Rating: 
Summary: A must-have for film lovers!
Review: There is a story that director Mario Bava discovered that if he lit Barbara Steele's face a certain way, her face looked more like a skull. Black Sunday is one of the best photographed films, with its disturbing images of Steele and the unforgettable show motion shots of a stagecoach. Filmed in black and white, this film is an important link between the gothic horror of Hammer in the late 50s and the more graphic films that followed Psycho, including the work of Dario Argento, and Mario's son Lamberto Bava. More importantly, I have seen the film several times since a college friend introduced me to Black Sunday: on television, tape, and best of all, on the big screen at the Pacific Film Archives. This is a film for all serious collectors.
Rating:
Summary: This deluxe DVD is a must for any serious collector
Review: Black Sunday is an engrossing, well-crafted, and suprisingly beautiful horror film. This DVD is testament to that fact and a sharp back-handed slap at those who automatically dismiss genre movies as trash. The respect Black Sunday and director Mario Bava are given is long overdue. I won't bore you with tedious plot summarys. All I will tell you is that if you haven't seen Black Sunday, you must, and that if you have seen it, you must see it again in this presentation (because you've been missing plenty both in content and quality). Presented in its origanal 1:66:1 theatrical aspect ratio, viewers for the first time can see this classic in ALL its macabre glory. The image quality is absolutely astounding when one compares it to the VHS editions floating around. The audio is also presented in pristine condition gaurenteed to sound excellent in any stereo thanks to the various formats. All this makes one wonder exactly how much time went into this? If Video Watchdog editor/publisher Tim Lucas's liner notes and commentary are any indication, then the answer has to be a lot! Both are well-informed and thorougly entertaining. It is a wonderful feeling to know that someone took the time to give you your money's worth -- that is exactly what the people behind this gorgeous DVD have done. As an avid fan of the writings of Tim Lucas, I would like to strongly encourage fans of Mario Bava and like-minded artists to check out his magazine, Video Watchdog and his post-modernistic vampire novel, Throat Sprockets.
Rating:
Summary: An Until-Recently-Lost Classic of the 60's
Review: For years one of my best friends (JBII) spent a fortune combing the backs of horror magazines for any private collector or small time production which had this nearly forgotten classic from the early Sixties. The Gothic atmospheric quality, eerily complemented with a soundtrack equally now available, adds to the relief of this one finally being recognized to be out on the market. An overhauling of the Gogol story, "The Vij," it is the prototype of the witch-entering-the-soul-of-the-descendent story. As Princess Asa only the ravenhaired queen of Sixties' horror, Barbara Steele, could scare the hell out of us with her coming back scenes--including a mask filled with blood, scorpions, and thoroughly terrifying eyes which mean business when focused! A must see for classic horor lovers. We here in Pittsburgh loved it on "Chiller Theatre."
Rating: 
Summary: European Visuals Need U.S. Soundtrack
Review: There is no doubt that the Mario Bava classic is one of the very best, most visually beautiful horror films ever. I really even hate to call it a "horror film" because of the negative connotations of that term. This is really a dark visual poem performed in splendid black and white visuals. While it is great to have the uncut European print, especially looking this good, the original English dub prepared in Italy is terrible, with awful performances, cut rate sound effects, and worst of all, a drab, lethargic score by Italian hack composer Roberto Nicolosi which would seem more at home in an old Monogram chiller. When AIP brought the film to the U.S. they removed a few moments of gore, but did not, as has so often been assumed, tamper in any significant way with Bava's directorial effects. The main decision at AIP was to improve the dramatic effect by redubbing the film with better English speaking actors (AIP did NOT tamper with the script, which is obvious if both versions are compared), i.e., George Voskovich as Dr. Kruvyjan, and a new score by Corman/Poe specialist Les Baxter, which makes the film seem to almost race along. It should be noted that AIP retained the Italian sound effects track, only ocassionally beefing it up where the original sounds too thin. I have many friends who agree with me on this one, in the best of worlds, the film would have the slightly longer European cut with the American soundtrack matched to it. Many Americans who grew up with the Les Baxter score and U.S. dubbing of AIP's edition will be very disappointed with the drab Italian-prepared English dub and dreadful Nicolosi score. Overall, 5 stars for the visuals, but only 2 for the European soundtrack. Otherwise this would be five stars across the board.
