Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre

Another Film Four documentary from the guys who brought us a similar one all about Dario Argento. This one which goes into some depth as it studies Bava's life, his motives, methods and unique style. There are plenty of clips shown from all of the staples like BLACK Sunday, BLACK SABBATH and BAY OF BLOOD, although some of Bava's more obscure horror films and his work in the peplum and spaghetti western genres is sadly glossed over.

This film's strength is in its anecdotes from a wide variety of people connected with Bava - Lamberto Bava, Daria Nicolodi and Samuel Arkoff are all there, with only one notable exception - Barbara Steele, who refused to appear. Then there are the directors like Tim Burton and Joe Dante who owe a debt of inspiration to the master, and genre critics and writers like Kim Newman and Allan Bryce who offer up their own opinions of the director. Engaging stuff, and pretty informative for those who know little about Bava, although widely-read fans of the genre may find a lot of this familiar stuff.

"Mario Bava:Maestro of the Macabre" is a great documentary about life and career one of the legendary directors of the Horror Cinema.There are many interviews with directors,producers,relatives of Mario Bava,film critics,authors and actors.Some of the guests are:Bava historian Tim Lucas,Gremlins director Joe Dante,"Danger:Diabolik" star John Phillip Law,film critic and horror specialist Kim Newman,AIP founder Samuel Z.Arkoff,Mario Bava's admirers John Carpenter and Tim Burton,talented horror actress Daria Nicolodi,screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti,E.T. creator Carlo Rambaldi and Mario Bava's son Lamberto.But some important and big names are missing like Dario Argento,Barbara Steele,Martin Scorsese..Argento was a friend,collaborator and successor of Bava.Steele was created by Bava with masterpiece "La Maschera del demonio"..Scorsese is another admirer of his films..Still,you can watch and watch again this effective documentary.There are lovely memories,interesting studies and comments.

I own 2 versions of this 1-hour doc on the titular film-maker whose centenary was celebrated in the past day(s): in fact, it is included as an extra on both Anchor Bay UK's edition of Bava's HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON (1970) and the Italian disc of his official directorial debut BLACK Sunday (1960), from RHV (albeit presented here with forced native subtitles).

During my ongoing Bava marathon, I have already watched MARIO BAVA: OPERAZIONE PAURA (2004), which I had reviewed (and rated **1/2) back when I first checked it out on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his demise. At the time, I had criticized the later documentary for being somewhat redundant in the wake of the one under review (though I can see now that a few choice participants are exclusive to it, notably director Roger Corman) and for missing out on discussing a number of key works within Bava's filmography. In retrospect, there are glaring omissions here as well – apart from THE WHIP AND THE BODY (1963; which I pointed out in the other review), there is barely a mention of either BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964) or KILL, BABY…KILL! (1966) – but, all in all, it makes a better case for his artistry (taking care even to include a psychologist{!} among the line-up of interviewees, which comprise many of the usual suspects of relatives, collaborators, peers and lifelong admirers) since it generally comes across as having less of a fan-boy approach to it (what can you expect when the opening speaker on OPERAZIONE PAURA proves to be none other than know-it-all motor-mouth Quentin Tarantino?!).

Incidentally, with respect to the selection of titles covered, it appears that the film-makers had access only to clips from movies owned by the major studios (like Paramount's DANGER: DIABOLIK {1968}) and the DVD company Image Entertainment – which not only distributed the doc itself in R1 land but was behind the release of the entire "The Mario Bava Collection", numbering the director's efforts then owned by Alfredo Leone (his last producer) and who, naturally enough, features heavily here. Perhaps in compensation, then, there is rather too much footage this time around from films that were apparently influenced by Bava's efforts! Needless to say, though, neither documentary comes close to reading an authoritative biography on the subject – be it Tim Lucas' massive tome (also an on-screen 'talking head' in both films) or Troy Howarth's more manageable treatise – or, for that matter, experiencing the beautiful craftsmanship of Bava's legacy on one's own rather than having it described to him

Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre (2000)

*** (out of 4)

All-star tribute to Italian director Mario Bava features interviews with his son Lamberto, his grandkids Roy and Georgia as well as John Carpenter, Joe Dante, Tim Burton, Kim Newman, Allan Bryce, Sam Arkoff, Alfredo Leone, John Saxon, Sean S. Cunningham, Daria Nicolodi and Bava expert Tim Lucas. This hour long documentary features these people talking about their respect for Bava and his films. Not only do we take a look at his films but we get a pretty good opening where we learn about Bava's early life and how he ended up working as a cameraman before being hired as a director. The films discussed include BLACK Sunday, BLACK SABBATH, BARON BLOOD, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, THE EVIL EYE, LISA AND THE DEVIL (and its alternate version), TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE and PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES among others. Overall this is a pretty good look at the director, which shows why his talents were so strong and why he never really got any credit until after his death. There's discussion of how Friday THE 13TH PART 2 ripped off TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE and we even get Cunningham finally, somewhat, admitting that the series "borrowed" from the director. The one thing that I didn't care too much about was how much attention PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES got. They talk about this film as if it was some sort of masterpiece, which I don't agree with and I think saying that ALIEN ripped it off was going a tad bit too far. I'd say that IT! THE TERROR FROM OUTER SPACE is the film that really influenced ALIEN so I think the documentary spends too much time with it. With that said, the great cast makes this a must see and it certainly gives one a great idea on the career of Bava's directing career.

Rabid Mario Bava fans might possibly complain about this documentary for not covering ALL his major movies, for not discussing the ones it does in greater depth, for not showing enough of the actual films themselves, or for not explaining his influence on subsequent film makers in a more explicit fashion, but hey, this is only an hour long, and I think it manages to cover a great deal in the short time available. I think even the most knowledgable fan of Bava will find it interesting, and even better I'm certain that any fan of horror not familiar his work will be curious to investigate his movies after watching this. And if this show can make ONE viewer into a Bava fan then it's done a great service. Bava is one of the most underrated directors in modern film history. He shouldn't just be a cult figure, but a household name! Most of his major films are discussed, including his astonishing debut 'Black Sunday', one of the three or four greatest horror movies ever made in my opinion, and 'Black Sabbath', 'Planet Of The Vampires', 'Kill, Baby...Kill!', 'Diabolik', 'Baron Blood' and 'Lisa And The Devil'. Interviewees include directors and admirers Tim Burton, John Carpenter and Joe Dante, all major Bava fans, actors John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi and John Philip Law (sadly, no Barbara Steele), and writer and critic Kim Newman (whose novel 'Judgement Of Tears: Anno Dracula 1959' includes references to several Bava movies, most notably 'Kill, Baby...Kill!'). Along the way they discuss such things as the influence 'Planet Of The Vampires' had on Ridley Scott's SF/horror classic 'Alien', that 'Bay Of Blood' had on the hugely popular 'Friday The 13th' series, how Martin Scorsese deliberately referenced 'Kill, Baby...Kill!' in 'The Last Temptation Of Christ' (true!), and Tim Burton admits that his 'Sleepy Hollow' is his major homage to Bava's work, especially 'Black Sunday'. Every horror and cult movie fan should try and see watch this documentary as it is a real eye opener if you aren't that familiar with the movies covered. Nearly all of Bava's movies are now available on DVD, though unfortunately usually in dubbed versions. I hope one day Bava gets the recognition he deserves. Until now critics, other film makers and cult movie fans around the world have kept his name and movies alive, but it's about time the larger movie viewing public get hip to this fantastic director. This documentary is a big step in the right direction! Highly recommended!