by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 2, The Film: 4/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 8/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi, Claudio Gora, Terry-Thomas, Renzo Palmer
Intro:
Iconic, memorable and quite unique, Danger: Diabolik is the kind of film that needs to be experienced to be fully understood and appreciated.
The Movie:
Mario Bava, the revered Italian director who sadly left us far too soon back in 1980, is undoubtedly best known for his iconic, influential horror movies. There’s Black Sunday (1960), the moody black and white flick that made Barbara Steele downright terrifying as a stroppy witch who returns from the grave; Black Sabbath (1963), an anthology flick that literally gave the band Black Sabbath its name; Planet of the Vampires (1965), a sci-fi horror that heavily influenced the aesthetic for Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979); and A Bay of Blood (1971), a gory whodunit that “inspired” the slasher craze so much, particularly Friday the 13th Part 2, they straight up flogged the iconic double impalement scene from the movie! However, what some of you gore hounds and genre weirdos might not know, is that Bava – like a lot of hardworking Italian directors at the time – was across many other flavours of film as well. Ol’ mate directed sword and sandal flicks, pirate adventures, toey comedies, spaghetti westerns and even a comic book adaptation, and today’s topic, Danger: Diabolik.
And friends, this one is a doozy.
Danger: Diabolik is the story of master thief (and quasi-terrorist) Diabolik (John Phillip Law), a suave, gadget-using scamp who loves nothing more than taking the piss out of the powers-that-be and spending time with his inhumanely beautiful misso, Eva Kant (Marisa Mell). His mixture of fancy thievery and antagonist mockery rankles the forces of law and order and fellow criminals alike, with Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli) representing the former and Ralph Valmont (Adolfo Celi) the latter. As Diabolik’s schemes become more elaborate and spectacular, so do the attempts to either capture or kill him, and before long, the iconic thief may just bite off more than he can chew. However, one thing’s for sure, he’s going to look bloody good whatever happens.
In essence, Danger: Diabolik is like watching an old Road Runner cartoon. Except, instead of a smart arse, leggy bird besting a sociopathic coyote, it’s a supercool crook constantly evading the law and various crims. The whole film hinges on two things: the megawatt charm of the two leads, which thankfully is abundant, and Mario Bava’s absurdly eye-catching direction, which he delivers with much alacrity. The film is an at times campy daydream, a horny but oddly classy Pop-Art action thriller replete with comic book style and oodles of 1960s charm. Every frame of this movie feels like it could be a panel out of a fumetti (Italian adult-oriented funny book) and the experience of watching this thing is truly singular.
For all Diabolik’s charm and wit, he is in some ways a menacing antihero. When he’s faced with a populace that has been offered a huge reward to dob him in, the mad bastard destroys all the financial institutions in the land, causing everyone’s debt to be deleted and reducing their tax bill to zero. He’s a Robin Hood in the sense that he steals from the rich, but he mainly piles up the ill-gotten gains and, well, roots Eva on them, quite frankly.
Danger: Diabolik is a slick, colourful, subversive fantasy directed by one of Italy’s most consistently creative visual stylists and chock full of handsome antiheroes, beautiful babes and delightfully goofy capers. It’s slightly dated from a narrative and storytelling perspective for sure, but damn if this colourful adventure doesn’t make every recent blockbuster look like a drab, gray dirge by comparison.
The Extras:
Not a massive haul of half-inched items here, but what’s available glitters like a comically oversized gold ingot.
There are two audio commentaries available and they’re both excellent. The first is with actor John Phillip Law and Mario Bava biographer Tim Lucas, which is a hoot because it’s pretty clear which actresses Law had steamy affairs with and he’s trying very hard not to boast about it! The second is a more recent 2020 one with Tim Lucas by himself, but this man is a Bava trivia machine and well worth a watch/listen.
There’s a video essay from film historian Kat Ellinger which is well researched, albeit a tad stilted in the delivery at times, and the “Body Movin’” music video from the Beastie Boys with optional commentary where ol’ mate Adam Yauch aka MCA explains why they used so much footage from Danger: Diabolik in their cracker of a tune. Spoiler alert: it’s because the movie is awesome.
Best in show, however, is the featurette Danger: Diabolik: From Fumetti to Film, a fascinating little piece where proper film and comics legends including Stephen R. Bissette talk about how and why the film was uniquely Italian (the answer involves fascism), why it resonated and its lasting impact today. It’s a terrific piece, dense with fascinating info and interviews, and makes you reconsider the context for some of the film’s goofier elements.
The whole caper comes in a gorgeous hardbox replete with a small, hardcover booklet that’s chockers with photos and extra info. An edition as handsome and visually striking as its stars.
The Verdict:
Although Mario Bava’s horror output is his most famous, fans of the Italian maestro would be wise not to ignore the sexy, psychedelic, quintessentially ‘60s romp. Iconic, memorable and quite unique, Danger: Diabolik is the kind of film that needs to be experienced to be fully understood and appreciated.
Looking better than ever in its gorgeous 4K state, this is the perfect way to get your sticky fingers on this timeless cult classic. After all, don’t we all want to live that criminal mastermind fantasy from time to time?
