Mario Bava (1914-1980)
the beloved master of horror cinema, Mario Bava

Cult director Mario Bava started his long career as a cinematographer in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He photographed several little known black-and-white movies, all in his beloved home country Italy. In the 1950s he went on to bigger things: LE FATICHE DI ERCOLE (English title: HERCULES), filmed in 1957, was to be Bava's first chance to show his unique feeling for cinema techniques. Officially credited as special effects supervisor and cinematographer, Bava was also said to have taken over the helm from the original director of the movie, Pietro Francisci. The film became a huge international hit and was the first of countless sword-and-sandal epics.

Le Fatiche di Ercole/Hercules Ercole e la Regina di Lidia/Hercules Unchained

That same year Bava made his first horror film, together with long-time collaborator Riccardo Freda. In I VAMPIRI, Bava was again only listed as cinematographer, but sources revealed that he had also directed several scenes of the movie. Like LE FATICHE DI ERCOLE, the film was a starting point for a whole genre, the (Italian) gothic horror movie.

La Maschera del Demonio Ercole al Centro della Terra I Tre Volti della Paura La Ragazza Che Sapeva Troppo La Frusta e il Corpo

Bava had to wait until the 1960s to direct his first feature film with receiving full credit. LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO is generally regarded as a classic of the Italian horror film, though one weakness of Bava already became apparent, the slow pace that pervaded nearly all his films. Its success led him to make several action movies, all of which carry his inimitable stamp of ingenious artistry. The most notable of the films in the next five years is SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO, a murder mystery, which is regarded today as the first giallo. This film was unusually violent for its time and featured one of Bava's most impressive directorial achievements.

Operazione Paura Diabolik Una Hacha para la Luna de Miel

With OPERAZIONE PAURA in 1966, Bava returned to the classic supernatural horror film. Like LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO, this movie is richly atmospheric - and positively frightening. DIABOLIK, an answer to the James Bond mania that was sweeping across the world, Bava delivered one of his most accomplished works. It demonstrated that he was at home not only in the horror and fantasy genres, but also in the action department. Bava's influence on the latter genre is small, however. He always tried to be imaginative and that was what made his movies so marvelous.

Antefatto Cinque Bambole per la Luna d'Agosto

In 1970 Bava directed CINQUE BAMBOLE PER LA LUNA D'AGOSTO, a slasher movie based on the well-known Agatha Christie story, Ten Little Indians. This little-known film was followed by - what many critics believe - his best achievement, the extremely violent ANTEFATTO. Hailed as the prototype of all subsequent FRIDAY THE 13TH, HALLOWEEN-films, Bava managed to stage the murders so beautifully that one almost felt guilty about rejoicing at the spilt blood.

Gli Orrori del Castello di Norimberga Lisa and the Devil

In 1972, producer Alfred Leone financed the Bava films BARON BLOOD and LISA AND THE DEVIL. While BARON BLOOD was a rather unimaginative horror film, LISA AND THE DEVIL (made without financial restraints and in disregard of commercial possibilities) proved to be an artistic triumph, brilliantly combining surreal principles with the mock logic of horror films. Unfortunately, Bava was forced to alter the version, inserting unrelated scenes, which made it look like an EXORCIST rip-off. It is interesting, however, to compare the two versions, since there are some striking parallels.

Quanto Volte ... Quella Notte Schock Inferno

In the twilight of his career, circa 1974, Mario Bava directed CANI ARRABBIATI aka SEMAFORO ROSSO (English title RABID DOGS). The film remained uncompleted for more than twenty years, until actress Lea Lander enabled all of the director's fans to view the latter-day masterpiece that was RABID DOGS, one of the maestro's most unusual films - and one of his best. In 2002, Mario's son Lamberto teamed up with Alfredo Leone and presented his reworking of the film. KIDNAPPED! (retitled for re-release) features newly added scenes, a fresh score by the original composer Stelvio Cipriani, and what Lamberto believes - his father's ultimate vision of the story.

Kidnapped!