Rating:
Summary: A Great DVD for One of the Greatest & Most Beautiful Horrors
Review: Black Sunday AKA The Mask Of Satan was one of the most loving visual tributes to the classic gothic horrors of the past. I just got the new DVD of the film and it is absolutely amazing. The black and white picture quality is stellar, very reminiscent to the crystal sharpness of the Boris Karloff Thriller TV show but shot by the cinematography master Mario Bava. Imagine a photographic art book, with all of the vibrant black and white imagery you would expect from such a high publication. But this one moves! I wish the Universal Classic Horror DVDs could somehow look this good! The menu is a lot of fun, looking like old lobby cards with a Paul Frees voice over from some old promo ad. The commentary track, while containing some stretches of silence, is very very informative. Plus, an equally crystal sharp trailer, posters, pics, and notes. The film is a bit gruesome and gory at moments, but you could not find better black and white Gothic Horror eye candy anywhere! Bravo to all involved on the movie and the DVD! I believe that Image is coming out with a VHS tape as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Mask of Satan
Review: I don't really know if I would say this was a great movie, but it is a fascinating movie. Even more fascinating if you watch it with the audio commentary. Normally I'm not too keen on that audio commentary stuff, but in this case I was intrigued because of a scene in which Barbara Steele the witch/vampire sucks the life energy (or something like that) out of Barbara Steele the love interest/mortal. In the course of this transformation their (her) makeup changes so that one character appears to age while the other appears to grow younger. (Now, this wasn't a Wolfman kind of thing, where the camera dissolves between a series of makeup applications and you can clearly see the dissolves between separate shots. I mean, Barbarba was doing some serious writhing while those age lines were appearing and disappearing on her face, and there were no signs of cuts or dissolves! And this was in the days before computer morphing.) Anyway, I wondered, How the hell did they do that? So I enabled the audio commentary in the menu and sure enough the effect was explained (it was a pretty ingenious little effect too, I might add). Anyway, I ended up watching the whole movie with the commentary over it, because darned if all didn't turn out to pretty fascinating. The commentary was done by film historian/expert/possible OCD sufferer named Tim Lucas who seemed to know what he was talking about. Now, normally, there's something about those "The Making of" media specials/reports about Hollywood blockbusters--Titanic, for example--that just put me to sleep. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, you spend $100 million and have several dozen nerds slaving over computer keyboards for months, your effects better look pretty spiffy. But when you get impressive results when your using a child's wagon for your dolly shots and poached egges for eyeballs, that's when I get interested. Anyway, thumb's up from me on your job, Mr. Lucas. Apparently this same fellow provides audio commentary on Kill, Baby, Kill too. Which I'm thinking I might buy as well. I should add that the transfer for Black Sunday is pretty nice, and this is pretty important because the big thing this movie has going for it (as opposed to, say, great acting, brilliant dialogue, etc.) is its cinematography. And atmosphere. It's got that too.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Excellent film depicting Barbara Steele as a satanic princess who returns from the dead centuries later to claim the life of her descendant. The atmosphere of the movie is the best. AMC shows it sometimes, but not nearly enough for me.
Rating: 
Summary: The heavenly totality of Asa Vadya's eyes
Review: (...) This is certainly a minor stylistic masterpiece. It creates atmosphere that is thick, foreboding, and claustrophobic. The story, however, is not worthy of such a lush, lavish treatment. It just doesn't possess any emotional depth. The whole film is Barbara Steele's eyes. They possess power that the film as a whole simply does not. The fog the film is enveloped in is not pervasive enough to mask the bitter emptiness of the tale being conveyed. It is difficult to criticize the film on its cinematic qualities. Nevertheless, the story does not mesmerize, tantalize or excite beyond those moments when Asa is moaning in her blood ecstasy. Indeed, my grandest (futile) wish was for Asa to slaughter them all and then to hit the road looking for more victims to prey upon. Barbara Steele weeps, shrieks, sighs, faints, screams, moans, gasps, and is undeniably fascinating to watch. She is far more interesting as Asa. As Katia, she is a cipher. She's drained of life and hysterical to boot. Asa has activated her will (if the undead can even be said to possess a will--the will of Satan?). Katia is receptive, helpless and boring. She's just a lonely princess longing for her prince (yawn). It isn't Ms. Steele's fault--the character is simply dismal. She's the "good" girl--she doesn't have to do anything, except mope about in a perfectly awful hairdo. The rest of the cast are perfectly plastic--save for Arturo Dominici as Javutich. He's a fine match for Ms. Steele and wondefully terrible. He has presence that the others lack. Still, the film is simply gorgeous. The story might not be my glass of Absinthe, but the film is still visually stunning. It lacks emotion and depth--but it makes up for it somewhat in the sheer power of its images. Obvious films that clearly map out the binary opposites at play are just not that intriguing. When you know from the start that virtue will win and evil will be destroyed, it kind of takes the thrill out of the whole thing.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, Brilliant Bava
