Quante volte... quella notte (1972)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Mario Moroni (writer)
Charles Ross (writer)

Release Date:

April 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

John and Tina meet in a park one day. They immediately hit it off, go out on a date later that evening...

Plot Keywords:

Park | Voyeurism | Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman | Lesbianism

Cast

Daniela Giordano	...	Tina Brandt
Brett Halsey	...	John Price (Gianni Prada)
Dick Randall	...	The Janitor
Valeria Sabel	...	Mrs. Sofia Brandt
Michael Hinz	...	Rudy
Rainer Basedow	...	Jack
Brigitte Skay	...	Mumu
Calisto Calisti	...	The Scientist
Pascale Petit	...	Esmeralda

Also Known As:

Four Times That Night (International: English title)
Four Times that Night (USA)
Vier Mal heute Nacht (West Germany)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Italy | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | UK:15 | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Italy:VM18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Delfino Film

Trivia:

Shot in 1969.

Quotes:

Duccio: ...and the girls were left in the living room. They were both magnificent, believe me! Either one could shorten your life by 10 years.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Twisted Sex Vol. 23 (2007) (V)

Bava's sex comedy is one of his weakest films

Mario Bava is best known for his Gothic horror and giallo masterpieces, but he wasn't simply confined to those genres. He made exemplary sword and sandal flicks ("Hercules In the Haunted World"), space chillers ("Planet of the Vampires"), and pop-art craziness ("Danger: Diabolik"). Here, he tackles the sex comedy, a genre popular in Italy at the time and known for having typically low standards of quality. I generally can't stand these swinging comedies, but the fact Bava was directing it made me have a semblance of hope. Unfortunately, his comedic reworking of "Rashomon" is just about as weak as I feared. His direction is ultra-stylish to be sure and there are some nice psychedelic touches, but the film is just so dull and uninteresting.

There's several reasons why this is a lousy film that even Bava's masterful direction can't salvage. Its supposedly a comedy, but I can't recall laughing once. Plus, since its four versions of the same story, it becomes rather repetitive and tedious quickly. The acting is horrible, with legendary exploitation producer Dick Randall being the worst offender as the janitor. The film is only eighty minutes, but it feels twice as long. Bava's typically stylish direction and an admittedly clever concept can't save this one. Avoid unless you need to see absolutely everything the man did. For the rest of viewers, check out "Danger: Diabolik" for the fourth time instead - now thats a swinging masterpiece of pop art. (4/10)