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Baba Yaga – Blue Underground (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/France, 1973
Director: Corrado Farina
Writers: Corrado Farina, François de Lannurien
Cast: Carroll Baker, George Eastman, Isabelle De Funès, , Daniela Balzaretti, Mario Mattia Giorgetti, Sergio Masieri, Angela Covello

Release Date: February 28th, 2012
Approximate running time: 82 Minutes 25 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $19.95

"Legendary sex symbol Carroll Baker (Baby Doll, The Watcher in the Woods) stars as a mysterious sorceress with an undying hunger for sensual ecstasy and unspeakable torture. But when she casts a spell over a beautiful young fashion photographer (the gorgeous Isabelle De Funes), Milan's most luscious models are sucked into a nightmare world of lesbian seduction and shocking sadism. Are these carnal crimes the result of one woman's forbidden fantasies or is this the depraved curse of the devil witch known as Baba Yaga?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "newly transferred from pristine vault materials and presented in kinky High Definition!"

Baba Yaga comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 19 GB

Feature: 16.3 GB

This transfer, like all of Blue Underground’s initial Italian films they released on Blu-ray, has scanner noise. That said, the source itself is in great shape; it is a noticeable improvement over their 2003 DVD release. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look very good, the image looks crisp, retaining the intended soft focus look, black levels are strong, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD Mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD Mono mix in English. Both audio tracks are in very good shape. That said, the English-language track has some faint background noise. Dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, both tracks sound very good. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH, removable French subtitles, and removable Spanish subtitles for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a poster & stills gallery, a comic book to film comparison, a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), deleted and censored scenes (10 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Corrado Farina titled Farina & Valentina (21 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and a short film directed by Corrado Farina titled Freud in Color (12 minutes 6 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles).

Summary:

Directed by Corrado Farina, who would only direct one other feature film, They Have Changed Their Face.

The narrative revolves around a fashion photographer who becomes the object of the desire of a sorceress, who casts a spell on her.

Baba Yaga was adapted from an adult line of comics that revolved around a character named Valentina, created by Guido Crepax, whose comics were known for ample amounts of eroticism, dream-like narratives, and evocative imagery. And though the majority of film adaptations of comic books fail to capture the essence of the source material, This is not the case with Baba Yaga, which is about as faithful as any film could ever hope to be to the source from which it was adapted.

Narrative-wise, things are actually a lot more straight-forward than they appear to be at first. When broken down, this is basically a story about a young woman who is seduced by a witch. Also, there is never a shortage of flesh on parade. It should be noted that this version included as part of Blue Underground’s release is missing two key moments of nudity involving its two leading ladies (these moments have been included with the deleted scenes).

In a film in which things often dive deep into the surreal end of the pool, It should not come as a surprise that Baba Yaga’s most potent asset is its atmospheric visuals. Another area in which Baba Yaga often excels is its brisk editing style, which perfectly captures the feel of a comic book narrative.

When it comes to performances, this is one area where Baba Yaga could be stronger. And nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to its two leads, Isabelle De Funès in the role of Valentina and Carroll Baker (Paranoia) in the role of Baba Yaga. Though I have enjoyed Carroll Baker in most of the European films she appeared in, her performance here is not one of her weaker ones. Reportedly, Corrado Farina has two other actresses in mind: Elsa Martinelli (One on Top of the Other) for the role of Valentina and Anne Heywood (The Lady of Monza) for the role of Baba Yaga. Ultimately, Baba Yaga is a solid example of a live comic book adaptation that walks a fine line between exploitation and arthouse cinema.

Baba Yaga gets a strong release from Blue Underground that comes with a good audio/video presentation and solid extras, recommended.