Mario Bava has many staunch fans and rightfully so. His outstanding talent as a cinematographer marked all of his stints as a director, and Black Sabbath shows him at his most impressive best.
But for me...and I'm a compulsive fan of vintage horror movies...Bava's great visuals are almost always undone by his shortcomings as a storyteller. In almost all his films, the narrative thread is weak. The suspense just isn't there. The black humor doesn't resonate the way it does in the best pictures from Universal, AIP or Hammer. And the lead characters rarely have the charisma necessary to keep the audience fascinated.
I've just finished watching a beautiful widescreen DVD release of the original European version of Black Sabbath, called 'The Three Faces of Fear'. Having given up on Bava many years ago, I thought this was a good opportunity to try again, and to see what many regard as his masterpiece.
Yes, it is gorgeous to look at: great framing, great tracking, great panning shots, haunting atmosphere. So by all means, try to find a good full-length HD print to appreciate this one.
But for me, each of the three tales in this anthology has the same weaknesses of Bava's other films. No compelling plotlines, and none of the fascinating characterizations needed to keep the audience in a tight grip. Even Boris Karloff, while always a pleasure to watch, is not as engrossing as usual.
Still, Black Sabbath is a remarkable accomplishment. So in a nutshell, maybe one should borrow François Truffaut's famous comment to Alfred Hitchcock, regarding Under Capricorn: 'Perhaps not a good film, but a beautiful film.'
But for me...and I'm a compulsive fan of vintage horror movies...Bava's great visuals are almost always undone by his shortcomings as a storyteller. In almost all his films, the narrative thread is weak. The suspense just isn't there. The black humor doesn't resonate the way it does in the best pictures from Universal, AIP or Hammer. And the lead characters rarely have the charisma necessary to keep the audience fascinated.
I've just finished watching a beautiful widescreen DVD release of the original European version of Black Sabbath, called 'The Three Faces of Fear'. Having given up on Bava many years ago, I thought this was a good opportunity to try again, and to see what many regard as his masterpiece.
Yes, it is gorgeous to look at: great framing, great tracking, great panning shots, haunting atmosphere. So by all means, try to find a good full-length HD print to appreciate this one.
But for me, each of the three tales in this anthology has the same weaknesses of Bava's other films. No compelling plotlines, and none of the fascinating characterizations needed to keep the audience in a tight grip. Even Boris Karloff, while always a pleasure to watch, is not as engrossing as usual.
Still, Black Sabbath is a remarkable accomplishment. So in a nutshell, maybe one should borrow François Truffaut's famous comment to Alfred Hitchcock, regarding Under Capricorn: 'Perhaps not a good film, but a beautiful film.'