Baba Yaga (1973) User Reviews

Stylish and arty adaption of an Italian comic

[Red-Barracuda · 7/10 · 23 June 2016]

Guido Crepax erotic comic 'Valentina' was the basis for this movie. The comics themselves were not very plot-driven so the screenplay here was more inspired by them rather than being a straight adaption. Perhaps because of this, plot is not a strong point in this one. A fashion photographer called Valentina encounters a mysterious witch called Baba Yaga. The latter puts a hex on Valentina's camera meaning that anyone she photographs experiences some trauma. It's a fairly basic narrative but it has been used as a framework here for all manner of stylish madness.

Isabelle De Funès plays Valentina and she looks suitably chic in the part, regular Italian genre actress Carroll Baker is the enigmatic Baba Yaga, while George Eastman gets to appear in a role that unusually does not call for him to be a psychopath but instead is a romantic lead of sorts who works as a director of commercials (his effort for a soap powder advert really has to be seen to be believed!). The director here is Corrado Farina who had previously helmed another strange art-horror film called They Have Changed Their Faces (1971). While both films are in the horror bracket, it would be fair to say that their arty leanings are at least as strong as any horror angle. Baba Yaga is very dreamlike in tone with a deliberate pace. It is highly stylish in its visual approach with its sensibilities being divided between pop art and surrealism. Of the latter there are several dream sequences involving Nazis. Odd moments happen in the dead of night such as Valentina discovering a puppy lying within a circle of candles. There are strange items such as an S&M doll which has the power to transform into a woman. So, there is a great deal of oddness to this one, resulting in a film with a strange tone. Farina executes this kind of stuff with a bold visual style which is the movie's main strength. Particularly nice were the sequences in which the action suddenly becomes visually formatted like one of the fumetti comics from which it was inspired. Piero Umiliani provides a pretty varied musical score which splits itself into three styles - upbeat easy-pop for the fashion shoot scenes, slower orchestral stuff for scenes involving Baba Yaga and jazzy compositions to accompany the more surreal episodes.

On the whole, this is quite a strange movie which will not have widespread appeal. It's quite restrained as a horror movie and is not visceral in any way. While it does have some erotic elements, they aren't very exploitative. This is very much an art-house/horror hybrid in a lot of ways. It's not necessarily entirely successful in execution but it definitely does a lot of things very well and has some admirable ambition. It's one that is mainly aimed at those who have an affinity with style-heavy early 70's Italian movies. A very intriguing oddity that's for sure.

The Seductive Witch

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 21 February 2018]

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")

Does a Movie Need A Cohesive Plot To Be Good?

[josephbrando · 7/10 · 19 August 2013]

If you answered "Yes" you should not bother seeing this movie. However, if you can view a haunted house dark ride style movie as a satisfying cinematic viewing experience, then strap yourself in and enjoy the view as creepy weird unexplained visions flash in front of you. Pouty-lipped Valentina is smack-dab in the middle of the art house European revolution crowd of the time - photographing nude woman by day and walking the lonely city streets at night alone, which is how she meets up with "Baba Yaga" a mysterious woman who dresses in black (played by the always lovely Carroll Baker). She instantly weaves a spell over Valentina haunting her thoughts, her dreams and her camera. She also does a pretty decent job of weaving her magic spell over the viewer. "Baba Yaga" takes Gothic Horror, stylish pop art, comic books and bondage sex, whirls them in a blender and spews the concoction forth. Although very often defined as a "Giallo" film this certainly belongs more to the "Art Horror" genre. Those who are fans of the trippy stylish body-baring Giallo/Horror output from Italy circa 1970 should put "Baba Yaga" on their "must-watch" list.

Not the best, but perhaps the most interesting "fumetti" adaptation

[lazarillo · 18 July 2006]

Until relatively recently comic books in the US were mostly aimed at kids (and thanks to a self-censorship body called the Comics Code Authority--which made sure little Johnny didn't get hold of a copy of "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" or "Cherry Poptart" and be scarred for life--adult comics were often unavailable even for adults). But things were different in Europe, especially in France and Italy in the 60's and 70's where "fumetti" were very popular with adults, exploring adult themes and experimenting with narrative structure in ways that the American "graphic novels" are only just getting around to today. Fumetti were also pretty hip in Europe at the time (again in contrast to America where the coolest guy who publicly admits to reading comics even today is "Clerks" director Kevin Smith).

