Fans of Bava; what do you think are his 5 best films.
I've only seen 5 and here's what I think;
1. The Girl Who Knew Too Much-very solid mystery, stylish and atmospheric
2. Shock-Creepy with a knockout final 10 minutes
3. Black Sabbath-Insanely stylish and wonderfully moody, the third story is best
4. Hatchet for the Honeymoon-Ultra stylish but unsuspenseful, overall disappointing
5. Bay of Blood-Saw a drastically edited version, I think, and was very disappointed. Totally overrated
I've only seen two, but they're probably the best known in the states.....
1) Black Sunday (1960) probably the creepiest vampire film ever made, and considered Bava's Masterpiece....
2) Demon Planet ....strange sci-fi about a group of "humans" landing on a zombie planet....uneven, but worth a look.....has a great scene where the astronauts visit an alien spacecraft, which reminds me a lot of Alien..
Did you mean "Planet of the Vampires"? I can't find any info on "Demon Planet".
shareDemon Planet is a U.S tv title for POTV. My (gorehound) Mario Bava top 5 is: 1)Shock 2)House Of Exorcism 3)Bay Of Blood 4)Rabid Dogs 5)Blood And Black Lace. When is VCI going to do a longer negative bluray release.
share1. Rabid Dogs
2. Black Sabbath
3. Shock
4. Black Sunday (aka The Mask Of The Demon)
These are the only ones Ive seen... I'm tempted by Blood and Black Lace although it seems to split Bava fans' opinions, and there doesn't appear to be a decent DVD release around (the German one is out of print and the new American one has an awful transfer).
* I can only express puzzlement, which borders on alarm. *
I've yet to see Bava's classics such as Twitch Of The Death Nerve and Black Sunday [ Shame on me ], but judging from what I've seen, the following are my favorites so far:
Blood & Black Lace - What a film! Even by today's standards, it's very violent and sadistic. The cinematography and 'psychosexual' colors are amazing, not to mention all the beautiful women of the fashion house [ Especially the girl who initially discovers the diary - yum ].
Lisa & The Devil - This movie is so abstract and surreal that I'm convinced it means much more than what it appears to be. I have my own interpretation of the film that I'll post in L.&.T.D.'s proper message board soon enough. Anyway, it's ending is probably the most bleak and terrifying of any movie I've ever seen. It might be my favorite Bava film.
Whip And The Body - An s&m classic totally saturated in oppressive, perverse atmosphere. Daliah Lavi was the perfect choice for this movie; i don't think anyone else could have expressed lust, hatred, love and insanity as she did, not even Barbara Steele. Christopher Lee is awesome as well.
I don't remember Shock well enough to comment on it, Kill Baby Kill was somewhat of a dissapointment [ I'd love to see the original Italian version Operazione Paura - I'm sure it's a better experience ] and Black Sabbath was cool and all, but not 'dark' enough to catch my interest entirely.
Bava rules!!!
"Cain and Abel will go to Heaven... if they can make it through Hell!" -Los Hijos Del Topo
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I only watched four of his films and my list is:
1) Black Sunday
2) Black Sabbath
3) Shock
4) Hatchet for the Honeymoon
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1.Kill,Baby,Kill 2.Black Sunday 3.Blood and Black Lace 4.Black Sabbath 5.Lisa and the Devil 6.The Whip and the Body 7.Twitch of the Death Nerve 8.The Girl Who Knew Too Much.
share1. Kill, Baby, Kill! (best surreal-gothic horror film, admired by many directors including Fellini, Visconti, Lynch and Scorsese)
2. The Whip and the Body
3. Blood and Black Lace
4. Black Sunday
5. Black Sabbath
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