DANGER: DIABOLIK

Directed Mario Bava
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Music by Ennio Morricone
Cast: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Picoli, Adolfo Celi, Terry Thomas & Annie Gorassini

1968/100 mins/Color/Mono
1.85:1 anamorphic/English/Italy/NTSC Region 1

Review from the Paramount DVD

Welcome to the world of Diabolik. Fast cars, faster women, leather gear, guns, money... and danger! Master thief Diabolik (the suave John Phillip Law) is the number one preocupation of Inspector Ginco (renowed french actor Michel Picoli), especially when a $1,000,000 shipment has to be delivered to a bank. This time, the police think they will stop the infamous robber but things doesn't go as planned. Helped by Eva (the dropdead gorgeous and delicious Marisa Mell), Diabolik makes yet another amazing robbery. To stop Diabolik, the power of authority joins force with mafia leader Valmont. Is the the beginning of the end for our anti-hero?

Make no mistake about it, DANGER: DIABOLIK is the superhero movie of the 1960s. While the BATMAN movie and tv serie were big across North America, it was only a matters of time before we would see more movies in the same vein. From France came FANTÔMAS and from Italy DIABOLIK, later redubbed DANGER: DIABOLIK. Based on the famous Fumettis (Italian comic books), Diabolik wasn't like these other heroes. He stole money from the rich for himself... not your typical Robin Hood one would say. DANGER: DIABOLIK is also one of the most sylish movie of that period. Fast editing, lots of detailed action sequences, a comic book feel in which director Mario Bava had most of the time the screen separated in frames, a groovy and ultra cool musical score from Ennio Morricone... this movie simply has it all, just ask Eva as the trailer would say.

DANGER: DIABOLIK was produced by Dino De Laurentiis. The movie was somehow set to be a follow-up to another Dino De Laurentiis produced movie, 1966's BARBARELLA directed by Roger Vadim in which John Phillip Law had a role. But Law and Marisa Mell weren't the original choice for the leads by the producer. Dino De Laurentiis wanted Jean Sorel and Catherine Deneuve but the later wouldn't get naked for the famous love scene in a pile of money. In the end, i'm much more happy to have discovered Marisa Mell then seeing this ego maniac of Deneuve in the movie. Its also cool to note that Italian actor, Adolfo Celi who played Valmont in this movie had a very similar role a few years earlier in the James Bond flick THUNDERBALL. And while she's onscreen only for a few moments, the beautiful Annie Gorassini steals the scene as Valmont's girl whenever we see her.

After many delays, Paramount finally released Mario Bava's masterpiece on DVD. Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and anamorphic, this is the longer Italian cut of the movie but with the English track. The movie simply looks spectacular, it sure doesn't look like it was shot almost 40 years ago. There is simply no complain I can do about this transfer, almost flawless especially considering the age of the actual movie. The Mono English track is clear and loud giving the movie all the audiophonic atmosphere it needs. Maybe a remastered track in 5.1 Dolby Digital would have been cool but for fans of the movie the original mono track is a nice surprise.

The disc also features some cool extras; first we get an interesting commentary track with Tim Lucas of VideoWatchdog magazine and he's joined by Diabolik himself, John Phillip Law. As expected Lucas goes into all the small details behind the movie while Law seem to have a good time recollecting certain elements of this classic. "Danger: Diabolik From Fumetti to Film" is a superb 20 minutes documentary about the comic it was based on. We get the DANGER: DIABOLIK inspired "Body Moving" video from the Beatie Boys in which they used scenes from the movie. There's also the option of watching it with commentary by one of the member of the band. We get a wicked cool teaser trailer and theatrical trailer. The movie is separated in 12 chapters, features animated menus with music, comes in a keep case with no booklet or inlay card.

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Review by Kim Dubuisson. All Right Reserved. 2005. ©

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