The Mario Bava Collection Volume 2

Mario Bava was one of the most underrated filmmakers of the 20th century. So it's appropriate that the first volume of the "Mario Bava Collection" (or "Bava Box") was one of the best releases of the last year, and reintroduced us to classics of Bava's that had fallen out of view. The second volume just continues that tradition, with big chunks of classic, stylish horror.

"Baron Blood" begins the collection -- Baron Otto Van Kleist was a savage, depraved guy who liked to torture people for fun (think Vlad Tepes), until a witch's curse put him out of commission. Centuries later, his descendent Peter (Antonio Cantafora) returns to his family's gothic castle, and decides that he and visiting student Eva (Elke Sommer) will recite the incantation that will return "Baron Blood" to the world. Of course, he actually DOES return, and soon Peter, Eva and Peter's uncle are forced to battle his psychotic, deformed ancestor.

"Lisa and the Devil" is more or less what it sounds like, with our heroine Lisa (Elke Sommer) a tourist going through Italy. She encounters some freaky folklore involving a local painting of the Devil and the Dead -- and a man (Telly Savalas) who eerily resembles the painted Satan. When her travel group is invited by the man to stay at a spooky villa, Lisa becomes ensnared in a maze of nightmares and death.

Then we get something that ISN'T gothic horror -- "Roy Colt and Winchester Jack," a comedy-western. Failed outlaw Roy Colt (Brett Halsey) has decided to become a law-abiding sheriff -- until he learns of a treasure map to buried gold. Of course, he scurries after it -- but to get his hands on it, he'll have to beat out an Indian prostitute, a dynamiting Russian Reverand, and his old partner Winchester Jack (Charles Southwood).

Then it's "Four Times That Night," a colourful, campy take on Akira Kurosawa's"Rashomon." Suave Gianni (Brett Halsey) starts pursuing shy, chaste Tina (Daniela Giordano), until she agrees to date him. The night ends with his face scratched and her dress shredded -- at first glance, you'd think he just got too grabby, and she fought him off. But there are four different versions of what happened that night, and none of them agree...

Then it's back to gore and horror, with one of the very first slasher flicks. "Bay Of Blood" opens with the death of a countess and her murdering husband. After their demise, the area is crowded with real-estate agents, entomologists, secret heiresses and sex-mad teens looking for a place to party. Then, of course, they start dying off... and not just from one person.

Finally we get "Five Dolls For An August Moon," a remake of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians": Wealthy industrialist George Stark (Teodoro Corrà) gathers a group of friends and associates on his private island, trying to get a new formula from chemist Fritz Farrell (William Berger). As the guests get tangled in sexual and business intrigues, someone starts murdering them...

Unlike many directors, Mario Bava didn't need massive budgets or CGI to create his brilliant movies -- just good actors and a haunting backdrop. Gothic castles with dungeons, misty forests, psychedelic islands and clubs, eerie villas, and the dangerous streets of Italy are all used here, and performances that range from brilliant (Steele) to merely good (Halsey).

In fact, Bava was such a brilliant director that he take a cliche or subpar movie (such as "Baron Blood"), and turn it into something unique and deep. He made use of misty lighting, eerie camerawork, exquisite use of light and shadow, gory deaths and odd symbolism. A few also splash in some psychedelic colour and sex. And he was usually able to work in an unexpected, sometimes shocking twist to each movie's ending.

"Mario Bava Collection Volume 2" is a collection of five excellent movies, ranging from brilliant to enjoyable. And it's a good demonstration of Bava's talents, and the kinds of movies he could undertake -- a treasure for horror buffs.

Italian director Mario Bava (1914-1980) is a giant in the horror film genre. Bava's big break into the field came with his 1960 black and white classic "Black Sunday" starring Barbara Steele. This was only the beginning, as Bava churned out a mix of gruesome shockers and non-horror films over the next seventeen years; his films always promised great style mixed with scenes of murder and mayhem. Perhaps Mario's biggest contribution to the horror genre was his 1972 picture "Twitch of the Death Nerve," also known as "Bay of Blood." It doesn't take too long to realize "Friday the 13th" shamelessly cribbed from this slasher bloodbath. At least two of the murders in the film appear almost unchanged in the first installment of the Jason Voorhees franchise. That's right-Mario Bava gave birth to the modern slasher film. But he also dabbled in non-horror films with the immensely entertaining peplum classic, "Hercules in the Haunted World" and this film, the slightly racy romantic comedy "Four Times That Night." After watching his contributions to the sword and sandal, horror, and romantic comedy genres, I have to express further admiration for this amazing filmmaker; he could make an entertaining motion picture no matter what the subject.

