Black Sabbath

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

This anthology features three chilling horror stories. "Il Telefono" is credited to Guy de Maupassant, although he never wrote such a story, and concerns a woman (Michele Mercier) receiving telephone calls from beyond the grave. "Wurdulak", by Alexei Tolstoi, stars Boris Karloff as an aging vampire who can only feed on those he loves. Co-starring Mark Damon and Susy Andersen, it is clearly the best story of the three. The final tale, "La Goccia d'Acqua," is falsely credited to Anton Chekhov. It features Jacqueline Pierreux stealing a ring from a corpse she is preparing for burial, only to be murdered by the old woman's ghost. The American version differs in four major areas: the print is shorter, the stories appear in a different order, there is a linking device with Karloff speaking directly to the audience from a foggy void, and Roberto Nicolosi's musical score is replaced with one by lounge-icon Les Baxter. The American release of the film is also missing a comic coda featuring Karloff riding on horseback (or is he?); this appears in most Eurpoean prints of the film, including Mario Bava's original cut. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: PCM Mono
• Features:
  • Audio commentary with author Tim Lucas
  • A Life in Film: An Interview With Mark Damon
  • International trailer
  • U.S. trailer
  • TV spot
  • Radio spot
  • Poster & still gallery
  • Mario Bava bio
  • Boris Karloff bio
  • Italian with English subtitles

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Boris Karloff - Gorca
       Mark Damon - Vladimir d'Urfe
       Lydia Alfonsi - Mary [The Telephone]
       Jacqueline Pierreux - Helen Corey
       Glauco Onorato - Giorgio

• Director:

  Mario Bava

• Producer:

  Salvatore Billitteri

• Screenwriter:

  Mario Bava, Alberto Bevilacqua, Marcello Fondato

• Cinematographer:

  Ubaldo Terzano

• Composer (Music Score):

  Les Baxter, Roberto Nicolosi

• Editor:

  Mario Serandrei

• Art Director:

  Giorgio Giovannini

• Set Designer:

  Riccardo Domenici

• Costume Designer:

  Trini Grani

• Makeup:

  Otello Fava

• Sound Editor:

  Kay Rose

• Short Story Author:

  F.G. Snyder

REVIEW:

• This trilogy of horror stories from Mario Bava serves as an interesting look at a trio of varying filmmaking styles that later became signatures of the director's work. The first tale, "The Telephone," was one of Bava's first attempts at a giallo film, which he made famous a year later with his masterwork Blood and Black Lace. The red telephones that always seem to play supporting props in Bava's other gialli are here given top billing as star Michele Mercier is threatened by a caller who claims to be her psycho ex-lover. A lesbian subtext provides some interesting moments and Bava builds the tension up well, but "Telephone" is only an average tale that follows through to a predictable twist. "I Wurdulak" is by far the best of the three and features one of the last great performances by Boris Karloff. This story takes the vampire legend to another level -- in which those afflicted by the creature's bite return to attack the ones they love. Karloff, who also appears in an introduction segment at the opening of the film, is wonderfully evil as the family head whose ghostly visage provides several unforgettable scares. Bava's wonderful camera work recalls his 1961 hit Black Sunday, and capitalizes on beautifully designed sets that lend a lot to the atmosphere. "The Drop of Water" is another good shocker about a nurse who steals the ring off an old occultist woman's hand only to have her grinning corpse torment her from beyond the grave. The initial shock of seeing the old witch is truly bone-chilling and though the tale is a short one, it remains scary and suspenseful throughout. Jacqueline Pierreux turns in a great performance as the salty nurse. The U.S. version of Black Sabbath depicted the segments in a different order. ~ Patrick Legare, Rovi