & sidekick (Eva) Marisa Mell; w//Terry-Thomas]

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story: Angela and Luciana Giu

ssani, Dino Maiuri, and Adriano Baracco; Screenplay: Mario Bava, Dino Maiuri, and Tudor Gates; Camera operator: Antonio Rinaldi; Editing: Romana Fortini; Music: Ennio Morricone
Cast: John Phillip Law (Diabolik); Marisa Mell (Eva); Michel Piccoli (Inspector Ginco); Adolfo Celi (Ralph Valmont); Terry-Thomas (Minister of the Interior/Minister of Finance); Claudio Gora (Police Commissioner); Mario Donen; Federico Boido.

“Based on the popular comic strip, the film details the adventures of super-cool super-thief Diabolik, a criminal mastermind who has managed to remain completely anonymous.Together with his sensuous lover Eva, Diabolik manages to outwit the police, represented by the affable Inspector Ginco, at every turn as he amasses a fortune in pilfered goods. … DIABOLIK was designed by producer Dino De Laurentiis (later responsible for the infamously mammoth remakes of KING KONG and HURRICANE), and enabled Bava to work with a much larger budget ($3,000,000) and a more prestigious cast than he was accustomed to, but he remained true to his principles, relying on imagination rather than money, and brought the film in massively under budget at a mere $400,000. De Laurentiis was so thrilled, in fact, that he offered Bava the opportunity to make a sequel with the left over money, but Bava had by then tired of working with the megalomaniac producer and decided to pass.’

‘Another aspect worth noting is the wonderfully bizarre score by the legendary Ennio Morricone. Sadly this was the only time that the prolific composer (still best known for his collaborations with Dario Argento and Sergio Leone) collaborated with Bava. Best described as a psychedelic fusion of rock and jazz, Morricone's trademarked use of twangy strings, screeching vocals and thundering percussion helps to drive the film along at a furious pace. Few films evoke the period in which they were made better than DIABOLIK. Bava's expert use of the ultra-hip decor, costuming and music, combined with over-the-top humor, literally crystallizes everything that the pop art movement was about.Inevitably bracketed with Roger Vadim's BARBARELLA (with Jane Fonda, David Hemmings, and Diabolik himself, John Phillip Law) as a prime example of pop cinema, there is no question but that this is superior to Vadim's tiresome soufflé of a movie (the films were shot simultaneously). The brilliant realization of this ultra-mod milieu also proves to have a profound impact on Bava's subsequent work in the late 60s and early 70s. DIABOLIK remains the definitve big screen "super hero" epic; not as childish as the Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN films, it also skillfully avoids the excesses of Tim Burton's BAT MAN pictures. The pace is sprightly, the dialogue snappy and the performances are a joy to behold. Bava's inventive visual sense is also readily apparent: the odd camera angles, quick machine-gun edits and glossy lighting make it a dry run not only for many contemporary MTV videos, but also for Quentin Tarantino's enormously successful drive-in homage PULP FICTION (1994). Above all else, DIABOLIK is an enormously entertaining and captivating film.” [TMBWP]

Official Diabolik comic book website - sorry it's in Italian (but dee visuals are amazin') - hint: "Avanti" = forward; "Indietro" = back button

3:00am - Hatchet for the Honeymoon  Il Rosso Segno della Follia:  1968 [Released: June 1970], 88', 35mm [1.66], Eastmancolor, mono, Italy/Spain - w/subtitles

– 1st film after Diabolik [acute Oedipus-complex time folks]

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story: Santiago Moncada; Screenplay: Santiago Moncada, Mario Musy, and Mario Bava; Camera operator: Emilio Varriano; Editing: Soledad Lopez; Music: Sante Romitelli.
Cast: Stephen Forsyth (John Harrington); Laura Betti (Mildred Harrington); Dagmar Lassander (Helen Wood); Jesus Puente (Inspector Russell); Femi [Eufemia] Benussi (Alice); Luciano Pigozzi (Dress designer); Antonia Mas (Louise); Gerard Tichy (Doctor Kalleway); Veronica Llimera (Betsy); Jose Ignacio Abadaz (Jimmy Kane); Guido Barlocci (John as a boy).

This is Bava’s 1st film after Diabolik even though it was released in 1970. “John Harrington is a stereotypically handsome young man who just happens to be suffering from an acute Oedipus complex. As if that is not bad enough, he is also impotent and feels compelled to murder young women wearing bridal gowns in order to remember the details of a traumatic event that twisted his mind as a child. … In Bava's best work, psychological motivation is not terribly important (the main motivation is greed), but by relying on the old "twisted mamma's boy" motif, the film often seems like an imitation of PSYCHO. … Bava's favored theme of surface appearance vs. reality is very much on display in this film. Like Massimo and Christina in SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO, Harrington owns a fashion business, establishing a witty tie to bava's first fully developed giallo, while at the same time confirming the director's mistrust of "beauty" in its ideal, almost pornographic form. Harrington is a literal fashion peddler. Not only does he sell chic wedding apparel at his salon, but his style of dress suggests a marketing tactic of a different kind. He is a kind of gigolo, selling himself to the female public in order to find "willing" victims. Apart from enabling him to carry on with his sanguinary activities, this also serves to satisfy his inflated ego. This idea extends even further witht he revelation that Harrington cannot "function" without the presence of a wedding gown. In this case the image -- the surface gloss -- serves as a catalyst for violence.“ [TMBWP]

