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Black Sabbath (1963) (Widescreen)
 
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Black Sabbath (1963) (Widescreen)

Michèle Mercier (Actor), Lidia Alfonsi (Actor), Mario Bava (Director), Salvatore Billitteri (Director) | Rated: Unrated | Format: DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)

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Product Description

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When American audiences first saw Mario Bava's 1963 horror trilogy, it wasn't the same film he had made in Italy. Finding it too terrifying for kids (imagine that!), AIP pictures trimmed it of violence and intensity, rescored it, and renamed it in order to cash in on the success of Black Sunday. New tongue-in-cheek introductions with costar Boris Karloff were added, the segments were rearranged, and one segment was completely rewritten in the dubbing. It was a good film even in its butchered form, but the original Italian version is excellent. The correctly ordered stories begin with "The Telephone," a gripping, ornate thriller that anticipates Bava's later "giallo" horror classics such as Blood and Black Lace. (In the American version, lesbian overtones were removed and the escaped criminal killer was turned into a vengeful ghost.) Karloff stars as a demonic, wild-haired patriarch in the eerie "The Wurdulak," a gorgeous vampire tale shot on misty, menacing sets. The masterpiece of the collection is "The Drop of Water," a chilling ghost story with shiver inducing imagery: the piercing dead eyes of the restless corpse will haunt you long after the film is over. Bava's original framing sequence ends with a playful tribute to the magic of moviemaking and storytelling, a sweet coda to remind us that it's only a movie.

The print suffers slightly from wear and tear and water damage but the colors are sharp and vivid. It's a bit disconcerting to hear Karloff dubbed in Italian, but that's a small price to pay for seeing the film in its original, uncut form. The DVD also features an extensive gallery of production and promotional stills, biographies, and liner notes by Bava historian Tim Lucas. --Sean Axmaker

Video Details

Experience Mario Bava's horror classic "Black Sabbath" (original Italian title: "Three Faces of Fear")--as it's never been seen in America before! A beautiful woman is terrorized by calls from an ex-lover who has escaped prison for the pleasure of killing her... A family becomes a feeding ground when their father returns home wounded after ridding the countryside of a hideous vampire... A nurse is haunted by reproaches from the Beyond after stealing a ring from the finger of a dead medium! Join Boris Karloff as he hosts (and stars in) this trilogy of terror tales--presented in its original aspect ratio and in Italian with English subtitles, with every shock intact!

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
BUY AMERICAN! Dec 7 2001
Format:VHS Tape
The American version besides being absolutely the best version of BLACK SABBATH is also the original. Despite what the editorial reviewer says this movie was originally filmed in English. Don't believe me? Turn the sound down and read their lips. Taking a movie that was acted in one language and then dubbing it into another language is what I call "butchered". And Boris Karloff just doesn't seem the same dubbed and subtitled. And the butchering doesn't end there... They also changed the music and sound effects taking away much of the film's classic horror atmosphere. (BIG MISTAKE!) They changed the order of the stories which didn't seem to work as well. And they chopped out all of the funny Twilght Zone type intros that Karloff did for each story. I like the intros and missed seeing them. For all these reasons I don't recommend buying the widescreen Italian version. Get the real one. That's the 5 star Black Sabbath.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Warning: No alternate "American Version": A Pity Nov 11 2002
Format:DVD
I was excited to learn that the original European version of this classic was out on DVD. As it turns out, however, the "bastardized" American version previously available on tape is the superior one. In fact, just about every decision AIP (American International Pictures)made when they proceeded with their tampering was the right one. First, they put the episodes in an order that worked better for the momentum of the picture. "The Drop of Water" is a short, scary, atmospheric shocker. Next up is the weakest segment, "The Telephone", giving audiences a breather. Saving the best for last is "The Wurdalak". Some cinephiles also berated the American's for subsituting a new score by Les Baxter. Though admittedly lacking in subtlety, Baxter's score at least feels like it belongs in a horror movie. The anemic Italian music feels like it could have strayed in from some mediocre historical drama. Most reprehensible about the DVD, however, is its failure to preserve Boris Karloff's glorious voice. I know his voice was dubbed for Italian audiences, but would it be asking too much to loop in his voice on an alternate audio track---especially when so many other quality DVD firms (Anchor Bay Entertainment for instance)would surely do so? As for the transfer, technical credits are good. And this may be the only way to see a pristine print of this marvelous film. Still a big disappointment and definitely a BARE BONES DVD. This film demands a "full blooded" (pun intended) release. This aint it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Two out of three ain't bad Nov 26 2011
By K. Gordon TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Three short pieces. The first `The Telephone' is a thriller with no supernatural elements. It's
also pretty dull and predictable. It takes it's twists far too seriously.

But the other two stories `The Wurdulak' (starring a fun Boris Karloff, who also does the
terrific bookend pieces to the whole film) and `A Drop of Water' have a real sense of
enjoyable playfulness along with Bava's always present stylishness, and over the top lighting
(which can get annoying at times - in `Drop of Water' light from every window keeps rising
and falling. It may be that it's supposed to suggest lightening, but it's mostly just distracting).

When Bava has fun with the hoary clichés of vampires and revenge of the dead, it's a lot
easier for us to have fun too (and, ironically, I also found it more tense).
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Most recent customer reviews
Classic and still creepy.
Mario Bava is a legendary name in horror. He is most highly regarded in circles of horror icons such as Dario Argento, George A. Romero, and others. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Bill Howard
Chills aplenty
Italian director Mario Bava (1914-1980) is one of the giants of the horror film genre. Bava's big break into the field came with his 1960 black and white classic "Black... Read more
Published on Jun 7 2004 by Jeffrey Leach
Are You Serious?
With out a doubt, the best horror film ever made. Bava's Black Sabbath, is without question the most complete horror experience ever filmed. Read more
Published on Mar 19 2004 by R. Cinque
The Scariest Day of the Week!
One of the best Italian horror films ever made, director Mario Bava's 1963 movie BLACK SABBATH (Italian title: I TRE VOLTI DELLA PAURA) is actually a delicious trilogy of stories,... Read more
Published on Nov 18 2003 by Michael R Gates
classic horror; though tame by today's standard.
This trilogy of terror stars and is narrated by the late Boris Karloff. It would be tame by today's standards; some younger people might say "lame", but this was... Read more
Published on Sep 8 2003 by Michael D. Chlanda
Visually atmospheric and scary Bava film
"Vampires look perfectly normal... except they have a strange habit of drinking blood, especially the blood of those they love. Read more
Published on July 21 2003 by Daniel J. Hamlow
One of Bava's Best
A trio of stories directed by Mario Bava:

"The Telephone". Rosy, a beautiful young woman, returns to her apartment at the end of the day. Read more

Published on April 8 2003
Filmed in English and French and Dubbed in Italian!?!
Yes, as a trilingual, it is quite clear that the main actors in this film were not even originally speaking in Italian (from their lips I see French and English) so therefore we... Read more
Published on Nov 14 2002 by Patrick M. Biscobing
ONE OF BAVA'S BEST....
A not to be missed trilogy of horror tales hosted by Boris Karloff and done by Mario Bava. As atmospheric and colorful as you could ask for with the traditional Euro flavor that... Read more
Published on Oct 16 2002 by Mark Norvell
Good job Image!
People who complain about the average picture & sound quality of Image's Mario Bava Collection should be aware that some of these negatives had mushrooms growing on them. Read more
Published on Oct 6 2002 by Yara Duarte
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