The Devil Witch (1973)

A photographer finds herself falling under the spell of a witch.

Director:

Corrado Farina

Writers:

Corrado Farina (adapted for the screen by), Guido Crepax (cartoon)

Stars:

Carroll Baker, George Eastman, Isabelle De Funès

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Carroll Baker	...	Baba Yaga
George Eastman	...	Arno Treves
Isabelle De Funès	...	Valentina Rosselli
Ely Galleani	...	Annette
Daniela Balzaretti	...	Romina
Mario Mattia Giorgetti	...	Carlo, Hippie in the Demonstration (as Mario M. Giorgetti)
Sergio Masieri	...	Sandro
Angela Covello	...	Toni
Cesarina Amendola	...	Baba Yaga's Neighbour
Mario Paolo Giordani
Carla Mancini
Giorgio Pellizzone
Lorenzo Piani
Natalie E. Spleptzow
Rodolfo Zola

Storyline

Strange things have been happening to Valentina, a young and beautiful professional photographer, ever since she made the acquaintance of Baba Yaga, a mysterious older woman who gave her a lift home late one night. For one thing, Valentina has been having weird, kinky nightmares. For another, one of Valentina's cameras seems to have acquired a deadly curse. And then there was that visit to Baba Yaga's house, where Valentina discovered bizarre relics, including a dominatrix doll, and a bottomless pit in the living room. Valentina comes to realize that Baba Yaga is a witch who is out to possess her - body and soul.

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Plot Keywords:

fumetti | based on fumetti | woman in jeopardy | giallo | french giallo | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

20 September 1973 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Baba Yaga, Devil Witch

Filming Locations:

De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

14 Luglio Cinematografica, Productions Simone Allouche, Rewind Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Corrado Farina: The director actually takes three uncredited bit parts: as the policeman who arrives by car at the demonstration in the graveyard, as the Nazi officer with the white cat and as the WWI Prussian officer in charge of the firing squad.

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Alternate Versions

The film was cut for its UK cinema release to heavily edit two scenes of full frontal nudity. The 2009 Shameless DVD is fully uncut and features a print re-edited by the director which also previously deleted footage including a pre-credits graveyard scene.

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Connections

References Frankenstein (1931)

User Reviews

The Seductive Witch

In Milan, the professional photographer Valentina Rosselli (Isabelle De Funès) takes a ride close to her home with two friends in a party and decides to walk alone in the middle of the night. She saves a dog from a fancy car driver by Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker), a mysterious older woman that insists to drive her home. From this moment on, the life of Valentina changes and she has nightmares and her camera seem to be cursed. She believes Baba Yaga is a witch and that she is under a spell to possess her but her skeptical friend and filmmaker Arno Treves (George Eastman) does not believe. Until the day Valentina visits Baba Yaga´s house.

"Baba Yaga" is a film with stylish cinematography, beautiful music score that becomes tiresome after many repetitions, and a storyline typical from the Italian films from the 70´s (especially from Jesse Franco) with eroticism and cult elements such as references to Goddard and "The Golem". The conclusion is a plus in this interesting witch movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Baba Yaga - A Bruxa Maldita" ("Baba Yaga - The Coursed Witch")