5:00am - Bay of Blood  Reazione a Catena:  1971, 84', 35mm [1.85], Eastmancolor, mono, Italy - w/subtitles

– aka, Twitch of the Death Nerve; Ecology of a Crime [see dee genesis-film for dee FRIDAY THE 13th movies]

Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava; Story: Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Barberi; Screenplay: Mario Bava, Giuseppe Zaccariello, Filippo Ottoni and Sergio Canevari; Camera operator: Antonio Rinaldi; Editing: Carlo Reali; Music: Stelvio Cipriani.
Cast: Claudine Auger (Renata); Luigi Pistilli (Albert); Leopoldo Trieste (Paolo Fassatti); Laura Betti (Anna Fassatti); Claudio Volonte [Claudio Camaso] (Simon); Chris [Christea] Avram (Frank Ventura); Anna Maria Rosati (Laura); Isa Miranda (Countess Federica); Brigitte Skay (Helga); Paola Rubens (Denise); Guido Boccaccini (Bobby); Roberto Bonanni (Duke); Giovanni Nuvoletta (Filippo Donatti); Renato Cestie (Little boy); Nicoletta Elmi (Little girl).

An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate. “Bava's main inspiration for this film seems to have been the classic Ealing studios comedy KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949), directed by Robert Hamer. In that film, the great character acto Dennis Price gives a wonderfully droll performance as a cast-off member of a titled family who contrives to speed his inheritance by doing away with his relatives (all played by Sir Alec Guinness). The tone and subject matter are much the same, but Bava's film is much more extreme in every respect, especially in terms of violence.As in Bava's other thrillers, there are no heroic characters for the audience to root for. Most of the film is carried by the bitchy Renata and her spineless husband Alfred, but Bava does not ask the viewer to sympathize with their plight. Even the nominal innocents, including the quirky entomologist and his fortune telling shrew of a wife, are so broadly portrayed as to be caricatures. … E COLOGIA may not present a particularly cheeful portrait of human nature, but there is a ring of truth to it, and the presence of strong female characters like Renata reveals much about Bava's frequently misunderstood attitudes towards women. Bava recognizes their ability to be either victim or victimizer. He sees their potential to be stronger than the male. And, most importantly, he understands the irony behind their relations with men: the man frequently flatters himself that he is using the female to his own ends, but this is simply an assumption informed by chauvenistic attitudes. For example, Frank thinks that by sleeping with Laura, he is keeping her in check, while it is actually the other way around. Unlike many directors of horror films and thrillers, Bava refuses to relegate his female characters exclusively to the level of weak, screaming, addle-brained victim.’

‘The convoluted narrative (based on a story by Dardano Sacchetti, also known for his collaborations with Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, and Lamberto Bava), is strewn with a number of unexpected plot twists. Perhaps the most inspired detail is the way the film becomes a kind of modern-dress version of MACBETH once the story comes to concentrate on the Albert and Renata. Like Shakespeare's play, Bava's film deals with a weak-willed husband driven to murder by his unbalanced, power-mad spouse. Once Albert's hands become stained with blood (literally, in a scene that manages to top a parallel scene in Roman Polanski's stunning 1971 film of MACBETH in terms of pure shock effect), he becomes more assertive and enters whole-heartedly into the task at hand. “ [TMBWP]

- NB: Again, this film ends around 6:30am, just when dee sun is starting to rise!!! Scary, eh?

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!!!

PS - These nights were programmed out intense discussions by Carlo Coen & Gio. Shanger!!! This poster and programme was written & designed by Gio. Shanger.
Come check out dee newly refurbished MAJLIS space!!! Shang-O-Rama.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanger & Daughter café [open during screening].
This is event #4 for ShangOrama.com & our first for 2007!!! Oh, dee photo on dee poster is from Kill, Baby… Kill!

Bava Thinking (c. late 70's: near dee end of his life)!!!

LINKS & footnotes:

members.tripod.com/~mariobava/index.htm - (The Mario Bava Web Page: dee best goddamn website for Bava, and it was indispensable to my programme needs here) - a very big-up to fellow webmaster/writer Troy Howarth. Y'arrr!!! - sign his fabulous guestbook please.

members.tripod.com/~mariobava/biography.htm - (TMBWP biography page)

sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/04/bava.html - (this contains a great study of his overall life by Bava academic, Sam Ishii-Gonzales)

imdb.com/name/nm0000878/ - (IMDb's gateway to your full Mario Bava's filmography pages) - heavenly folks, especially for an archivist such as your humble narrator.

Official Diabolik comic book website - sorry it's in Italian text, but dee visuals are amazin' - (hint: "Avanti" = forward; "Indietro" = back button)

(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 Institue in Toronto, led to a Sr Motion Picture Technologist positon 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 Rushse: 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 extention 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 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)))

PS - Welly, welly, welly, well... if you read this far, you desserve a treat: On the next week after this event - on either Fri/Sat, Aug24th or 25th - we will have one Dario Argento dusk-to-dawn mini-me night, to honor his presence in dee Tdot - [take a look]. Word on dee street is that Dario might even be in dee house - it's a long story folks? (Shhhh!!!)

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

Home

© 2007 Gio. Shanger!!!