MARIO BAVA'S BLACK SABBATH (1963) TURNS 60!!!

HORROR 101 with Dr. AC

BLACK SABBATH (1963) d. Mario Bava (Italy) Following the success of Roger Corman’s comic exploration of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven in 1963, Boris Karloff found himself in high demand with American International Pictures. In addition to The Terror, notoriously shot in two days on the Raven’s sets, the horror icon appeared in The Comedy of Terrors for Jacques Tourneur (alongside Raven co-stars Vincent Price and Peter Lorre), and tonight’s selection, the masterful anthology Three Faces of Fear, or, as it was better known for its Stateside release, BLACK SABBATH. Director Mario Bava, having made his official directorial debut with Black Sunday in 1960 with AIP, was approached by Sam Arkoff and James Nicholson for another horror offering, this time in color. Bava, having already begun exploring his signature color schemes in Hercules in the Haunted World two years prior, jumped at the chance to work on three separate stories, with Karloff serving not only as the host but the star of one of the segments. The final results were successful, despite, or some might argue, because of AIP’s re-dubbing, reordering, and reshooting pieces of Bava’s original cut. AC is joined in the studio by four of his favorite horror pals, all of whom contributed essays to the award-winning Hidden Horror: Lawrence P. Raffel, Nile Arena, David Schmidt, and David Lee White! Enjoy the conversation as they celebrate one of my personal favorite Italian genre offerings - perfect for introducing fans to both AIP’s gothic horrors and Bava’s particular visual aesthetic. -------------------------------- NILE ARENA is the co-founder of Cicada Cinema and a member of Fabuloso Comedy. LAWRENCE P. RAFFEL started Monsters at Play in 2000, a DVD review site that started out as an experiment that grew into a thriving genre community. He joined with FEARnet (a multi platform horror network) in 2006, and oversaw editorial and all digital assets for FEARnet.com until 2014. DAVID SCHMIDT is a lifetime horror fan and filmmaker, and his work can be found at swordandcloak.com and @cinegeek . DAVID LEE WHITE is a playwright and performer based in New Jersey. His plays "Slippery as Sin" and "Ways to Be Happy" have just been published by Next Stage Press. Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most importantly, Keep Sharing the Scare! ------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most importantly, Keep Sharing the Scare!