There have been a handful of movies based on fumetti. The most famous is "Barbarella" because it featured Jane Fonda, but this has also made it an easy target for people like idiot critic/right-wing ben-wah ball Michael Medved. "Diabolik" has become highly respected today because of director Mario Bava and the two incredibly attractive leads, but it was reputedly not a well-regarded fumetti. I've heard "Satanik" is pretty bad period. Some years later there was also "Cemetery Man" based on a novel by the author of the famous fumetti "Dylan Dog". It was this movie though that has just confused the hell out of everybody since it's based on a comic strip "Valentina" few outside of Italy have read and few in Italy probably understood. Valentina is a photographer who through the agency of a magic camera falls under the spell of a strange lesbian witch, Baba Yaga. That's the basic plot, but it goes off on so many bizarre and surreal tangents that the movie itself is almost impossible to describe. At one point, for instance, Baba Yaga gives Valentina a doll which suddenly turns into a real-life dominatrix who strips her naked, ties her up, and whips her while the witch looks on approvingly. In another scene, Valentina's suddenly part of a firing squad shooting a naked woman on a Jean Rollinesque deserted beach.

Carol Baker is the witch and although she is woefully miscast (too young and voluptuous)she acquits herself well (and even did a full-frontal nude scene which was censored out). The actress that plays Valentina, Isabella de Funes couldn't act her way out of an 8mm porno loop with a German shepherd co-star, but she really doesn't have to in this very visual, non-linear movie. Ditto with Ely Galeani, who apparently auditioned for Valentina role but was (hard as it is too imagine) even worse than de Funes,so she took the living doll role. It's also interesting to see George "The Grim Reaper" Eastman in a romantic role as Valentina's lover (maybe they got him confused with George Hilton?) Rounding out the cast is Angela Covello ("So Sweet/So Dead", "Torso") one my favorite obscure Italian actresses. This movie definitely isn't for everybody, but if you're on this site reading this review (and you've heard of any of these people) I expect you'll probably like it.

seductive and imaginative

[Jonny_Numb · 6/10 · 6 October 2005]

Apparently inspired by a comic book, "Baba Yaga" is an unusually compelling, surreal nightmare of movie that also is vibrant with the essence of the late 1960s. The story follows pretty young fashion photographer Valentina (Isabelle De Funes) who runs afoul of seductive sorceress Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker) who proceeds to meddle in her life via a tiny doll in an S&M getup. Baba is not one to take rejection lightly, and subjects Valentina to physical and psychological torments. Well-made, hard-to-pigeonhole film, director Corrado Farina succeeds in creating moody atmosphere and a warped logic in which anything can and will happen. Funes in particular does a superb job of convincing the audience of the vacuum that's engulfing her; a young George Eastman ("Anthropophagous") fares well in the role of her disbelieving commercial-director boyfriend. The direction, which intercuts comic-book imagery with hallucinogenic dream sequences (which all seem to possess a Nazi angle), is skillful and unpretentious.

mispronounced quite often, but Carroll Baker made some cool stuff in Italy

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 5 June 2007]

During the late '60s and early '70s, Carroll Baker expatriated from the United States and made some horror flicks in Italy. Among these giallo movies was "Baba Yaga". It portrays a fashion photographer (Isabelle De Funes) getting involved with an otherworldly older woman (Baker). The title identifies who she is, but people unfamiliar with Slavic mythology may not know who that is. Baba Yaga is a witch in Slavic, especially Russian, folklore. Depending on which story, she can be good or evil, but they usually portray her living in a house standing on chicken legs. We in the west usually mispronounce the second part of her name: we say YAH-gah, but it's actually yah-GAH.

But let's not get off topic. I liked this movie. It was sort of half horror, half look at the mod culture in early 1970s Italy (although it seems like all the giallo movies back then showed it). And of course, there's plenty of eroticism to go around; as far as I'm concerned, Carroll Baker embodies (pun intended) eroticism. Quite cool.

Also starring George Eastman.

Understand`s Crepax work, but executed in the worst way.

[nicolopolo77 · 3/10 · 23 August 2003]

First, I must say I`m a big fan of the recently deceased Guido Crepax`s work and have readed and studied most of it, including the storyline Baba Yaga for the Valentina saga. Just after I have seen the movie for the first time, I´m a little perplexed on how wrong an adaptation it turned out to be. Farina (in "Valentina and I", included in the DVD) tells he was a very good friend of Crepax himself, he really seemed to understand the linguistical narrative that Crepax does in his fumettos, and he had the firm intention of doing the best adaptation posible of the Baba Yaga storyline (trying to avoid bad results as Modesty Blaise and Barbarella). Then, how in hell has the movie ended being so bad (as those same movies he refers to)? While there are some interesting aproximations (the photomontage used directly from a layout of the fumetto) and intertext to the work of Crepax (some pages of Bianca are readed by Valentina and Arno, or the including of Crepax himself as a character) the feeling of it all its just wrong. First, athmosphere is not that of a terror movie as is promoted, but is more like a campy pop sixties feel, including music and the cinematography. Second, Isabelle de Funes was the worst actress they could have choosen to play Valentina: she´s not sexy nor ludic nor naive; she inspires boredom, not seduction. Tough the plot is faithfull (most part of it, anyway, Rembrant, the long time and true Valentina`s lover, is replaced by Arno Treves, a existing character in the saga but from another storyline), it is rendered in the most boring and unimaginative way a director could. I conclude, that tough Farina understand´s the linguistic mechanics of Crepax`s fumetto, he is a bad director and can`t help it (prove is, that he only did two feature films, this being his second). R

