Black Sunday – Arrow Video (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1960
Director: Mario Bava
Writers: Mario Bava, Nikolai Gogol, Ennio De Concini, Mario Serandrei
Cast: Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi, Ivo Garrani, Arturo Dominici, Enrico Olivieri

Release Date: February 4th, 2013
Approximate running times: 86 Minutes 30 Seconds (The Mask of Satan), 83 Minutes 4 Seconds (Black Sunday)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English (The Mask of Satan), LPCM Mono English (Black Sunday)
Subtitles: English (Mask of Satan), English SDH (Black Sunday)
Region Coding: Region B/Region 2 PAL
Retail Price: OOP

"A beautiful witch is sentenced to death for her evil deeds by her own brother, condemned to die by having a metal mask hammered onto her face before being burnt at the stake. As she passes, she puts a terrible curse on all her future descendants as the spikes of the death mask pierce her flesh... But when two unwitting travellers discover her final resting place and worse, drip blood on her resting corpse, they unleash her once again in all her stunningly beautiful, terrifying glory...." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5 (The Mask of Satan), 3.75/5 (Black Sunday)

Black Sunday comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.3 GB

Feature: 21 GB (The Mask of Satan), 15.6 GB (Black Sunday)

Though the information provided about these two versions of transfers is vague "High Definition Blu-ray 1080p". The results are two transfers that actually look very good, and they look better than all of their previous home video releases. When it comes to source-related imperfections like print debris, they are very minor. Image clarity ranges from generally crisp to great; though contrast and black levels generally look very good, there are moments where they fluctuate. There are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction. Also, though the two versions transfers in most instances are comparable, I would give the slight edge to The Mask of Satan’s transfer.

Audio: 4/5 (LPCM Mono Italian - The Mask of Satan, LPCM Mono English - The Mask of Satan, LPCM Mono English - Black Sunday)

The Mask of Satan comes with two audio options, an LPCM mono mix in Italian and an LPCM mono mix in English.

Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

Black Sunday comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. It should also be noted that this version released by AIP has a different score than The Mask of Satan’s audio mixes.

All of the audio mixes are in good shape. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. range-wise ambient sounds, and the scores are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include Italian theatrical trailer (3 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), International theatrical trailer (3 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), U.S. theatrical trailer (2 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a TV spot (22 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a deleted scene from the Italian version with notes by Tim Lucas (3 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital Italian with removable English subtitles), an introduction to the film by author and film critic Alan Jones (2 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Barbara Steele (8 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital Italian with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava – All the Colors of the Dark for The Mask of Satan version, a bonus feature film co-directed by Mario Bava titled I Vampiri (81 minutes 18 seconds, 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), and a Mario Bava trailer gallery: (Mask of Satan) Black Sunday, Hercules in the Haunted World, Erik the Conqueror, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Black Sabbath, The Whip and the Body, Blood and Black Lace, Road to Fort Alamo, Planet of the Vampires, Knives of the Avenger, 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, Carnage (Bay of Blood), Baron Blood, Four Times That Night, Lisa and the Devil, Rabid Dogs and Shock.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a 32-page booklet that contains cast & crew information for Black Sunday and I Vampiri, an essay titled Black Sunday written by Matt Bailey, an interview with Barbara Steele titled Steele Crazy: Barbara Steele Remembers Bava, Black Sunday and Beyond conducted by Calum Waddell, an essay titled I Vampiri written by Alan Jones, and Riccardo Freda on I Vampiri and Mario Bava translated from the original Italian text by Nick Frame.

Included are two DVDs. The first contains both versions of Black Sunday and all of the extras related to that film. The second DVD contains I Vampiri and all of the extras related to that film, as well as the Mario Bava trailer reel.

Summary:

Black Sunday: There are two English-language versions of La maschera del demonio, Black Sunday. AIP’s North American release runs about three minutes shorter than the international version of the film, which is known under the Mask of Satan title. Most of the footage that has been excised from AIP’s version are moments that were deemed too graphic, and in all of Mario Bava’s other films that were released by AIP, a new score has been added in favor of the original score. Also, AIP reportedly commissioned a brand new English-language score for Black Sunday since they deemed the one that was supplied to them inadequate. It should be noted that neither of these English-language versions contains Barbara Steele’s voice.

