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Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mike
Review: I have loved this movie all my life, it ranks up there with Horror Hotel and The Haunting as my all time favorites. I am not a film reviewer or critic so I was very happy to get it on DVD. But while some of you may be thrilled about it being in Italian, I was not. I wish they had released the American version as well and seeing that you cannot return DVD once they are opened I am now stuck with it. Im glad I did not give away my VHS copy and look forward to the day Image releases the American version. Sorry if this bothers some of you film purists but I want the movie I grew up with. I felt kinda of cheated and want to warn all of you before you buy it. This DVD is only in Italian with subtitles.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: My thoughts on this film...
Review: Well, I haven't seen this movie, but I hope to get around to renting it soon. I am writing this review to point out an important fact about this movie. The fact is, this is the film that inspired the awesome rock/metal band called Black Sabbath. I am a fan of the band, which is the driving force behind me wanting to see this movie. If I wasn't a fan of this band, I wouldn't want to rent the movie. I hope it's good once I see it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A classic horror film restored
Review: Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH (original Italian title--THE THREE FACES OF FEAR) is easily one of my favorite DVD releases this year, both in terms of the new transfer and the film itself.

Like Bava's earlier BLACK SUNDAY, this film was re-edited by AIP for its American release, and it is that version which we've always seen in the US. The original Italian version plays the episodes in a different order: "The Telephone," "The Wurdalak" and "The Drop of Water." The lesbian content of "The Telephone" was of course toned down for American audiences. It also has a prologue and epilogue which are different from those shot for the American release. You may find that the comic epilogue doesn't fit with the rest of the picture, but I enjoyed its self-deprecating humor. The original score by Roberto Nicolosi supports the mood of the film better than Les Baxter's AIP score and it subtly ties the three episodes together through recurring thematic material. If you've only seen this film in the AIP version, you really owe it to yourself to see the original Italian version-there IS a difference.

The letterboxed DVD transfer looks beautiful. The print is worn in places, but the colors are vivid and the rich details of the set design come through. Having known the film only from a cropped VHS transfer, watching the DVD was like seeing a new film altogether. Indeed, Bava's masterful use of lighting, color and camera movement, his eye for dramatic detail, only confirms what a brilliant director he was. From a purely stylistic standpoint, this is one of the great horror films. Tim Lucas, as usual, provides informative liner notes.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Two Thumbs up for a great Movie!
Review: This one was on television when I was just eight or ten years old. I haven't seen it in a long time but I can still remember nearly scene. It starts off with Boris, introducing himself and telling me about Ghosts sitting next to me in the cinema.(Why not?) Then "Wurdelak" begins, a classic vampire tale, settled in eastern Europe ( I think so because the name "Wurdelak" comes from there ). It has a great atmosphere and the design and the photography are all wonderful. "The Waterdrop" is a Ghost Story about a Nurse that got the bad idea of stealing a ring from the corpse of a dead Spiritualist. I had nightmares for the next half year - and now I got some questions: who's the person that created the mask on the dead woman's face ? why hasn't he won an oscar for one of the scariest designs ever? who can tell me this? However, this one really got me hiding under my bed. "The Telephone" is why I haven't rated this one with 5 stars. It isn't as scary and creepy as the two others, maybe they should have started the movie with this story. It isn't about ghosts, there aren't any supernatural beings in there, it could have been on "X-Factor" or something like that. Anyway, If you dig Horror Movies than check it out - really good stuff.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Scarry as Hell.!
Review: One of the scarriest movies I personally have ever seen. Black Sabbath is three stories, all being introduced by Karloff himself, and finally staring in the Last and most terrifying segment The Wurdlack. Each story has its own moments, such as the stare of the dead witch in A Drop of Water, or Karloff holding his grandchild in The Wurdalack. So dim the lights and be prepared to be scarred out of your wits...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Black Sabbath
Review: Black Sabbath was the first horror movie I ever saw & still scares me today.Three stories with Boris Karloff as narrator & vampire in the third tale.You should see this more for the first part though in which a nurse steals a ring from a dead patient.What happens still makes me shudder!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Unforgettable Scare
Review: I once saw this movie on late night TV, complete with commercial breaks. It was long before I heard of Argento or Bava. This film, particularly the last segment with Karloff, literally gave me nightmares. I've been looking for it everywhere, and am so glad it's coming out on DVD. I shall never forget the scene of Karloff looking in the window with the entire Vampire family at the end. It is simply incredible. I've since become a Bava fan and love LISA AND THE DEVIL (a masterpiece) and SHOCK (which I saw as BEHIND THE DOOR 2)--another eerie and unforgettable film. But do NOT miss BLACK SABBATH if you care about artistic and downright scary horror films!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Three episodes of Terror
Review: Boris Karloff tells us three grim stories and manages to send shivers down your spine with each one.

In the first, "Wurdelak", he plays the so-called east-european Vampire, that keeps on turning his whole family into bloodsuckers. The scenery of this story is wonderful, as is the decoration and the acting of everyone included.

In the next story "The Waterdrop", a Nurse steals a ring from a crazy old woman. Unfortunately, the old woman died during an okkult celebration and has no ambitions to enter the afterlife without that ring on her finger. The make-up of the corpse is one of the scariest I have ever seen. It kept me not-sleeping four weeks when I saw the movie for the first time. ( I was six years old )

The last one "Telephone" isn't all that, quite unlogical and not as memorable as the first two. You won't find any ghosts or supernatural beings here, you could rather imagine it to be sent on "X-Factor".

The first two episodes are both worth five stars, while the last one lets the movie down, but perhaps you I got that impression because I was blown away by the second one. I recommend it to all of you cliche-addicted, monster loving and Hammerfilm-loving fans out there. Of course, Boris Karloff fans should check it out to.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of Bava's best!
Review: Though he dosn't appeal to me as much as Dario Argento, Mario Bava's direction remains stylish and influencial. Though many of his movies are badly dubbed into English and a few of the basic story-lines are just plain stupid, many viewers find it hard to resist his scary techniques. BLACK SABBATH was one I really enjoyed, the atmosphere really jerked around with my mind. Bored looking Boris Karloff is fun as the narrator who tells us three stories. The first one focusses on a woman who steals a ring of a corpse; the corpse strikes back. The second one (perhaps the best) is about a hooker who gets an unexpected phone call from a dead friend. The third one stars Karloff as a shaggy vampire who comes in from the cold. It's all good fun really; one to watch with a bunch of people, I guess.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Terrifying!
Review: I remember seeing this movie as a teenager in '63 or '64. Since it starred Karloff, I was expecting another "fun" horror movie with lots of atmosphere and some harmless chills. Not so. This movie was literally terrifying, especially "Drop of Water". I saw the dead woman's face in my sleep for weeks afterward. If stark terror is your cup of tea, you won't find a better movie.


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