Old style horror nightmare with a witch

[ernesti · 7/10 · 18 October 2012]

Italian cinema never ceases to amaze me and this was not an exception. Baba yaga is very stylish Italian horror movie but at the same time it's not as graphic as many movies of the spaghetti cinema. I can assume that it was intended for mainstream cinemas as it is quite bland in today's terms.

It's plausible as a nightmare, offering very little shocks and more mystery. I wasn't looking for a masterpiece and i was entertained. It should be noted that this movie is an old kind of horror movie without excessive gore.

There definitely is symbolism in this movie that many viewers might not understand. Why'd presumably wealthy, old and lonely woman want to extort a young photographer to obey her will? I thought the witch symbolized power and money and its will to gain more control. The witch wanted to corrupt and enslave the main character. She fought for her freedom and prevailed. I thought the movie was actually very political, like on other movie by the same director, "They've changed their face".

I find it intriguing that a movie has a message of this kind. Many Hollywood movies just lack that aspect completely. This movie is also quite slow and if one has to have a new scene every third second, then it might get boring.

I can recommend this movie to everyone (adults mostly) and not just for retro fans. It's not a masterpiece and if you're not looking for one then you won't be disappointed. It's more like a lost gem.

Don't Kiss me, just Kill me...

[darth_schneider67 · 2/10 · 18 February 2008]

Wow...this was in a DVD 4 pack called "Blood Bath" and there was barely any blood...someone got stuck with a pin, the bloody pin was the only blood I remember...also someone literally "drops dead" & someone falls in a hole. On there other hand, the only redeeming thing, was lots of Euro-boobs, but even nipples don't make up for a boring, slow, rambling plot. The atmosphere started out nice, the characters at first seemed possibly interesting...but nothing really develops... Who was Bababooey? Why was she interested in Valentina? Why was the Dog in the middle of the street with a weird cut in it's forehead...and surrounded by candles? Why did the camera make one person sick, one person collapse...who, what & why is Annette a creepy dominatrix doll that comes to life? (but looked hot & bare breasted)

I give it 2 stars, one for breasts, and 1 for a glimpse of the 1972 IKEA catalog. (her big round table lamp is still available!)

An outrageous disaster...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 24 November 2021]

Female photographer (the sulky, rail-thin Isabelle De Funès, coiffed with Louise Brooks' hairdo) is bewitched and cursed by the title-named sorceress, a predatory lesbian with kinky inclinations. Of all the sexploitation films Carroll Baker made overseas once her fortunes ran dry in Hollywood, this may be the strangest. Baker stepped into the role of chalky-white, cool-to-the-touch Baba Yaga after actress Anne Heywood dropped out at the 11th hour. Although she looks spookily tantalizing in her black mink ensembles, Baker's intensity goes wasted in this dubbed, choppy Italian-French co-production with a breast fixation. The pop art flourishes in De Funès' studio--complete with a see-through clear rotary phone--are amusing, as is composer Piero Umiliani's throbbing/sensual score. Director Corrado Farina nearly took his name off the credits when he discovered the negative had been reedited against his wishes (this review is based on the 89mn print, which seems comprised of already-existing and previously excised footage). *1/2 from ****

Booba Yaga

[Bezenby · 8/10 · 6 August 2013]

Is this artsy fartsy seventies jive or compelling allegory of the so called enlightened intellects versus the unknown? That's up to you to decide. I know nothing about the comic strip so I can't compare… Valentina is a fashion photographer being romantically pursued by George Eastman (aka Luigi Montefori, from The Unholy Four and The New Barbarians). Fobbing him off one night and walking home herself, she finds a puppy lying within a circle of candles and narrowly manages to save it from being run over by a car driven by the mysterious Baba Yaga (Carrol Baker, from The Devil with Seven Faces). Baba Yaga's immediately starts getting weird on Val, taking a clip from her suspenders and saying she'll be back the next day. And the next day indeed (after Val indulges in some topless photography), Baba turns up and gives her the clip back and gives her address. Intrigued in a way only free living seventies people can be, Val goes to Baba's house, takes photos of things, finds a bottomless pit in the hall, finds a strange glove and puts in on, which prompts her to do a bit of invisible banjo playing while the film turns into a comic. Baba also gives her doll in bondage gear and curses her camera so that every time she takes a picture of someone, they die. The doll on occasion turns into Ely Galleano (from Lizard in a Woman's Skin and High Crime) who puts in a performance so erotic, I felt obliged to send her some money in the post. Sounds weird, eh? It is, all done in a surreal, playful manner with plenty of topless women and kinky situations. It's not overly pervy though, but highly stylish. The sets and general execution are very good indeed, involving scenes that turn from reality to comic strip, a nazi trial, a boxing match with a guy dressed like Jesus, and a soap powder commercial that's truly bizarre. Gore hounds will be disappointed, as will though who like things fast paced. As for me, I liked it. Made a nice change from all the violence you usually get from Italian films from this era. The copy that Shameless Screen Entertainment have released looks to be the fullest version (including a full frontal scene with Baker!), and it looks beautiful. This is the only version I've seen so I can't comment on anything that's gone before.

