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Summary: THE BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE FILM
Review: I love the film for its "ancient look." The part where the witch's hideous servant rises from his murderer's grave and takes off his cursed mask is my favorite. Bava sure knows how to do much with less (the film's budget). Barbara Steele is beautiful and hideous at the same time as the witch. Watch this movie on a dark, rainy night.
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Summary: "BLACK SUNDAY" DVD Review
Review: Image Entertainment has unleashed on DVD the most satanic valentine to gothic cinema ever conceived-and at least in this writer's opinion, the greatest horror film ever made. BLACK SUNDAY is not merely equal to the best of Murnau, Whale, Freund and the classic Universal Pictures tradition, but surpasses all with M.C. Escheresque visuals informed with the dark poetry of stylish sadism. Barbara Steele imbues her portrayal of the vampire/witch with a demonic majesty never before brought to the screen. Indeed, her skeletal facial features, a landscape of puncture wounds bearing forth wild, burning eyes and thick, cruel lips (promising the joys of eternal Hades) is itself the very ensign of Italian fantascienza of the Sixties.The plot will not be retold here (but is in my full summary in Films in Review online). Aside from the drop-dead gorgeous visual presentation, the audio commentary by Tim Lucas is definitive. We ardent lovers of Bava wait in sheer anticipation of his book on the subject (due in 2001). Most noteworthy missed opportunities in this stellar effort is Barbara Steele's participation in the analog track. The presentation of the film in its beautiful Italian (which runs longer as there are scenes deleted from ALL USA & European versions should have ben included. Indeed, the American-International print with the much maligned (and unfairly so) Les Baxter score should have been included. However, this effort is a 5-star, full thrust knockout and belongs in every serious horror film buff's collection.
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Summary: The Best Italian Horror Film of the '60's.
Review: Italy produced many creepy horror efforts of the '60's, but this is the most effective by far. From its ominous opening to its fiery finish, BLACK SUNDAY is a terrifying cinematic experience. The hauntingly beautiful Barbara Steele, who went on to become Italy's foremost Scream Queen, plays a dual role: a lovely virginal princess, and a wicked witch who returns from the grave to seek vengeance on the descendants of those who burned her at the stake over a hundred years before. Steele is strikingly effective in both roles, and the mysterious Gothic atmosphere is both sinister and beautiful. The film was shot in gorgeous black and white, and it just wouldn't look right any other way. This was also the directorial debut of Mario Bava who, like Steele, would become a crucial name in '60's Italian scare flicks. Horror fans just won't be able to do any better than this!
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Summary: Great stuff !!!!
Review: I just received my copy of "BLACK SUNDAY" and I must say this is great stuff !!. The transfer is terrific and the commentary is very insightful. My hats off to IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT for bringing this classic back to life on DVD. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is into horror films,vampire films or film making in general. This one goes in my collection right behind Dario Argent's "SUSPIRIA" as my all time favorite horror films and is there to stay !!
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Summary: A True Horror Classic; Atmosphere is everywhere!
Review: Atmosphere makes all the difference sometime in a true horror classic. Mario Bava stops at nothing to create the ultimate atmosphere of fear and terror in this movie (which was no doubt copied over and over again by the countless horror movies to follow). From Fog rolling in to stormy, broken graveyards, you stare in amazement...at just how you can't help but feel you're really there. For example, he takes you 360 degrees all around the vampire crypt! Amazing, bingo, you're there! Mr. Bava also sets up scenes with the feeling of "impending doom" (ie: the little girl who has to walk thru the forest to milk the cow, who is deathly afraid to do so...in her innocence every frog that crosses her path, scares her...and we know the vampires are right in her midst. Will they get her??...) Barbara Steele is also perfection playing good and evil personified. Take one look into those dark sultry eyes, and at her heaving breasts (with just the right amount of cleavage showing...) This breathless beauty became an overnight sensation from this film, and continued to make more horror films (mostly, I believe, for HAMMER productions).I was a big fan of hers...she almost made a film in America too...with Elvis Presley (you can hear more about that in the wonderful commentary provided with the DVD) Also, remember when this movie was made (1960), and realize that there were some shocking moments for the time, and jthere still are today After seeing many of today's horror flicks, I still cringe at the "masking" scene. It's nothing short of terrifying. The movie is also in glorious "black and white"...an ingenious thought by Mr. Bava. Because of it, the movie succeeds gloriously...shadow after shadow, dark and light play beautifully within this film. Bava goes all out when it comes to fright. He's a master, again of atmosphere: shadows of a bat,an exploding crypt, regeneration thru blood,...and the recurring theme of "eyes"... This movie is a true horror classic. It is not to be missed, especially this "uncut" version with a wonderful commentary and publicity stills. The movie is dubbed (though you see the mouths moving and you know they're speaking English, some of the words are not exact...as more of a script was added in the dubbing, but hey, that's part of the fun with these horror classics). I gave this a 5 star rating. Pick up a copy, you'll see why....then, don't even think about trading it on one of those auction sites...this belongs in your collection, filed under "horror". :)
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding.
