Morbid Configurations: The Beauty of Bava

Using the camera and some tricks of light and perspective, Mario Bava created artistic masterpieces that were beautiful in motion and often more beautiful seen at a halting standstill. It's one thing to create a phenomenal photograph and quite another to present 24 a second for 80-100 minutes. Herein we present some visually striking moments from several of Bava's films from within the horror genre and from without. Each still is taken from a DVD screen capture and most are presented without additional comment. 

Click a still to open a larger version in a pop-up window

Black Sunday (1960):

Black Sunday
   

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963):

The Girl Who Knew Too Mucb
   

Black Sabbath (1963):

The family that slays together... stays together.

Black Sabbath
   

The Whip and the Body (1963):

The Whip and the Body
   

Blood and Black Lace (1964):

Blood and Black Lace
   

Knives of the Avenger (1966):

"Shane! Shane! Come back!"

Knives of the Avenger
   

Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966):

Kill, Baby... Kill!
   

Diabolik (1968):

Diabolik
   

Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970):

Hatchet for the Honeymoon
   

Four Times That Night (1970):

Four Times that Night
   

5 Dolls for an August Moon (1970):

"She's dead... wrapped in plastic."

5 Dolls for an August Moon
   

Roy Colt and Winchester Jack (1970):

Roy Colt and Winchester Jack
   

Bay of Blood (1971):

Bay of Blood
   

Baron Blood (1972):

Baron Blood
   

Lisa and the Devil (1973):

Romance may be dead, but there's always necrophilia.

Lisa and the Devil
   

Rabid Dogs (1974):

Rabid Dogs
   

House of Exorcism (1975):

House of Exorcism
   

Shock (1977):

Shock

 

Any omissions in our appreciation are purely due to a particular film being unavailable to us. If you have a favorite still from one of Mario Bava's films that we don't feature above, please use the Contact Form to let us know.

This feature is presented as part of Mario Bava Week, the last of four celebrations of master horror directors done for our Shocktober 2007 event.

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