MovieChat Forums > La maschera del demonio (1961) Discussion > I felt like I was watching something fro...

I felt like I was watching something from MST3K...


...only without the funny. Honestly, this movie blew. The acting was wooden, the cinematography was decent at best, only the score really gave this movie a good sense of horror. And whoever decided that "dubbing" means "rewriting the script" should have been banned from ever working again. Honestly, when you dub, you're supposed to sync things up. The best line in the entire movie was when the dead body washes up on shore and the moron bald guys asks "How did he get here?" The response of "The river; can't you see he's dead?" had me busting up laughing for 5 minutes. The only way I was able to even WATCH this movie was by razzing it at every possible moment. I love Italian horror movies (Zombi was great, for example, and giallo is really fun), but this one was terrible.

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It's a great movie. Yer criticism is nonsense. MST3K is over-rated, juvenile, and boring. Yet it seems to have taken over yer childish mind, as you feel compelled to raz JUST like them 'at every possible moment.'

Basically yer too simple-minded to enjoy this movie, but being simple-minded, you must smack it with stones like some obnoxious little brat that was made to feel dumb.

Dubbing is a separate issue. A movie doesn't blow cuz of bad dubbing, it's the dubbing that blows. The movie stands on its own without being dubbed. If you can't deal with bad dubbing, then learn Italian.

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I'm simple-minded? I'm not the one who can't spell "your." I say this movie's overrated, you say MST3K is overrated. Why are you right and I'm wrong? And a movie DEFINITELY can blow because of bad dubbing, just like a movie can blow because of bad cinematography, bad acting, or bad editing.

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Thanks for proving my point. I use an alternative spelling of 'your' and you think it's because I can't spell a four letter word.

My explanation of dubbing went way over YER head. Do you understand there is the original version in Italian that isn't dubbed?? And that's how the film should be judged? Anyone could have dubbed it at any time, soon after it was made, or later. If I dub Blade Runner in Russian today, and do a bad job, is Blade Runner now crap??

Nevermind, I can't be bothered. Just go about YER business walking into walls.

PS I regret being so offensive, but trolls like you make me so angry!

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You're wrong because far more esteemed minds have exalted this film to level of the greatest horror movies, and at no point in your cliched, sophomoric review . Whether or not you are simple-minded is not the germane issue here. What is imperative to remember is that at no point in your comment is it evidenced that you are qualified to make such cavalier judgements. I suggest you defer to the more erudite film-lovers on this one, that is unless you are the incorrigible ignoramus you seem to be. Just because the dubbing is a tad irksome, it DEFINITELY doesn't mean that the movie blew. Film has a multiplicity of dimensions that can each distinguish it as a work of art.

The cinematography was decent at best, you say? What does that tell us. Nothing, apart from the fact that you probably don't even know what cinematography is. It's very easy for people with restless fingers and inert mental faculties to come on here and assert their inadequate judgements in the irritatingly editorial manner that you are culpable of, but it's something else to get people to actually take your fatuous remarks seriously.

Vindicate yourself by discussing Bava's lighting predilections, show that you have an appreciation of the virtues of the moving camera, how he uses the different colour gels with the lighting to create the precipitated aging process etc. but by all means don't be one of these pretentious colons who doesn't even have the germ of an understanding of the subject or the idiom with which Bava works to create his films. They really should stop projecting this movie at playgrounds, just to save us more lucid people the indignity of having to read the tripe of people like you.

When are people like you going to understand that making trite critques of great films doesn't qualify you on this subject. Stop feeding your ego and start feeding your brain, to save yourself the ignominy in future. People like you are terminally wrong. And last but not least, try cultivating knowledge of yourself and your limitations, because people like you seem to have some irrepressible impulse to make a spectacle of your ignorance.

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Did we get a new thesaurus for our 13th birthday?

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Accusing someone of using a thesaurus to write a response and alluding to their age as being that of a teenager, as if that makes them inferior and you superior. It looks like you never got past the age of 13.

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[deleted]

You will find your comments highly inaccurate when you get a few years older and revisit this film.

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I like MST3K, but I don't use it as a reference point for every movie that I watch. And as for spelling 'your' as 'yer' I believe it was intentional on the part of the poster.

...and your suffering will be legendary even in Hell!!

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"the cinematography was decent at best"

What's that? Your credibility going out the window? Yep, there is goes...

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wow, im just a casual fan of this movie just breezing by, but the cinematography is outstanding and beautiful. I love old films because I know I can avoid Michael Bay type "cinematography" and stupid editing.

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This film had excellent cinematography and lighting.

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I would say that everything about this movie is outstanding, except for the acting. Some parts are pretty bad and obviously the dubbing is poor, but the words seem to be what the actors were saying for the most part. An Italian language version would be dubbed as well, which was the norm for these sort of films.

Overall this movie would still get an 8/10 from me, but there are other Bava films that I prefer.

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I give the film a 9 out of 10. I can understand why some people don't like it though. Well its their loss. Makes me appreciate the film that much more. For those of you who don't like this film, go back to watching GI Joe Rise of the Cobra and Twilight New Moon.

Oh and the line "The river; can't you see he's dead?" is not present in the AIP version. The best language to see the film is Italian though from what I've heard.

And even those who think this movie is lame still like the cinematography. If you're going to diss a movie, at least adhere a little bit to logical reasoning.

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[deleted]

go back to watchin nosferatu (the human rat), u film snob

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I saw this now for the first time. it was great. 9 out of 10.

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[deleted]

The movie was okay. Excellent cinematography and use of light and shadow. It felt like a German movie from the 20s or 30s that way. The story was a bit dumbed down and the acting was... well it wasn't very good. You have to consider when this movie was made (1959-60), and the people involved (an Italian studio that made cheap horror movies) when judging this film fairly.



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