Flawed, but fascinating

[whiggles · 6/10 · 22 August 2005]

This is an interesting film, and one that is wildly uneven but still ultimately watchable. Many of the flaws are admitted by Farina in his interview on the Blue Underground DVD, especially the casting of Carroll Baker as Baba Yaga, which simply doesn't work, but there are other flaws which he doesn't mention. For one, it has that strange quasi-conservative response to sex that tainted the work of many so-called liberal artists of this period. For all its attempts to be daring and original, it always seems to fall back on a relatively conventional framework, culminating in a deeply disappointing ending. It's also full of bizarre non-sequiturs, such as Guido Crepax, author of the graphic novels upon which the film is based, appearing as himself, and Valentina even reading pages from them at one point (pages which seem to feature herself) - had they been handled better, these ideas might actually have been very effective. Still, the film has a jaunty atmosphere and, despite being savaged by the censors, has a suitably erotic undercurrent.

bad baba

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 27 October 2005]

Beautiful photographer Isabelle is pursued by beautiful witch Baba Yaga in an attempt to seduce her in this mess of a film based on a Italian comic. An quasi-artsy movie, the movie is beautifully filmed but is devoid of anything remotely entertaining. Even the copious amounts of nudity can't really give this wooden effort life. All the beatnik, pretentious, moronic dialog hampers this film immensely and furthermore the plot is rather boring and tedious. A woefully pretentious eurotrash mess if there ever was one. I can't find it in me to honestly recommend this mess to anyone.

My Grade: D

DVD Extras: 22 minute Interview with Director Corrado Farina; Comic writer Guido Crepax documentary; Deleted & censored scenes; Poster & Stills gallery; and Theatrical Trailer

DVD-Rom: Comic book to film comparisons

'Baba Yaga' is a fascinating mess which will appeal to fans of arty Eurotrash like Franco's 'Vampyros Lesbos' and 'Eugenie De Sade' and Bava's 'Lisa And The Devil'.

[Infofreak · 12 April 2004]

'Baba Yaga' is a fascinating mess. Corrado Farina seems like an intelligent guy but even he admits that he failed in his attempt to adapt the erotic comics of Guido Crepax to the movie screen. Farina's initial choices for the lead roles of Valentina and Baba Yaga fell through and so he had to reluctantly make do with Isabelle De Funes and Carroll Baker. On top of that his movie was recut behind his back by a producer with second thoughts and he had to fight to salvage it. Despite all this behind the scenes drama it is a movie which will appeal to fans of arty Eurotrash like Franco's 'Vampyros Lesbos' and 'Eugenie De Sade' and Bava's 'Lisa And The Devil'. The plot of the film is minimal and frankly not its strong point. Valentina (De Funes) is a successful photographer who comes under the spell of a mysterious witch Baba Yaga (Carroll). That's about it folks. The movie attempts to create a dreamlike atmosphere, mixing up fantasy and reality. It isn't entirely successful but some sequences are quite impressive. In fact it's probably best enjoyed if you ignore the minimal story and just concentrate on the imagery and the music. Farina complained that Carroll Baker wasn't the right physical type to play Baba Yaga, who in the original comic strip was androgynous and not conventionally beautiful. That may be so but I certainly enjoy looking at Ms. Baker, an actress who made several left of center movie choices in the '60s and '70s including 'Orgasmo', 'The Sweet Body Of Deborah', 'Bad' and 'Bloodbath'. The DVD by the way includes a brief outtake of a full frontal scene from her for those that are interested. 'Baba Yaga' is one of those movies that you either love or hate. I'm in the former camp.