Three hundred years ago, Princess Asa was condemned and burned at the stake for practicing witchcraft. Flash forward to the modern day, when two doctors en route to a medical convention stumble upon Princess Asa’s grave, which accidentally sets her resurrection in motion. Once reanimated, Princess Asa plans on taking the place of a woman named Katia Vajda, who looks exactly like her.

By the time Mario Bava had the opportunity to direct La maschera del demonio, he already had twenty years of experience behind the camera as a cinematographer. A few of the films that he worked on include Hercules, Hercules Unchained, and The Day the Sky Exploded. In the years leading up to Black Sunday, he also started several films as a cinematographer, only to complete them as a director when the original director exited the film. Two of these films, I Vampire and Caltiki, the Immortal Monster, foreshadow his work within the horror film genre.

When it comes to an opening scene for a horror film, one would be hard-pressed to name a sequence more terrifying than the opening scene for La maschera del demonio. The aforementioned scene revolves around a woman named Asa, who has been accused and simultaneously condemned for being a witch. Her persecutors then brand her by burning the ‘S’ into her flesh. After that, they put a spiked mask over her face and nailed it down as blood gushed out of the sides of the mask. And to finish her off, they attempt to burn her at the stake. Needless to say, this is a scene that leaves little for the imagination. With it’s in your face depiction of violence that firmly establishes the tone of La maschera del demonio.

Besides Nikolai Gogol’s short story Viy, which La Maschera del Demono was loosely adapted from, another clear inspiration is Hammer Horror Films and Universal classic monster films, most notably their Gothic-themed ones. And when it comes to visuals, there is never a shortage of atmosphere in La Maschera del Demon. And visually, there is not a moment wasted, as every inch of every frame is exploited for maximum effect, especially Mario Bava’s rendering of light and shadow. Another area where La Maschera del Demonio excels is its special effects, most notably during the reanimation sequence in its final moments.

The performances range from good to great. This most memorable performance comes from Barbara Steele (Nightmare Castle) in the dual roles of Katia Vajda and Princess Asa Vajda. She is mesmerizing in both roles as she delivers what is widely considered the best performance of her career. Another performance of note is Andrea Checchi (A Bullet for the General) in the role of an inquisitive doctor named Thomas Kruvajan, whose moment of indiscretion leads to Asa’s resurrection. Ultimately, La Maschera del Demono is an extraordinary horror film that ushered in a new era of terror in Italian cinema, and the magnitude of its legacy continues to shape the landscape of horror cinema.

I Vampiri: Co-directed by Riccardo Freda (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock) and Mario Bava (Black Sabbath); in the case of the latter, he was also the cinematographer. I Vampiri was Italy’s first horror film in the sound era. Other titles I Vampiri was released under include The Devil's Commandment and Lust of the Vampire.

The narrative revolves around a reporter looking into a series of murders where women are killed and their bodies are drained of blood.

I Vampiri starts off strong with a scene where a woman’s lifeless body is found floating in water. Shortly thereafter, there is another solid sequence in which an unseen intruder wearing gloves abducts another woman. Without giving away too much more about the plot, long before the finale, it is revealed who's behind the abductions and killings.

Though the performances are best described as serviceable, there are a few that stand out, notably Gianna Maria Canale (The Slave) in the role of Margherita du Grand, a mysterious woman who wears a veil and dresses all in black. Another performance of note is Paul Müller (She Killed in Ecstasy) in the role of Joseph Signoret, a drug addict who is being exploited by the killer.

Despite its budget limitations, I Vampiri is a film that often exceeds its limited resources. The premise is well executed, and the narrative does a great job building momentum towards a strong finale. Though there are many elements in I Vampiri that are associated with horror cinema, there are a few elements like a killer who wears gloves and an amaeuter sleuth who helps solve the crimes that foreshadow elements synonymous with the giallo genre. Ultimately, I Vampiri is a well-made horror film that works as well as it does because of Mario Bava’s striking visuals, which are filled with atmosphere.

Black Sunday gets a solid release from Arrow Video that comes with a strong audio/video presentation, a bonus feature film, I Vampiri, and a wealth of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer