Buoyed by the success of ‘Baron Blood,’ producer Alfred Leone offered Mario Bava carte blanche for his next project. Bava decided to collaborate with Leone on re-writing a story that he had wanted to do for some time. It was called ‘Lisa and the Devil.’ As the movie opens, Lisa Reiner (played by Elke Summer) …
‘The Mask of Satan’ (also sometimes known as ‘Black Sunday,’) was Mario Bava’s first directorial effort and even to this day, it is still highly regarded as one of the pinnacles of horror filmmaking. Shot on a modest budget, the movie shows Bava’s ingenuity as well as his unique eye for framing and camera angles. …
1972’s ‘Baron Blood,’ found Mario Bava doing something that he usually didn’t do- shoot on location. Shot in Vienna, Austria, Bava does an excellent job evoking the mood and the spirit of the location. As the movie opens, American Peter Kleist is arriving in Austria, to gather information on his great-grandfather, the notorious Baron Otto …
The sub-title for this long-winded movie could have been, ‘well, we all gotta eat.’ In 1966, saddled with a contract that he wanted out of, Mario Bava agreed to take on ‘Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs,’ for producer Fulvio Lucisano. The film is a follow-up to the US hit, ‘Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini …
The much discussed adaptation of the popular comic book seris ‘Avengers,’ is looking like it’s a go project. Robert Downey Jr. will be playing the part of Tony Stark/Iron Man, and Don Cheadle will be taking over the role of Jim Rhodes from Terence Howard. Favreau will be exec. producing, but one can assume that …
In some of the most exciting remake news I’ve heard in a while, Miramax has announced that Mike Nichols, (‘Closer,’ ‘Charlie Wilson’s War,’ and, oh yeah, ‘The Graduate,’) will helm a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller ‘High and Low.’ The script is written by David Mamet, (‘Spartan,’ ‘House of Games,’ and, oh yeah, ‘Glengarry …
For much of his career, Mario Bava was either up or down, fighting to make the movies he wanted to make, and ending up compromising and making movies that he had to make. Along with ‘Lisa and the Devil,’ ‘Rabid Dogs,’ was another pet project, coming late in the director’s career. Unfortunately the film was …
Editor’s note: This piece was originally run earlier this year. In eager anticipation for Halloween, we would like to re-present this look at some of Mario Bava’s work. Several titles previously un-reviewed in the series will be published in conjunction with several of the original works. Here is the interductory article to prepare you for …
At the beginning of James Marsh’s latest film, ‘Man on Wire,’ you know three things for certain. 1) Philippe Pettit is still alive. 2) You will never truly understand Philippe Pettit. 3) Philippe Pettit is crazy.
For me, James Bond was an intricate part of my childhood. I was in awe of these movies. Also a huge influence was Siskel and Ebert. I remember Sunday mornings spent eagerly awaiting the latest episode of ‘At the Movies.’ Yes, I was a dork. I own that.