Bava-Tidbits: In the late 1960s Bava also ventured into the soft-core genre with QUANTO VOLTE ... QUELLA NOTTE. Bava's last film was to bring him together with one of his admirers Dario Argento. The two collaborated on INFERNO, Argento's follow-up to SUSPIRIA. Reportedly, Bava advised Argento on how to film the underwater sequence in the opening scene.

Lamberto Bava's Macabro

Mario Bava's son Lamberto accompanied his father on the sets to his movies, working as an assistant director. He directed his own first feature in 1980 (MACABRO). That same year Lamberto's father died in his home city of Rome, Italy, leaving behind an oeuvre that is simply fantastic in both senses of the word.

Footnote: Recently, Mario Bava and his work have undergone critical rediscovery, which the documentary MARIO BAVA: MAESTRO OF THE MACABRE (2000) shows. Furthermore, Troy Howarth has written an excellent book about Bava (click here for details) and Tim Lucas (of Video Watchdog fame) is working on a biography.

Link: Mario Bava Web Page by Troy Howarth and Henrik Hemlin

BUY MARIO BAVA MOVIES ON VHS & DVD

Filmography:

Scipio l'Africano (1937; title designer)
Tacchino prepotente, Il (1939; cin; short)
La Vispa Teresa (1939; cin; short)
Ecco la Felicità! (1940; cam op)
La Compagnia della Teppa (1941; cam op)
Elisir d'amore (1941; cin; aka This Wine of Love)
Uomini sul Fondo (1941; cam op)
La Nave Bianca (1941; cam op)
Alfa Tau! (1942; cam op)
Capitan Tempesta (1942; cam op)
Sant'Elena Piccola Isola (1942; cin)
L'Avventura di Annabella (1943; cin)
Uomini e cieli (1943; cin)
Donne Belle Nella Pittura Italiana (1946; cin; short)
Paolo Veronese, Pittore della Gioia e del Fasto (1946; cin; short)
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1946; cin)
Montecassino (1946; camera crew)
L'Orecchio (1946; dir, cin; short; Bava's first directorial effort)
Anfiteatro Flavio (1947; dir, cin; short)
Santa Notte (1947; dir, cin; short)
Leggende Sinfonica (1947; codir, cin; short)
Nostalgia Napoletana (1947; dir, cin; short[10m.])
Il Mito di Giorgine (1947; cin; short)
Cristo in Gerusalemme (1947; cocin; short)
Musica nel Cielo (1947; cocin; short)
Passagio del Mar (1947; cocin; short)
La Resurrezione (1947; cocin; short)
Natale al campo 119 (1947; cin; aka Christmas at Camp 119, Escape Into Dreams)
Follie per l'Opera (1947; cin; aka Mad About the Opera)
Una Lezione di Geometria (1948; cin; short[12m.]; aka A Lesson in Geometry)
L'Auto nel Tempo (1948; cin, coprod; short)
Il Trucco nel Tempo (1948; cin; short)
I Pagliacci (1948; cin; aka Amore Tragico, Love(s) of a Woman)
Variazioni Sinfoniche (1949; dir, cin; short)
Antonio di Padova (1949; cin)
Quel Bandito Sono Io! (1950; sfx; aka Her Favourite Husband, The Taming of Dorothy)
L'Amore nell'Arte (1950; dir, cin; short)
È arrivato il cavaliere! (1950; cin)
Vita da Cani (1950; cin)
Miss Italia (1950; cin)
Guardie e Ladri (1951; cocin; aka Cops and Robbers)
Amor non ho ... però ... però (1951; cocin)
La Famiglia Passaguai (1951; cin)
Perdona Mi (1952; cin)
Una Croce senza Nome (1952; cin)
Papà diventa mamma (1952; cin)
Villa Borghese (1953; cin; aka Les Amants de la Villa Borghese)
Il Viale della speranza (1953; cin)
