BLACK SUNDAY

(A.k.a. THE MASK OF SATAN)

A bona fide classic not only of Italian horror but of the genre as a whole, Mario Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY makes its long overdue digital debut on British shores. But have Arrow done justice to this much revered and highly influential landmark film?

The film itself, of course, is well-known. For those in need of a recap, the synopsis below is lifted and slightly modified from my review of last year’s Region A blu-ray release from Redemption/Kino.

As an earnest male voiceover tells us of past superstitions concerning witches and vampires, we watch Asa (Barbara Steele) being sentenced to heresy as she writhes tied at the stake. Her faithful servant, Igor (Arturo Dominici), is already dead beside her.

"Cover her face with the mask of Satan … nail it down!" yells the bearded witch-hunter before her. And so, one of the most famous – and shocking – opening sequences in the history of Gothic horror cinema concludes with Asa’s pretty visage being impaled by the aforementioned spiked mask.

It would be remiss of me to omit the bit moments before the mask is hammered onto Asa’s face, where she promises a curse that will live on to haunt "your sons, their sons … and their sons" …

The night ends in stormy fashion, with rain so hard that the fire built beneath her is extinguished. The zealous villagers resolve to simply place her corpse in a coffin and bury her in her ancestors’ tomb.

But then, two centuries later …

Acclaimed doctor Kruvajan (Andrea Checchi) and his young protégé Andre (John Richardson) arrive in a small Italian village for a convention, only to pay a visit to a seemingly unkempt catacomb out of curiosity. There, they discover Asa’s unattended coffin and unwittingly break the window on it that was designed to warn people of the fate awaiting them if they dabbled in witchery.

Fleeing their mishap, they bump into Katia (also Steele) outside; a demure young innocent who lives with her Prince father in the neighbouring castle. She and Andre share an instant attraction.

Andre and Kruvajan retire to the local hostelry, oblivious to the curse they’ve unleashed. Meanwhile, Katia’s family begin to suspect that superstitious rumours sometimes do carry weight as they see signs of evil coming their way. And we, the viewer, know exactly what’s going on, as we witness the corpses of Asa and Igor slowly but surely finding a new lease of life.

When the visiting doctors are summoned to the castle in a bid to help Katia’s ailing father, you just know that bad things are going to happen …

BLACK SUNDAY doesn’t really need any further description or introduction. It’s a justifiably famous film, out-Hammering Hammer and being unfathomably influential over the decades while remaining remarkably potent to this day.

Some of the musical cues, mannered performances and weird dialogue choices are amusing in 2012, admittedly, but times do move on – be forgiving of them, and you’ll find a film that really shouldn’t be as fresh and affecting today as it clearly is.

I imagine the violence (probably certificate 12 fare in this age) was righteously shocking at the time of the film’s original 1960 release – indeed, BLACK SUNDAY was refused a UK certificate at the time, and only saw the light of day uncut here some 30 years later, on video. It still impresses here. But it’s the Gothic settings, the stunning monochrome photography (by first-time feature-length director Mario Bava himself) and the unwavering atmosphere that truly transcend time.

BLACK SUNDAY is as controlled and beautiful aesthetically as any early Argento film, but arguably more satisfying due to its beautiful understanding of ambient black-and-white photography and what can only be described as a consummate grasp of the ethereal. It’s brilliant, ahead of its peers and stands the test of time as the perfect balance between being a succession of expertly realised compositions and an engaging (nonsensical, if you think about it too hard) revenge plot.

Arrow have released the film in a 3-disc blu-ray and DVD combo package. The blu-ray disc was made available for review.

It presents the film in two complete versions. The first is the one we’re all more familiar with: the European version known as THE MASK OF SATAN, complete with Roberto Nicolosi’s iconic score and original voices. The second is the much rarer re-edited and re-dubbed version as released Stateside by American International Pictures (AIP).

While both versions differ in obvious ways and as such a preference is going to be highly personal (I still favour THE MASK OF SATAN, the version I’m familiar with). But both are entertaining, and both are presented uncut here in 1080p HD.

