This seminal giallo gets a new Blu-ray release from VCI
Just last month, Arrow Films released an outstanding Blu-ray for Deep Red. The film by Italian director Dario Argento is generally regarded as the quintessential giallo. An Italian horror sub-genre blending a murder mystery with lurid, visceral, tone and visuals. While Deep Red is undoubtedly among the finest examples of the genre, it, and much of Argento’s work owes much to Mario Bava (Black Sabbath, The Whip and the Body, Kill, Baby… Kill!), whose Blood and Black Lace is often cited as setting the blueprint for all giallo that would follow, while being a potent achievement in its own right.
Synopsis:
Director Mario Bava’s Giallo Masterpiece! An unscrupulous business operating under the guise of a top fashion house with exotic models running sexual favors, cocaine dealings and blackmail, becomes a murder scene — after someone is pushed to the edge. The saga begins when a beautiful model is brutally murdered, and her boyfriend, a known addict supplying her drugs, is suspected of the crime…but is he guilty or is someone waiting in the shadows setting him up?
As it’s cited as providing the template that ensuing giallo films would follow, it’s unsurprising that Blood and Black Lace delivers everything you expect from the genre. Lurid visuals, a seedy tone, and punctuations of twisted violence. There is a beauty and a horror to the film that is undeniably compelling. The plot is centered around the Cristiana Haute Couture fashion house and the denizens within. Staff, models, and their partners, bitchy and backstabbing from the off, drawn into a conspiracy of murder, blackmail, and betrayal, after a a mysterious figure begins killing them off one by one. Their work pointing to a larger conspiracy at play. It’s the perfect setting for such a film, a place full of intrigue, not to mention the jealousy and sexual dynamics of these people, feeding into such abusing, violent behavior on the part of the murderer.
It’s a distinct vision from Bava, one that in many ways serves as a precursor to the slasher genre as it is today, only with style to spare. Deeply saturated visuals and luscious use of color and shadow, not to mention unnerving use of the camera. Beyond the look and tone, it’s also a fine murder mystery, not meandering or misleading, crafting a alluring and well-structured tale, one not beset by some of the pacing issues that befell many films of the same ilk that followed. Bava co-wrote the screenplay with Giuseppe Barilla and Marcello Fondato, and it’s compelling fare. With this substance backing up the style, it marks Blood and Black Lace as not just a landmark of giallo, but a masterfully wrought work of Italian cinema.
The Package
My only previous encounter with this film was on 35mm, but the transfer here is pretty darn impressive too. Blacks are deep and colors are bold, as they should be. Detail and texture, and retention of a natural grain is solid too, if a little variable throughout the film. There are some scenes that look a little overly flattened/processed though, mostly evident in skin tones. But overall, it’s nicely done. The release also comes with a nice array of special features, note that some only come in SD on the DVD version of the film included along with the Blu-ray:
- 2018 Commentary by Kat Ellinger, Editor-in-Chief and author, Diabolique Magazine: A deeper, more analytical look at the film, Bava’s work, and the film’s impact. Flits from the film to more general horror conversation
- 2018 Commentary by film historian and David Del Valle & director/writer, C Courtney Joyner: A less dry, more entertaining commentary, with plenty of insights to the production
- Video Interview with Mary Dawne Arden:
- Archival video interview with star, Cameron Mitchell, with David Del Valle:
- Original American Theatrical Trailer, plus Italian, German and French trailers:
- Bonus Trailers of other Bava films:
- Extensive Photo Gallery: Bask in the film’s glorious imagery!
- Alternate original Italian or original US theatrical main titles:
- Bonus Music Tracks by composer Carlo Rustichelli:
- Video Comparison: American Version Cuts / Euro Uncut: Italian films are notorious for being hacked up for American release. This is one of the more interesting features as it goes through the differences between the two cuts, hinting at the different sensibilities of the studios/markets
- 2-Sided Coverwrap with Alternate Coverart:
The Bottom Line
Blood and Black Lace is a landmark of Italian cinema and more pertinently the giallo sub-genre. It perfectly exemplifies Bava’s impact on film and filmmakers that have followed in his wake. A sumptuous slasher that blends murder mystery with an unnerving visceral quality. VCI have put together a fine release to celebrate the film, one very much worth your attention.
Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace is available via MVD Video from October 23rd