Gli Eroi della domenica (1953; cin)
Cose da pazzi (1953; cin)
Balocchi e profumi (1953; cin)
Bacio dell'Aurora, Il (1953; cin)
Terza liceo (1954; cin)
Ulisse (1954; codir???)
Le Avventure di Giacomo Casanova (1954; cin)
La Donna Piu Bella del Mondo (1955; cin; aka Beautiful But Dangerous)
Non c'e Amore Piu Grande (1955; cin)
Buona Notte, Avvocato! (1955; cocin)
Orlando e i Paladini di Francia (1956; cocin)
Mio Figlio Nerone (1956; cin; aka Nero's Mistress)
Città di Notte (1956; cin; aka City at Night)
I Vampiri (1956; uncred codir, cin; aka The Devil's Commandment)
Le Fatiche di Ercole (1957; uncred codir, cin, sfx)
La Morte Viene dallo Spazio (1958; cin; aka The Day the Sky Exploded)
Ercole e la Regina di Lidia (1959; ass dir, cocin, sfx; aka Hercules Unchained)
Caltiki - Il Mostro Immortale (1959; uncred dir, cin, sfx; aka Caltiki, the Immortal Monster)
Ben-Hur (1959; special photographic effects)
La Battaglia di Maratona (1959; uncred codir, cin)
Agi Murad, Il Diavolo Bianco (1959; ass dir, cocin; aka The White Warrior)
Nel Segno di Roma (1959; cocin; aka Sign of the Gladiator)
Esther and the King (1960; cin)
Maciste Nella Valle dei Re (1960; 2nd unit dir)
La Maschera del Demonio (1960; dir, cin)
Le Meraviglie di Aladino (1961; codir)
Gli Invasori (1961; dir, coscr, cin)
Ercole al Centro della Terra (1961; dir, cocin, coscr)
L'Ultimo dei Vikinghi (1961; uncred re-shoots; aka Last of the Vikings)
I Normanni (1962; used stock footage shot by Bava)
I Tre Volti della Paura (1963; dir, coscr)
La Ragazza Che Sapeva Troppo (1963; dir, coscr, cin)
La Frusta e il Corpo (1963; dir, coscr)
La Strada per Forte Alamo (1964; dir, uncred cocin)
Sei Donne per l'Assassino (1964; dir, coscr)
Minnesota Clay (1965; uncred technical advisor)
Terrore nello Spazio (1965; dir, coscr)
I Coltelli del Vendicatore (1965; dir, cocin, coscr)
Le Spie Vengono dal Semi Freddo (1966; dir; aka Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs)
Ringo del Nebraska (1966; uncred dir)
Operazione Paura (1966; dir, coscr)
Diabolik (1967; dir, coscr)
Il Pistolero Segnato da Dio (1967; uncred cin; aka Two Pistols and a Coward)
Nude... Si Muore (1967; uncred costy; aka The Young, The Evil & The Savage)
Le Avventure di Ulisse (1968; codir; made for TV)
Una Hacha Para la Luna de Miel (1969; dir, cin, coscr)
Quante Volte ... Quella Notte (1969; dir, uncred cin)
Odissea (1969; seq dir [Polifemo episode]; made for TV)
Roy Colt & Winchester Jack (1970; dir)
Cinque Bambole per la Luna d'Agosto (1970; dir, edit)
Antefatto (1971; dir, coscr, cin)
Gli Orrori del Castello di Norimberga (1972; dir)
Mose (1972; sfx; made for TV, shortened version released theatrically; aka Moses)
Lisa and the Devil (1972; dir)
La Casa dell'Esorcismo (1972/74; dir; condensed version of Lisa and the Devil with additional scenes)
Cani Arrabbiati (1974/96; dir, cocin; aka Rabid Dogs; based on a story by Ellery Queen)
Bordella (1975; cosfx)
Schock (1977; dir, cin; aka Beyond the Door II)
La Venere di Ille (1979; codir [with his son Lamberto]; made for TV)
Inferno (1980; uncred sfx advisor)
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre (2000; documentary about MB)

© Ron Altman (last update 05/19/07)