For its time - great thriller

[kataz66 · 7/10 · 13 October 2003]

Sure this isn't the typical horror wanna be film with blood, gore, no plot, etc but this is a very deep movie with multitudes of depth, innuendo and symbolism. The plot deals with a young female photographer who becomes unwilling struck under the spell of b*tch bondage witch, and midaged woman portrayed by Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker). Valentina (the photographer) finds out she is being used by the witch to cast onto others. The film is subtitled from the original version into english but isn't really too noticable. Lots of details within the film have an almost artsy feel; a clock with no hands, the old witch stroking her pussy/cat. You could watch this movie over and over and find new details each time. Even the deleted scene on the DVD was interesting, with the anti-American flag burning senitments of the 70's cut out for american distribution. A neat piece of film history indeed.

Baba Yaga: The Composite Cut.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 7/10 · 5 December 2019]

Finding out that a Italian viewing challenge was soon to take place on ICM,I began planning to play some of the oldest titles I've had left unwatched. Having picked up a number of Shameless titles before the company went quiet, it felt like the best moment to at last meet Baba Yaga.

View on the film:

Branching the rough looking cut footage into a film backed with interesting extras, Shameless presents a good transfer,with the audio kept clean,and the picture having a suitable level of grain.

Hypnotising Rosselli into her nightmare world lusts, Carroll Baker gives a devilishly seductive turn as Yaga, whose sexuality Baker uses to curl round Rosselli's weaknesses, pulling her to reality blurring mind-tricks Baker plays with a bewitching spark. Joined by George Eastman in his welcomed loud shirts as Treves,Isabelle De Funes gives a terrific twirl as Rosselli, whose snapping of Yaga allows Funes to capture a curiosity in Rosselli, who despite fearing for her life, can't turn away from being Yaga's play doll.

Bonding Rosselli and Yaga in bondage, co-writer/(with Giulio Berruti and Francois de Lannurien) director Corrado Farina & cinematographer Aiace Parolin conjure up quality boobage in S&M- themed sex scenes, which are loaded up with bonus sleaze in Third Reich master/slave fantasies.

A troubled production which saw original producer Franco Committeri leave, Anne Heywood quitting from playing Yaga early in filming, and Farina being stuck with Funes, (who he did not like) due to the French co-producers, all these issues actually help the film, thanks to giving the title a unpredictable fractured atmosphere, where everything can change from whip-pans over bursting with primary colours Giallo slashes, to whipping up raunchy set-pieces melted with Comic-Book/fumetti inserts, all within a snap of Baba Yaga's spell.

Review for KISS ME, KILL ME

[capkronos · 5/10 · 12 May 2003]

Lanky, shorthaired fashion photographer Valentina (Isabelle De Funes) takes time out of her busy schedule snapping photos of naked babes to soak up the advances of new boyfriend Arno (George Eastman, from THE GRIM REAPER films). Out of nowhere appears Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker), a mysterious black-clad lesbian sadist who challenges Arno for the affections of our malnourished heroine and uses her supernatural powers in nasty ways to get her.

Oh yeah, she also has an endless pit in her living room that leads to hell and a sexy S&M doll named Annette who comes to life in the form of gorgeous Ely Galleani to do her bidding. This extremely pretentious (but entertaining) Eurotrash effort masquerading as an art flick was based on a popular Italian comic book (and includes lots of comic stills), is full of female nudity and features an amazingly wooden Baker during her prime weird period.

A bizarre and strange film with fantasy , tension , intrigue, and rare happenings

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 20 November 2021]

Kiss Me Kill Me (United States title) or Baba Yaga, or the Devil Witch (United Kingdom) deals with weird things have been happening to Valentina Rosselli (Isabelle De Funès) , a young and gorgeous professional camerawoman , who photographs beautiful models ( Ely Galleany) . Along the way , Valentina has been having fantastic dreems , as well . For one thing , reluctant to make love with his friend filmmaker , Arno Treves (George Eastman), she is eventually in bed with him. For another, Valentina meets a suspect older woman , Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker), experimenting an attractive , as well as sadomasochist sensation with her . And then there was that she visits to Baba Yaga's house, inhabited by monkeys and serpents , where Valentina discovers a terrible truth , as she comes to realize that Baba Yaga is a sorcereress .

