Rating: 
Summary: Bava, Steele, and Lucas make this movie a keeper
Review: "Black Sunday" is widely regarded as one of Mario Bava's strongest films in a career filled with over a dozen bona fide horror/giallo/goth classics. On one level, "Black Sunday" is something of a red herring for the director, a black and white film which reminds one more--on first glance--of the classic '30s Universal horror stories than of later color-laden works like "Black Sabbath" or "Planet of The Vampires." However, "Black Sunday" is where Bava began as a solo director, and he hits a home run the first time out with this eerie tale.Barbara Steele is perfectly cast as both the evil vampiress risen from the dead as well as her modern descendant, a more demure but surprisingly strong heiress. This performance cemented her reputation as one of the earliest "scream queens," and in this film there are plenty of opportunities to display her talents as one of the finest reactors (as opposed to actors) in cinema history. Her expressive eyes and eyebrows--and voice-- always let the viewer know exactly what her character is feeling. Modern viewers may be wary that the film is in black and white, but this remains one of the most beautifully shot films I've ever seen. When done the right way, black and white photography can be far more evocative than color photography--not to slight such Bava devotees as Argento, who obviously have copied his later penchant for color. The camerawork, especially a 360 turn displaying the entire dungeon, is always impressive; rumor has it that Bava often used a child's wagon as a dolly to save money. The DVD of "Black Sunday" is exemplary not only due to the beauty of the transfer but also Tim Lucas' commentary. This is one of the finest commentaries done by an "outsider" (i.e. someone who did not direct or star in the film) I have ever heard. Lucas, a historian, is known by many as the author of fine liner notes for DVDs for Bava and Jess Franco (eg, "Vampyros Lesbos"); here, he talks almost nonstop about every aspect of the film and its director. Never dull, sometimes funny, this is a commentary which will teach you more about Mario Bava in 80 minutes than you could learn surfing the web all day.
Rating: 
Summary: Black Sunday (1960) d: Bava, Mario
Review: Barbara Steele plays an executed witch who has a spiked golden mask hammered onto her face. Many years later she is accidentally revived from her grave as a vampire and seeks revenge on the descendants of her enemies while attempting to possess a lookalike princess (also played by Steele). An excellent Universal studio's type horror film, hauntingly photographed originally titled Mask of the Demon. Shown in the UK as Revenge of the Vampire, this debut film established Mario Bava as one of the great horror film stylists and made the unknown Steele a cult star. The movie achieved world-wide commercial and critical success under its better-known title of Black Sunday. When originally released in North America by American International, the film was hacked quite a bit. This version released by image entertainment restores the cut footage and contains a 'very' indepth and interesting commentary track by Video Watchdog editor Tim Lucas, who points out many things that would be otherwise un-noticed or unknown.
Rating:
Summary: BRAVO BAVA AND STEELE
Review: If you are a true horror connoseur of great horror films, BLACK SUNDAY or THE MASK OF SATAN, belongs in your repertoire of those films which defined what "horror" movies should be about.
Mario Bava's first film is full of eloquent imagery, darkly atmospheric sets and lighting, and an almost palpable sense of doom. Barbara Steele, who went on with Hazel Court, to be the true scream queens of the sixties, is perfect in the dual role of the witch and her descendant; Bava knew that Steele's beauty is not of the usual kind and he used his lens to soften some of her harshness, but yet to ignite those gorgeous eyes. Steele also knew how to handle the camera, how to peer not only into the eyes of her fellow actors, but into your eyes as well.
John Richardson's boyish handsomeness is a perfect contrast to Steele's dark beauty. (Only complaint about DVD is the obvious dubbing, with "radio dj" voices that at times lessened the impact of the movie). The silent stagecoach ride is as many readers have commented one of the eeriest scenes captured on celluloid.
This is a frightening movie, way ahead of its time, and maintains a crude brilliance that is still penetrating today.