Review: BLACK SUNDAY ranks right up there with the best of the Hammer Films. The cinematography is breathtaking and the acting magnificent (despite the dubbing, which I don't find to be "abominable," but which can be distracting). Marvelous sets and costume and the kind of story that fans of period horror films love to wrap themselves in on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I haven't seen a better looking black and white transfer on DVD since WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF.
Comparable in mood to Hammer's DRACULA - PRINCE OF DARKNESS and reminiscent even of Herzog's NOSFERATU, BLACK SUNDAY displays all of the best elements that make up great horror films with a story that moves at the perfect pace and unforgettable terrifying moments. Absolutely marvelous.
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Summary: Black Sunday a.k.a. The Mask of Satan
Review: This is a real horror movie,maybe the best ever. Barbara Steele plays two roles,a beautiful witch/ vampire and a beautiful princess who becomes the target of the former.John Richardson plays the hero who must destroy the evil before it destroys his love(Steele)Mario Bava is the director of this lavishly filmed,black & white masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Best-ever transfer (but....)
Review: Actually, my rating for this DVD version of "Black Sunday" would be 5 stars for the video transfer, 5 stars for Bava's cinematography (seen here like never before), 2 stars for the audio transfer, and 3 stars for the overall quality of the film itself. Bava was not a great director, and didn't like to be called a "cinematographer," but this film really is a painting in motion: every scene is a paradigm of Gothicism -- the cinematic equivalent of Gustave Dore. Like other reviewers, I was floored by the print used for this disc: it looks, almost literally, like it was shot yesterday, and it's almost impossible to believe the film is almost 40 years old. If there are other films from this era that look this pristine, I haven't seen them. My only quarrel with the disc has to do with the dubbing. In all honesty, I feel this film sports one of the worst American dubbing jobs ever performed on a film, and the big question (which neither Tim Lucas nor anyone else seems to have raised)is this: WHERE is the original Italian-language version of "Black Sunday," and why wasn't an attempt made to give us the original dialogue with OPTIONAL English subtitles? Mr. Lucas would have us believe that this DVD was the original version, but obviously the entire cast is speaking Italian (duhhh - why else would you have to dub in English?). So, yes, I'm thrilled to have this beautiful print, but hopefully in the future we'll get the original Italian dialogue and not have to endure the abominable dubbing...
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Summary: From the April issue of IRS.theroadlesstraveled.org...
Review: Of greatest interest to me is the addition of a commentary by Video Watchdog's editor-publisher Tim Lucas. Lucas knows his Bava and certainly knows this film - it 's one of the best commentaries I've heard, rife with anecdotal detail and mise-en-scene perception. I had already been aware that Bava produced some remarkable and inventive shots (he was his own cameraman), but without the sound his style completely comes to life. Lucas makes sure you miss nothing. The movie is an atmospheric black and white, with Bava as a sort of horror Welles/Sam Fuller, and I don't make those comparisons lightly. I will not pretend that some of the leaden dubbing and confused, plodding story line can make B tedious. Stepping out of these aspects with Lucas, one can see what makes this film so remarkable. Inventive dollies, cranes and lighting are everywhere: a magnificent 360 degree pan in Steele's crypt; a dizzying cork screw down on the vampirized Baron in bed; an almost Kurosawa/THRONE OF BLOOD-like image of Steele's ghostly reflection appearing in a pond at night. Lucas further enlightens us on how certain chilling effects were achieved out of bargain basement solutions. Whether it's your first time or a re-visit, check it out.
Rating:
Summary: A Horror Classic
Review: Italian Director Mario Bava's first movie Black Sunday may just be the finest horror film ever made. The gothic atmosphere and superb black and white photography are among the highlights in this near perfect gem. The film marked the beginning of long, productive horror careers for both director Bava and its star Barbara Steele. The story involves the execution and later resurrection of a witch who attempts to gain vengence on the ancestors of the family who condemed her. This film is not to be missed. If you can only see one horror film, make it Black Sunday.
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