A real oddity with fantasy , strange images , giallo elements , nudism , chills , and art-house style . The tale is a little bit of ghost story and with weird , kinky nightmares and erotic frames . It includes fantastic events , bizarre relics , rare objects , including a dominatrix doll , as cameras seems to have acquired lethal curses and a bottomless pit in a living room. Based on Guido Crepax's famous comic book , taking parts here and there . Guido Crepax - along with Milo Manara- is one of the great creators of what was called adult comics in the seventies and eighties, not only because of the introduction of erotic themes, but also because of his renewal of the narrative language of the medium, frequently resorting to "mises en abyme "and" flashbacks ", among many other novel resources. With some impropriety, his editing technique was called "cinematographic". Guido adapted two stories by Edgar Allan Poe and classics of erotic literature, such as Story of O (1975), Emmanuelle (1978) or Justine (1979). His latest work, Frankenstein, a version of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, but his masterpiece is this Valentina. The main and support cast are acceptable . Isabelle De Funès gives a passable acting as Valentina as the charming photographer finds herself falling under the spell ever since she made the acquaintance of a witch called Baba Yaga . Isabelle was Louis De Funes' niece and played a few films . While the American Carroll Baker is fine as the mysterious and strange witch who is out to possess her - body and soul . This American actress won a great triumph with Baby Doll (1956), after she did some Westerns. Being historically or aesthetically significant her performances : Giant (1956) and John Ford's How the West was won and Cheyenne Autumn . Signed a contract with Paramount Studios in 1963. She was given roles originally slated for Paramount starlet Stella Stevens - Harlow , The Carpetbaggers and Sylvia . The studio felt Baker was a more experienced dramatic actress and just as alluring. Then , Carroll emigrated Italy where she performed a lot of Giallos and softcore films , such as : L'harem , The sweet body of Deborah , Orgasm , Paranoia, The Devil with Seven Faces ,Knife of Ice, Death at the Deep , End of the Swimming Pool , Il Corpo, The Private Lesson, The Virgin Wife . While the Italian co-starring , the tall George Eastman or Luigi Montefiori plays alrightly a peculiar director who saves the lady in distress . Look for cameos from singer Franco Battiato as the Man in white in the cemetery , Guido Crepax himself as White Car Driver and director Corrado Farina as the Nazi with the cat.

It displays appropriate and adequate cinematography Aiace Parolin , shot on location Milan, Lombardia, and De Paolis studios , Rome , Italy, though mostly shot in studios . Equally , intriguing and evocative musical score in the 70s style by Piero Umiliani . The picture was original and strangely directed by Corrado Farina, though it has some flaws , gaps , shortfalls and failures. He went on to direct around 20 such films, spanning such genres as horror, SF, war, comedy , drama and especially documentary . Being particularly known for ¨They Have Changed Their Face¨ and this ¨The Devil Witch¨. He often plays a role in both his features. He advertises LSD in "Hanno cambiato faccia" and he's a Nazi official and a Prussian official in "Baba Yaga". Rating : 5.5/10 , passable and acceptable . The pic will appeal to Carroll Baker Baker fans and Giallo enthusiasts.

Odd art-house giallo flick with intriguing plot ingredients and poor execution

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 16 October 2015]

This film is a bit of an oddity, a movie that has more in common with art-house cinema than the more conventional stalk-n-slash murder movies that were popular at the time. The story of a woman descending into madness is a familiar one that was utilised through the '70s, so don't expect anything new from the plot. The style of direction, the fashions and the camera-work is also very typical of the period which gives this film a solid grounding as well as making it extremely dated – but hey, isn't that part of the fun of watching?

Ultimately, BABA YAGA, DEVIL WITCH is a disappointment because nothing seems to happen. Once the story has evolved, the movie alternates between scare scenes and dialogue, neither of which are done very well. It's a shame, because many of the horror ingredients here have the opportunity to be extremely frightening, had better use been made of them. The idea of a hole in the ground leading to hell I loved, and the weird fetish doll is an extraordinarily creepy idea. As another plus, Carroll Baker is effective in the role of Baba Yaga, the witch, even though she isn't given much to work with...she certainly gave me the chills!

Sadly too much of the film is filled with filler material, and it seems that the director struggled to adapt this movie from its comic book roots. There seems to be a focus on female nudity rather than plot, and minor characters like the black man come and go with little impact on the actual storyline. There's no faulting the acting, as Isabelle De Funes' heroine is pleasingly complex, far more than a simple screaming victim, and big George Eastman gives one of his better performances early on in his career. It's just that BABA YAGA, DEVIL WITCH is so familiar. There's absolutely nothing in the way of originality here, and while a good few individual moments are decently done, as a whole the film is run-of-the-mill entertainment.

Italian comic awesomeness

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 18 February 2020]

Originally simply the girlfriend for the superhero Neutron, Italian comic book character Valentina took over her series in 1967 and never looked back. Creator Guido Crepax moved her stories away from science fiction and into a world of the erotic tinged with hallucinations, dreams and BDSM.

Director Corrado Farina had previously made a documentary on Crepax before this movie, Freud a Fumetti. That artist had drawn the storyboards for Tinto Brass' Deadly Sweet, a filmmaker who felt that Crepax's visual style was near impossible to put on the screen.

Of recent comic adaptions - one would assume Barbarella and Danger: Diabolik amongst them, Farina would disparagingly say, "None of the filmmakers who embarked on that task had been able to deepen the relationship between the language of comics and that of film."

In this film, Farina was committed to showing the fantastic side of Crepax and not just the erotic.