Rating:
Summary: Black Sunday a.k.a. The Mask of Satan
Review: In 1960 Mario Bava directed his first and best film,La maschera del demonio(The Mask of Satan)In North America it was released as Black Sunday.The story concerns a 17th century princess who is executed for witchcraft & vampirism.Two centuries later she is accidently resurected by doctors on the way to a medical convention.The witch(Barbera Steele)kills one of the doctors & makes him a slave of Satan.She wants the body & soul of her look-alike ancestor(Steele) & must destoy Dr.Andre (John Richardson) to get it.This is a true horror movie with a gothic atmosphere that Bava's later color films lacked.Also this is the widescreen European version which is superior to the US release.Errie music along with scenes cut from the American version make it so.The only downside is the bad dubbing and occasional ticks in the film (The US version uses Steele & Richardson to dub their lines & have digitally remastered the print)
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I remember, but still fun
Review: I first saw Black Sunday on TV over 30 years ago and it scared the heck out of me. The opening scene where the witch, played by one of the first scream queens, Barbara Steele, has the Mask of Satan nailed onto her face was a real shocker. The story is simple--evil witch Princess if put to death, places curse on descendants who do the dirty deed, and comes back 200 years later to exact her revenge. Only Mario Bava could combine witchcraft with vampires, who can by killed by driving a stake in the left eye. There are several wonderful scenes--such as when Steele's father returns from the dead and comes out of his coffin to attack his daughter. Unfortunately, that was 30 years ago, and the viewing this time was purely for nostalgia, as a number of the scenes don't really stand the test of time. The DVD version is an excellent copy and restored about three minutes cut for its U.S. release; Bava's use of black-and-white is superb. The audio commentary that goes with the film is also a good one. So, although this film will not likely appeal to or scare any of today's younger, jaded audience, I found it great fun to watch, and came away with even greater respect for Director Bava.
Rating:
Summary: Mario Bava Scared The S**T Out Of Me
Review: Black Sunday(The Mask of Satan) has all the elements of a great horror film. Good story, pacing, simple, but extremely effective special effects, gorgeous black and white photography and Barbara Steele. I saw the showing here in the cut, Les Baxter score, etc. etc. version which was great, I must admit, but seeing the uncut version was not so much an eyeopener as finally seeing a wonderful scarefest the way it should of been seen many years ago. If only current "horror" filmmakers could learn how to make a good horror film like Bava, then life would be "GOOD". It's not MONEY, expensive special effects, big names, or color, but IMAGINATION, a good sense of film composition and a sense of what makes a good story that count. Cut the budgets for some of these films like the remake of "The Haunting", all the Freddy-Jason films and make the directors use their brains and creative imagination and we might have some decent films to talk about 25 years from now. Black Sunday stands the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: great transfer of Bava's acclaimed masterwork
Review: This dvd, part of Image's great (and occasionally revelatory) Mario Bava collection, represents the best (indeed, only) way of viewing this film as it was originally intended. The film is a must for fans of gothic horror; the contemporary viewer will notice it's influence on both Italian cinema and american (particularly Tim Burton, who's recent Sleepy Hollow in particular contains a number of explicit 'homages'..). The black and white photography is extravagent without becoming distracting, the casting is perfect (sadly Steele and Bava would not work together again). Although dated, Mask of Satan (Black Sunday's original title) is considerably less so then the more childish Universal Horrors of the 30s, due to it's more graphic (for it's day) violence and disturbing sexual undertones.
The transfer for this dvd is superb, and the print in great condition. Picture quality is in fact considerably better then the previous disc of 'Baron Blood' (which is very good). Anamorphic enhancement helps a lot, although sadly it isn't 'windowboxed' (this isn't a big deal but would have been nice). Lack of Italian soundtrack with english subtitles is disappointing - but the cast appear to be speaking english for the most part anyway, and the dubbing really isn't THAT bad for this kind of film (*ahem* - 'Female Vampire' anyone?)
Tim Lucas' commentary track is very good also. Actually I wish he'd do this on all the Bava collection dvds (perhaps there isn't much to say about his lesser works?). It's of the informative variety; he is clearly reading a prepared script despite the enthusiasm he shows for the film - but it's well worth a listen at least once as it really gives an insight into Bava's genius. He also points out the differences between this and the previous US version (if you were unlucky enough to have seen that). Despite being slightly long in the tooth, I would recommend this film to all open minded film fans, particularly those interested in horror or foreign film.
