Blood And Black Lace (Special Edition-Uncut Widescreen European
Version)
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: C Film:
C+
Blood And Black Lace (1964)
is a mystery/suspense/horror film from Italian director Mario Bava. Bava
is known as the Italian Godfather of Horror and one can see his possible
influences on directors such as John Carpenter and Brian De Palma.
The film opens with a wonderful credit sequence
that introduces us to the cast that includes Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, and
Mary Arden. The camera sweeps across actors that are enveloped in
shadows among mannequins and immediately we re dragged into an
air of mystery.
The film revolves around murders of beautiful
models from the Christian fashion house. Isabella is the first unfortunate
victim to fall to the faceless killer, who wearing a black hat and coat reminds
me of The Shadow, more than anything else. The attack is violent for the
time, but may be considered tame by today's standards.
As the story unfolds we are given reason to
suspect many of the characters we are introduced to. From drug
addiction to womanizing, we wonder which vice has caused one person to go to
the length of murder to protect his/her secrets. To complicate
things, Isabella's diary has surfaced and the scramble to eliminate evidence of
one's sins is on.
Although Blood And Black Lace has
many good points, such as incredible lighting, terrific direction, good
performances, vibrant color, and a strong musical score, the film still
lacks. The script is thin and we are only given surface appearances of
the characters. We are never given a
chance to connect with the players, and therefore feel no more connected to the
murdered than we do to a victim half a continent away. Yes, death is a
tragedy, but it is so much more horrible when one relates to that individual.
The 1.85 X 1 letterboxed image has good
color, and may have been good looking at the time this DVD was issued, but
a new anamorphic transfer with even better color and more print repair would be
nice down the line. This would be very interesting in High
Definition. The result is average however, as is the
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, which shows its age but is passable in either
language. Extras on this DVD include a commentary by Tim Lucas from Video
Watchdog magazine, interviews with Cameron Mitchell and Mary Dawne Arden, a
photo gallery, and various trailers from this and a few other Bava films.
Blood And Black Lace may be
a cult classic, but one can only imagine what it could have been with a little
more depth, and perhaps a killer with a little more "umph" in the
terrorizing department.
- Michael M. Burkett
