Diabolik
For those that don’t want to go to 007 / James Bond Casino Royale, you might want to check out Diabolik from Mario Bava
Diabolik is a fictional character, an anti-hero featured in Italian comics. He was created by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani in 1962. His stories appear in monthly black and white digest-sized booklets. The character was inspired by several previous characters from French and Italian pulp fiction, primarilyFant?.
Diabolik (John Philip Law) is a master thief who with the help of his girlfriend Eva Kant (Marisa Mell) steals from the rich and government. Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli) who is assigned to track down Diabolik whose criminal acts are viewed as acts of terrorism. After Dialolik latest caper the Minister of Finance (Terry-Thomas) grants Inspector Ginko unlimited powers in his search and capture of Diabolik. Inspector Ginko uses a priceless emerald necklace as bait to trap Diabolik. Will the police finally catch their man or will Diabolik slip through their hands again.
The story is all quite routine, but any fan of Bava knows that story is as important to Bava as the sun is to a bat. The less plot for Bava the better, because above all else, Bava is a man of style. More even than any of his contemporaries like Argento, Bava?s films bare the undeniable stamp of its maker. Bava was such a total genius of cinematography, direction and set design, often wearing all those hats during his films, that he could make any scene resonate with a visual energy and wonderment. Most of his horror films are characterized by his stylish use of color, and indeed there are some wonderful uses here, from multicolored gases overcoming the frame, to the swirling paint transitions. But Danger: Diabolik takes style a step further with all of Bava?s groundbreaking matte paintings and imaginative set pieces. Diabolik?s lair comes to life with a combination of otherworldly design coupled with bursts of color, making it infinitely more interesting than the leaden Batman catacombs.kk
Bava?s style is so paramount to his films, from his wild zooms, crazy colors and inventive trickery, that it often takes precedent over all other things. Genre, story, performances, everything all seems redundant to Bava, since his personal stamp is so obvious and so entrancing that the difference from his gialli and his action films seem hardly noticeable at all. His films are like one giant magic show, it doesn?t matter what he is doing, the only thing that resonates is the style of the magician?s execution. So what ultimately prevails in Danger: Diabolik is not the hammy screenplay or the flat acting, but Bava?s ability to use the canvas of film to paint a world of visual intrigue.
entrance + membership: 5 euro
open:19h30
So where does this screening take place
iLLUSEUM-WITTE DE WITHSTRAAT 120-Amsterdam
