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Black
Sunday
Image
Edition
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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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9
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7 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Universal's
classic monsters 'meet' the horrors of Hammer
Studios in Mario Bava's sumptuous tale of witchcraft,
vampires and ancient family curses. Characteristically,
the Italian maestro blends the two aesthetics
with a visual palette uniquely his own —
creating one of the most emblematic gothic horrors
to ever haunt the silver screen. 40 years after
its debut, Image Entertainment brings Black
Sunday
to the U.S. in an uncut, nearly pristine DVD release.
In 1600s Moldavia (a small country bordering Russia
and Rumania), beautiful Asa (Castle
of Blood's Barbara Steele), princess of the
noble Vajda family, is condemned to death for
sorcery and vampirism by the state's Grand Inquisitor
— who happens to be her brother. Also to die is
Javutich (Arturo Dominici), her lover and partner
in deviltry. After the unrepentant Asa places
a curse on her own family, a brass mask with spikes
on the inside is hammered onto her face. Ouch!
(It's not really gory but the scene will still
make you wince; it was cut from the American release
print.) After the credits the story picks up 200
years later. A pair of doctors, Tomas Kruvajan
(Andrea Checci) and his young protégé Adrei Gorobek
(Secrets of a Call Girl's
John Richardson), are traveling through Moldavia
on their way to a medical conference. When their
coach breaks down — always an ominous event in
gothic horror tales — the two explore a crumbling
mausoleum they discover nearby. By accident Kruvajan
awakens the undead Asa, who vampirizes the elder
doctor. Gorobek is oblivious to the impending
danger, enthralled as he is after meeting Katia
(Steele again), princess of the house of Vajda.
Katia is Asa's dead ringer descendent, whom Asa
plans to exchange bodies with as she destroys
the rest of the family. To aid the vampire witch
in fulfillment of her curse, Asa summons the Dracula-like
Javutich up from the grave. Reunited, these undead
lovers close in on the house of Vajda.
With Black
Sunday, director
Mario Bava (The Whip and
the Body, Blood and
Black Lace, Planet of
the Vampires) has crafted the ultimate gothic
horror film. The best elements of Universal and
Hammer are combined, melded seamlessly with Bava's
eerily poetic, often dream-like sense of the visual.
Raven-haired British actress Steele, with her
large, piercing eyes, became an instant horror
icon with her dual role as the satanic Asa/innocent
Katia.
If you dig gothic tales of
the supernatural then this is your film; it's
the standard by which all the rest are judged.
Those fog-shrouded forests and moon-drenched battlements
never looked better.
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| Image's
DVD, part of its excellent Mario Bava Collection,
presents the finest print of Black
Sunday
ever utilized for home video. The Dolby Mono sound
is surprisingly clear and resonant considering the
film's age. The original theatrical trailer is included,
along with a stills/poster gallery and talent bios
of Bava and lead actress Steele. The disc's best
feature is the marvelous audio commentary by Bava
expert Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog
magazine. Exhaustively detailed as it is entertaining,
Lucas touches on virtually every aspect of this
excellent film. It's one of the best audio commentaries
I've yet heard on any DVD. 4/18/01 |
| UPDATE
The R1 Image DVD reviewed here went OOP in 2005.
A new edition of Black Sunday
was issued by Anchor Bay in 2007 as part of the
5-disc Mario
Bava Collection, Vol. 1. In September
2012 Kino Lorber is releasing a newly remastered
version on both DVD and Blu-ray. |
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