"Four Times That Night" is an interesting film about how different people perceive the same event in different ways. It all starts when Tina (Daniela Giordano) meets a suave ladies man named Gianni (Brett Halsey) while walking her dog. Uncomfortable with the attention she's receiving from this guy in a fancy sports car, Tina runs off through the park only to discover Gianni is following her. After some small talk, she agrees to go out on a date with him. Gianni comes to her house to pick her up and the two head out for a night on the town. Then the fun begins, as we see the end result of the date. Tina returns home very late with her dress torn while Gianni has some suspicious looking scratches on his face. A case of someone not keeping his hands to himself, perhaps? Maybe, but maybe not. Bava has great fun as he shows the viewer what happened from four different perspectives. Even at the end of the film, we're not entirely sure whether to believe the "real" account of what happened. Can we only rely on the perceptions of those individuals involved in the events?

Tina's account of the evening predictably defines events from a woman's perspective. She explains to her mother that Gianni was an animal who took her dancing, filled her with drink, and then took her back to his bachelor pad with decidedly unwholesome expectations. Her dress was torn as she tried to escape from his apartment, and the scratches on his face came about from the same event. Is this the right explanation for the story? Well, Tina did come home late. Perhaps she's only making up an elaborate excuse to explain away her tardiness to a concerned mother. Gianni sees things quite differently. In his version of events, Tina is a woman of voracious appetites. He could barely keep her out on the dance floor for a minute before she started pestering him to take her to his place. Once there, she used her wily charms to seduce our hero. Gianni's version emphasizes his masculine ability to attract women. The security guard working at Gianni's apartment building tells a different story, a story filled with salacious info about Gianni, Tina, and another couple who arrived at the apartment. He was able to see the events, he explains, because he was doing his job and only happened to see through the apartment window. The final explanation is a funny one, from a psychologist at the end of the film who tries to prove how perceptions are often faulty. This account shows, in mundane detail, how events really unfolded.

"Four Times That Night." Four different accounts of the same date between a man and a woman. Thankfully, Bava pulls it all off with great humor and a generous portion of ridiculousness. Even more thankfully, he used Daniela Giordano in the role of Tina. This Italian actress is gorgeous, one of the best looking starlets I have ever seen in an Italian film. Keep your eyes on her and "Four Times That Night" will be an entertaining experience indeed. There's not much more to say about the movie except to mention the hilarious décor in Gianni's apartment as well as the hyper psychedelic club where the two go to drink and dance. Did you think the 1970's had its wacky outfits and furniture? Check this place out. Wow. My eyes hurt after watching this movie. It's all done in great fun, though. Bava adeptly handles the changing storylines and even inserts a little dose of farce and slapstick into the mix.

The DVD version of the film doesn't have many extras beyond a Bava biography-standard for any film in the Bava Collection-along with a filmography, some stills, and a widescreen picture transfer. The quality of the feature varies significantly; I saw significant streaks and grain present in the first twenty minutes or so before the picture improved. But what can you expect? "Four Times That Night" is a non-horror Bava film, and thus is not as interesting to his modern day fans as "Black Sunday" or "Twitch of the Death Nerve." I, however, enjoyed this movie. Perhaps you will too if you look beyond this director's proclivity for shrieks and look at his work as a whole.

"Four times that night" is supposed to be Bava's, according to
the liner notes obligatory, "blue movie".
Probably in order not to make the movie too flat, the
creators adapted the conception of "Rashomon".
Unfortunately, I haven't seen the latter movie so far,
so that I cannot tell how much Bava copied from it.
Anyway, Bava presents the material, a one night stand
presented from four different viewpoints, as a light
hearted comedy. Though not particularly convincing, I
found the movie entertaining and enjoyed how Bava was
playing with his audience, especially, when the psychiatrist tells his mock version of what "really"
happened. The colourful visual style and the mastery
of the camera added further delight.
As far as the DVD is concerned, it is another sloppy
release by Image - they didn't even take the pain to cut
out those frames announcing the beginning and the end of the break when - being in a movie theatre - you are
supposed to buy your ice cream. Though the transfer is
sharp and colourful, it has been drawn from an extremely
speckled master. The audios are equally damaged.
There is NO bonus material - not even a trailer - worth
mentioning, except for the informative liner notes by
Tim Lucas.
People interested in Bava's work and intrigued by his
visual style will probably want to buy this DVD which at
least features the original version. To others, I hesitate
to recommend the DVD.