Review: Italian director Mario Bava exploded onto the horror scene with the wonderful black and white film "Black Sunday," also known as "The Mask of Satan" (a title I prefer because it does such a better job describing the movie). This picture borrows heavily from a Nikolai Gogol short story called "The Vij," and while I am not familiar with the story, the movie succeeds fantastically at conveying a bleak atmosphere of horror. "The Mask of Satan" was Bava's official directorial debut, giving viewers a chance to see the genius that was to come from this excellent filmmaker. Bava didn't merely direct films, however. He also worked on all aspects of movie making during his long career. The director even helped his son cut his teeth in the business immediately before his death in 1980. Fans will miss Bava terribly after viewing just a few of his films, as he was one of those rare Italian horror directors who could truly deliver the goods. "Black Sunday," set in Romania, opens at an unspecified date in the seventeenth century. Some of the local nobles decide to get together and roast a couple of Satan's followers, but this barbecue bears a special meaning for the House of Vajda because one of its own is on the spit. The beautiful Princess Asa Vajda fell under the evil spell of the dark one, along with her unseemly lover Javutich, and both now face a painful execution. In order to insure that these two sullied creatures wear the mark of their crimes, Asa's own brother orders a metal mask of Satan nailed to their faces. Unfortunately for the Vajda family, Asa casts a curse on the family immediately before her execution, promising to come back from the dead and plague her relatives throughout the centuries. After carrying out this sordid task, the people present attempt to burn the corpses, but a rainstorm conveniently whips up and prevents the destruction of the bodies of these two satanic worshippers. In order to rid themselves of the bodies, the House of Vajda orders Asa interred in the family crypt with a few conditions: a glass pane and a cross must be placed on the sarcophagus in order to keep Asa firmly in her coffin. Javutich's corpse doesn't fare as well; his body ends up in a grave in the cemetery. All's well that end's well after this incident, as Asa and Javutich waste away the centuries in their tombs. Flash forward two hundred years. Two doctors traveling to a medical conference stumble upon the decaying Vajda crypt. In a fit of scientific defiance to peasant tradition, one of the doctors named Kruvajan bumbles around Asa's coffin and causes some damage to it. From this point on, Bava takes his viewers on a roller coaster ride of creepy imagery, walking corpses, vampiric transformations, and oppressive atmosphere rarely seen in even the best of horror films. As the horror of "The Mask of Satan" unfolds, we meet the various characters who will play witness to the resuscitated curse on the House of Vajda: Doctor Gorobec, the young, heroic companion of Kruvajan destined to save the day; Katia Vajda, the present princess of Vajda; and her fearful father and brother. Katia's father knows about the curse of Asa, and he spends a significant portion of his time worrying about it. Moreover, several people remark on the amazing resemblance between Asa and Katia Vajda as seen in an old portrait of the Satan worshipping princess. Does this similarity have anything to do with the Asa's seemingly renewed deathbed curse? Probably, and the fun comes from watching it unfold through Bava's masterful use of cinematography, sets, atmosphere, sound effects, and gruesome special effects. That Universal horror films influenced "The Mask of Satan" is so obvious it really doesn't need mentioning in the editorial review on this site. Throughout the movie, I continually recognized these similarities. Perhaps the surprising revelation here is that Bava's film is markedly better than many of the influences he supposedly borrowed from. Check out the coach moving through the forest in complete silence, or the trip Javutich and the doctor take through the castle. These are superb effects accomplished without the benefit of CGI or fancy prosthetics. Additionally, every movement of each character seems choreographed for maximum creepy effect. I kept wondering how Bava managed to get his actors to move so SLOWLY while making it look so natural. Special mention goes to the eerily effective Barbara Steele, the actress who plays both Asa and Katia. I wouldn't go as far as a few horror fans and say that this woman is drop dead gorgeous, but she is pretty and the make-up effects used on her face give her a ultra creepy appearance when she is playing Asa. I could go on and on about the things I liked in this movie. Everything works masterfully, giving "The Mask of Satan" a classic feel right from the start. The DVD version of the film I watched carries a "Special Edition" label, meaning that you get a Mario Bava biography and filmography, a trailer, a photo and poster gallery, and a commentary by Bava historian Tim Lucas. The package claims this is the uncut version of the film, always a good thing when you decide to watch a horror movie. Mario Bava went on to make a slew of films in a wide range of genres, but so far "The Mask of Satan" has been my most satisfying experience with this director. With Halloween right around the corner, this film would nicely fit the bill for a home horror movie marathon.
Rating:
Summary: Give The Devil His Due!
Review: A witch betrays her cult, & is sentenced to wear the Mask of Satan, a spiked facial enclosure bearing the image of The Prince of Darkness. Before her punishment, the witch utters a curse in the name of Satan, that she will continue returning throughout the ages, resurrecting by their sons' blood. She becomes vampyr.
The movie begins with a stern warning to the timid & the young, advising that it may be too frighting & disturbing. And so two noblemen {a professor & his apprentice} make their way to the dark castle in the hills. On their way, they uncover the skeletal remains of the Witch, who manages to get a taste of their blood, thus bringing her to life.
The castle itself is wonderfully beset with images of griffins, gargoyles, & dragons --- particular of note, a marvellous draconian tapestry adorning an ornate fireplace, which holds, it will suffice to say, many secrets.
A Satanic Altar is found deep within the bowels of the castle, where the Vampire-Witch sleeps, & a zombie-like Guardian lurks, who bears the Satanic dragon insignia on his chest.
Black Sunday manages to preserve quite an eerie embiance, much like 'The Undead', & will keep you in suspense.
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