Valentina Rosselli (Isabelle De Funes) is no stranger to controversy. Her photos are guaranteed to shock and she's unafraid to get into trouble. One night, her car gets into an accident with a mysterious blonde (Carroll Baker!) who announces herself as Baba Yaga and says that their meeting was destiny.

After taking a garter belt from Valentina's home, Baba Yaga worms her way inside our protagonist's head, controlling her via a teddy bear in bondage gear. Yes, you read that correctly. Baba Yaga also has a bottomless pit in her home, which is probably a common thing amongst Italian witches.

Valentina's lover - the director Arno - is played by George Eastman. That was enough to get me to watch this movie.

Sadly, we may never see the complete vision that Farina had for this movie. After completing shooting and post-production, he left for a vacation. When he came back, the producers had hacked away half an hour directly on the negative of the film. Although he and assistant director Giuilio Berruti tried to save the movie, Farina felt that he could never get back what was lost.

Dull Eurotrash rubbish

[The_Void · 2/10 · 30 March 2006]

It was an accident that I even saw this film - I bought the DVD from Diamond Entertainment under the assumption that the disk, titled "Umberto Lenzi Presents Kiss Me, Kill Me" was actually the 1969 Giallo, which also stars Carol Baker. Diamond Entertainment made a mistake, and the disk and the cover do not match, which is a huge shame as Baba Yaga is a horrible mess of a film, and I spent eighty minutes bored to tears with it. The film is along the same lines of Mario Bava's Lisa and the Devil, except it moves slower, makes even less sense and is nowhere near as atmospheric. The plot supposedly comes from an Italian comic book, and follows a young female photographer named Valentina (Isabelle De Funès), who comes under the spell of an evil witch called Baba Yaga (Carol Baker). She starts to realise that something is wrong when she begins having nightmares, and when she has accident with her camera and one of the models; she begins to suspect the real motive behind the mysterious Baba Yaga.

Just the name of this film is enough to put anyone off - what kind of a title is 'Baba Yaga'? The fact that the film moves really slowly is annoying enough on its own, and it gets worse because very little actually happens. The film tries to make the atmosphere the star, and this ultimately harms it as despite undertones of sexuality and innuendo; the film is very boring. The acting doesn't really help the film much either. Isabelle De Funès is great to look at, but despite it being the lead; her role doesn't really allow her to do much. George Eastman, star of Eurotrash films such as Emanuelle's Revenge, Photo of Gioia and Antropophagus has a small role and the film is rounded off by Carol Baker, who just looks silly in the role of the witch. The murky cinematography ensures that the film always looks very cheap, which doesn't help it much on the 'art' front. Perhaps the most annoying thing about Baba Yaga is the fact that it's about a relationship between two women, one of them a witch; and yet barely any attempt is made to capitalise on either of these potentially interesting themes. It only cost me 99p to see this film, and I feel ripped off. If you like messy arty films, you might find something here...although I can't imagine what.

Russian folklore, through the eyes of 70's Italian pop-culture

[matheusmarchetti · 10/10 · 5 July 2010]

If, judging by the title, you're expecting a film about a cannibalistic old lady who lives in a hut with chicken legs in a Russian forest, than you'll certainly by surprised, for the only similarities between this film and the old folktale is having an old witch who preys on the young. Corrado Farina's "Baba Yaga" is a delirious art-house gem adapted from Guido Crepax's "Valentina" comics, which centers around the sex life of a popular fashion photographer. Though Corrado Farina made only about four films in his career, none of which were very well praised, he really shows his potential as filmmaker in this one, whose unique vision of horror cinema stands out from almost every single genre film made in Italy at that time (most of which consisted of cheap Bava imitations). As a matter of fact, it's much more like something Godard would do had he done a horror film, and not surprisingly, Farina himself admitted that the French maestro was indeed an inspiration for this one. Though reportedly it wasn't an easy shoot, Farina really believed in the project, and one can really see how this film is indeed a labor of love. There's something of an 'extra care' and finesse that lacks in so many films of it's kind that were released around the same time (even the dialog which is usually laughable, is well written). Also, he makes full advantage of comic book motifs in translating the story to screen, with some scenes framed just like a comic book as well as some other interesting editing techniques. Another bonus for the film is a great cast that, though weren't exactly what the direction originally intended, do very well in their jobs. Isabelle De Funés is pretty and very sympathetic as our protagonist Valentina, George Eastman is a likable hero, and last but not least, Caroll Baker is eerily seductive as the titular sorceress, conveying both the creepy and sensual qualities her role requires (even if her performance does borrow something of Delphine Seyrig as Countess Bathory in the equally hypnotic "Daughters of Darkness"). Other highlights include Piero Umiliani's beautiful score which often shifts from haunting piano melodies to funky disco motifs, as well as the very disturbing and spine-chilling nightmare sequences, which resembles a cross between Fellini at his darkest and Roman Polanski. Still, the film is not without it's flaws. For one, I just can't take that dominatrix doll too seriously, and also, the ending felt too rushed and anti-climatic, which is a shame really, considering there was so much suspense build up for what turned out to be not much really. I suspect the ending problem might have something to do with the producers' total butchering of the film before it was released (though Shameless' cut is probably the closest thing we'll ever get to Farina's original vision, there's still lots of stuff that has been cut out or changed). Nevertheless, the film manages to hold up quite well even with it's flaws. It is overall a highly atmospheric, original, often creepy and throughly mysterious piece of artsy fun. 9/10