Firstly, it’s easy to compare the SATAN print against its Redemption/Kino counterpart: it appears to be the same print, albeit it looks a tad sharper and better rendered in terms of contrast. Minor print damage can’t stop this from being the best the film has ever looked. It looks great.

My eyes may deceive me, but the AIP version looks very good too – but a tad less impressive. The dubbing on this one is a bit laughable too, admittedly.

Speaking of which, LPCM audio comes in choices of English and Italian on the SATAN cut, and English re-dubbed for the AIP cut. All audio tracks carry their own, well-written optional English subtitles.

An animated main menu page opens the disc. From there, each version of the film has its own pop-up scene-selection menu – both of which offer access via 12 chapters. Extras begin with the same excellent, authorative and easily listenable audio commentary track from Tim Lucas that also graced the Redemption disc. It’s an essential accompaniment to the film – well worth a go, even if you usually avoid such tracks.

Alan Jones is on hand in a church setting to present an optional 3-minute video introduction to the film. He speaks of its 8-year ban in the UK, the infamous opening scenes and the film’s enduring appeal.

A previously unseen video interview with Ms Steele harks back to 1995 and is presented window-boxed, in Italian with English subtitles. She speaks fondly of the film and Italian filmmakers in general.

A 3-minute deleted scene is presented in Italian with English subtitles. It’s given the 16x9 treatment and is surprisingly clean in appearance, despite a slightly dull look to it. The content itself is superfluous dialogue. The scene is bookended with explanatory text, which is reproduced from Lucas’ highly recommended "All the Colors of the Dark" book on Bava.

3 original trailers – the International one, the American one and the Italian one – follow, along with a TV spot.

Then, as has been widely publicised, we get a most welcome inclusion indeed – Italy’s first horror film made in the sound era (following Mussolini’s lengthy ban to the production of the country’s genre output), I VAMPIRI.

It’s an enjoyable slice of breakneck-paced pulp, filled with opulent compositions and Gothic charm. The story centres on a killer referred to as "the Vampire", and the journalist who is obsessed with unveiling him. Although the bulk of the film is said to have been directed by Riccardo Freda prior to him storming off the set following a dispute with producers, one has to wonder how much cameraman Bava actually contributed when he was landed with the task of finish the movie: its aesthetics and stylistic flourishes definitely foreshadow some of his more famous works.

I VAMPIRI is presented in its 81-minute entirety, in a pretty good standard definition presentation which respects the film’s original aspect ratio in letterboxed fashion. The black-and-white photography is well served by fine detail and solid contrast. Minor grain is evident throughout. There is occasional softness, minimal screen wobble and a fair bit of damage to the print – but what do you expect of a low budget film from 1960? All told, I was impressed with how presentable the film was.

Italian mono audio fares well too, as do the easily readable optional English subtitles.

A trailer for I VAMPIRI follows, bearing the title THE DEVIL’S COMMANDMENT. It’s in perfectly watchable VHS quality.

We also get a trailer reel of previews for other Bava titles, which runs for a delightfully unexpected 54 minutes. These include BLACK SUNDAY (again), HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD, ERIK THE CONQUEROR, THE EVIL EYE, BLACK SABBATH, THE WHIP AND THE BODY, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, THE ROAD TO FORT ALAMO, PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, KNIVES OF THE AVENGER, LISA AND THE DEVIL KILL BABY KILL, DR GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS, DANGER DIABOLIK, HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON, FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON, ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK, A BAY OF BLOOD, BARON BLOOD, FOUR TIMES THAT NIGHT and SHOCK (nice to see clips of the latter in its original Italian, with English subtitles).

Also included in this set but not made available for review purposes, are two DVDs containing across them all of the above content, and a booklet with liner notes. Note also that this triple-disc DVD/blu-ray combo release is available in two versions: the ‘standard’ release with double-sided artwork, and a limited slipcase release offering a choice of four covers. The latter is available to order through Arrow’s site only.

The terminally picky will find fault with this release. But, realistically, this is sure to stand the test of time as THE best release of BLACK SUNDAY there is. It’s a wonderful package and Arrow should be applauded for treating a classic of this calibre with such love and attention.

Highly recommended.

Review by Stuart Willis