Black Sabbath (1963) highlights spectacularly well what an exquisite eye director Mario Bava had for composition and lighting. He often shot movies for peanuts, but that didn’t mean they had to look tatty and uninspired. After all, Italians are well-known for stylistic verve and top craftsmanship. Even their B pictures could look grand and elegant.
Supposedly inspired by the works of Guy de Maupassant, Chekov and Tolstoi, each segment forms a macabre triptych of nightmarish vision anchored by a playful sense of humour and loveable Boris Karloff hamming it up a treat.
Alongside the AIP cut of the film, which extensively re-ordered the narrative, music and sound effects, even Karloff’s introduction, we get the Italian version known as I tre volti della paura (The Three Faces of Fear). The Telephone is the weakest of the three, though within its plot (a young girl pestered by a mysterious caller) the loose origins of what would become ‘gialli thrillers’ can be noted. The AIP version removed the homosexual insinuations and the idea the lead character is a call girl. The Wurdulak, a vampire story by Alexis Tolstoy, a relative of Leo, sees Karloff take a role as a patriarch who has succumbed to vampirism and then proceeds to stalk his family and a luckless traveller. To a certain fang point, the adaptation of this short story is faithful enough.
Last, but certainly not least, is The Drop of Water. The influence of Guy De Maupassant’s The Horla is apparent in both The Telephone and this final section. A young nurse steals a ring from a recently deceased client and lives to regret it. The staging of action and the cinematography is awe-inspiring with several moments downright majestic in their application of the fear factor.
Of this year’s Bava releases by Arrow Video, Black Sabbath’s HD transfer is truly first-rate. Watch crystal-clear wisps of smoke rise and snake across the screen or the richness of clashing primary colours that would go on to have a major influence on the likes of Dario Argento and other Italian maestros.
As ever with major Arrow Video releases, there is bonus features galore. Tim Lucas’s audio commentary is excellent. Things get better with a featurette that offers the viewer an in-depth comparison between the US release cut and the Italian. Needless to say, the original makes the better movie experience. Elsewhere the one and only Alan Jones delivers a filmed introduction; there are trailers and radio spots to view; a featurette with Mark Damon, co-star of The Wurdulak, and a booklet with writings by Tim Lucas, David Cairns and an archived interview with Sam Arkoff.
Martyn has awarded the mighty Black Sabbath four Torches of Truth