Rating:
Summary: BRAVO BAVA AND STEELE
Review: If you are a true horror connoseur of great horror films, BLACK SUNDAY or THE MASK OF SATAN, belongs in your repertoire of those films which defined what "horror" movies should be about.
Mario Bava's first film is full of eloquent imagery, darkly atmospheric sets and lighting, and an almost palpable sense of doom. Barbara Steele, who went on with Hazel Court, to be the true scream queens of the sixties, is perfect in the dual role of the witch and her descendant; Bava knew that Steele's beauty is not of the usual kind and he used his lens to soften some of her harshness, but yet to ignite those gorgeous eyes. Steele also knew how to handle the camera, how to peer not only into the eyes of her fellow actors, but into your eyes as well.
John Richardson's boyish handsomeness is a perfect contrast to Steele's dark beauty. (Only complaint about DVD is the obvious dubbing, with "radio dj" voices that at times lessened the impact of the movie). The silent stagecoach ride is as many readers have commented one of the eeriest scenes captured on celluloid.
This is a frightening movie, way ahead of its time, and maintains a crude brilliance that is still penetrating today.
Rating:
Summary: Bava Lives!
Review: BLACK SUNDAY (aka THE MASK OF SATAN) marks the directorial debut of prolific horror director Mario Bava, and what a debut! The story, a Gothic masterpiece about vampirism being an extension of Satan worship, is quite interesting. Barbara Steel, the first horror starlet, or scream queen, is amazingly beautiful and quite good as the evil Princess Asa, who curses her family after being condemned as a witch, and Princess Katia, her ancestor. A chairjumper every five minutes! It lulls you asleep and then slaps you awake with the next scary moment. True suspense is being built up as the plot goes along nice and slow (even under an hour and a half!) The whole film is gorgeous and really showed me that a black-and-white movie can be just as scary and cringe-inducing as one in bright color.
Yes, Mario Bava is the founding father of Italian horror as we know it! Not only is he a great director, but he is an excellent cameraman and special effects artist, just to name a few other things he did in his movies. Thanks to Bava, we have masterpieces from other great directors as Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA, DEEP RED, TENEBRE, INFERNO), Lucio Fulci (DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING, ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND), and even Mario's own son Lamberto (MACABRE, A BLADE IN THE DARK, DEMONS 1 & 2). Hell, even the Bavas helped Argento on occasion (Mario directed that awesome underwater sequence in INFERNO, and Lamberto was assistant director on that and TENEBRE). So remember, when you think about how awesome Italian horror movies were back in the day and all the masterpieces that came out of that country, remember Mario Bava. And watch BLACK SUNDAY and all of his other movies!
Rating: 
Summary: I kept waiting for the "masterpiece" part.
Review: Black Sunday (Mario Bava, 1960) Black Sunday is the movie Ed Wood always wanted to make. A four-cheese pizza with extra provolone is still not nearly as cheesy as this "horror" film, from which the only horror can be gleaned at the unintentional humor to be found throughout. But still, for the fan of Italian horror cinema, Black Sunday (as many of Bava's films) is a must-see, simply because Bava was the man who inspired giallo, and the tangents off giallo which gave rise to the films of the great triumvirate of Italian horror directors (Argento, Fulci, and Lenzi). If you can piece together a plot summary for this movie, you're a better man than I. But I'll give it a shot: in the 1700s, a witch (Barbara Steele, recently of the ill-fated attempt to remake the ark Shadows TV series) is executed by the Inquisition (weren't they gone by then?) in a startlingly brutal manner: they hammer a spiked mask over her face. Two hundred years later, a professor of history (Andrea Checchi) and his eager assistant Dr. Gorobec (John Richardson) stumble upon her tomb and remove the mask, freeing her spirit. Now, it just so happens that her many-times-great granddaughter Katja (also played by Steele) is still living in the witch's house with her family, and the two of them happen to look remarkably alike... you can see where this is going, no? Fans of the Italian horror masters will find the geneses of such things as Fulci's obsession with "eye shots," Argento's sweeping cinematographic spectacles of murder, and Lenzi's brutal execution techniques. And some of the scenes do inspire the viewer to disgust, at least (when Checchi pulls the mask off the witch's face being a perfect example), but as a horror film, it falls pretty flat. The later Italian directors refined the style into something better. **
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