"Ooh, Ooh, Witchy Woman...."

[ferbs54 · 6/10 · 28 April 2008]

I am wholly unfamiliar with Guido Crepax' "Valentina" comic strip, so really cannot say how closely the Italian/French coproduction "Baba Yaga" (1973) hews to its source material. Director Corrado Farina states, however, in one of this Blue Underground DVD's many extras, that he failed in his intention to produce a film that replicates the feel of a comic strip. Be that as it may, the objective viewer should easily discern that this film has much to offer in its own right. In it, we meet Valentina (Isabella de Funes), a pretty fashion photographer living in Milan, who, one evening, encounters a very strange woman. She is Baba Yaga, a sensual, echoey-voiced, blond enchantress of sorts who gives Valentina a leather-clad living doll, puts a hex on her camera, and shows her her creepy old house (replete with a bottomless pit in the living room!). Carroll Baker, older but still very beautiful, is quite good as this "witchy woman"--I just love the way she wraps her mouth around the word "Valentina"--although, Farina reveals, she was far from the director's first choice for the role. The film has been directed and edited for maximum weirdness, and a dreamy piano theme by Piero Umiliani greatly adds to the strange aura that permeates throughout. Ultimately, however, the film is unsatisfying, in that nothing at all is explained, and the sudden denouement leaves one wishing for a lot more. Still, the picture is consistently interesting, engaging and atmospheric, and the staccato editing, dream sequences and groovy jazz should please viewers who are into "head movies." A mixed bag, to be sure, but good for those who are game for something different....

Kiss Me, Kill Me ... Annoy Me?

[Coventry · 4/10 · 16 March 2009]

Psychedelic soft-erotic exploitation movies were an inexplicably popular trend amongst European directors back in the late 60's and early 70's. This generally pointless sub genre of horror consists of movies that basically don't have any plots, but are stuffed with trendy looking women parading around naked and fetishist escapades that all healthy heterosexual males are supposed to fantasize about. Yeah, right … I don't know about you, but I surely never dreamed of sadomasochistic rubber dolls or Nazi elimination squads. The list of these oddball movies is long and contains efforts from several acclaimed directors, like Mario Bava's "Lisa and the Devil", Jess Franco's "Succubus", Massimo Dallamano's "Venus in Furs", Umberto Lenzi's "Orgasmo" and Piero Schivazappa's "The Laughing Woman". "Baba Yaga" also fits into this category, but here the script was inspired by an eccentric comic books series courtesy of Guido Crepax. Basically this means that "Baby Yaga" is even weirder and more flamboyant than all the other psychedelic sex flicks mentioned here above. During a live and personal presentation of his film, at a festival in my home country Belgium, director Corrando Farina explained that he tried to translate as many comic book elements to the screen as possible, but that it certainly wasn't easy due to budgetary restriction and uncooperative producers and censorship. Still, no matter what Farina claims, nothing can divert the attention away from the fact that "Baba Yaga" is a dull and utterly incoherent movie. I didn't spot any artistic style elements at all and the hallucinogenic footage is just a bunch of randomly scraped together and irrelevant sleaze. Isabelle De Funès (Louis' yummy niece, apparently) stars as a liberated photographer in Milan. Late one night and following only a brief encounter, she reluctantly becomes the object of obsession of the funnily named lesbian witch Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker). The deranged hag turns Valentina's camera into a murder device, transfigures her best friend into an SM-doll, inflicts eerie nightmares on her and eventually lures the poor girl to an abandoned mansion with nasty sewing machines and bottomless pits. In case you're looking for significance, symbolism or possibly even an explanation, I'm afraid I have to discourage you straight away. Everything that happens in "Baba Yaga" happens for absolutely NO reason and the film finishes just as void as it begun. To round up with at least a couple of positive remarks, I really liked the music and both Isabella De Funès and Ely Galleani are stunningly beautiful ladies to look at. George Eastman (as the heroine's clueless boyfriend) is good too, but I definitely prefer the roles he played in his later career as they were practically all villainous.