and art director Alfred Junge both received Academy Awards for their efforts). The matte paintings, depicting an imagi- nary Himalayas, were created by Peter Ellenshaw (MARY POPPINS), while the special ef- fects were overseen by W. Percy Day, a former apprentice of Georges Méliès.
If the Criterion disc (issued in 2000) cannot compete in terms of the feature film presen- tation (we found the DD-2.0 mono soundtrack on the ITV disc to be slightly more crisply detailed as well), it most cer- tainly surpasses the ITV edition in terms of its supplements. The ITV disc, like the Criterion disc, contains the film’s nicely pre- served theatrical trailer (2m 34s), but the only other supple- ment is the featurette, “Profile of BLACK NARCISSUS” (24m), which, while of value to some- one who has never seen the film, treads over familiar ground for those who have. In contrast to the ITV disc, the Criterion DVD contains “Painting With Light,” a portion of PERSIS- TENCE OF VISION, a longer, feature-length documentary about Jack Cardiff by London- based filmmaker Craig McCall. The Criterion disc also in- cludes several dozen behind- the-scenes production stills and stills from scenes not used in the final cut. In addition, the Criterion disc includes an au- dio commentary with Michael Powell (who died in 1990) and Martin Scorsese, an avid ad- mirer of the films of Powell and Pressburger. Finally, the ITV is- sue has no booklet or accom- panying essay. The best of both worlds, therefore, for those who admire the film as we do, is to own both editions. While not precisely a bare bones disc, the HD picture quality of the ITV edition alone recommends it.
70
We do note, however, that the ITV disc contains subtitles in English only.
Imports
I LUNGHI CAPELLI DELLA MORTE
“The Long Hair of Death” 1964, Raro Video/Xploited Cinema, DD-2.0/MA/LB/+, $20.95, 93m 40s, DVD-2 By Tim Lucas
Set in an unidentified coun- try in the 15th century, this An- tonio Margheriti costumer stars Mario Bava veterans Barbara Steele and Giorgio Ardisson in an Ernesto Gastaldi story that bor- rows freely from Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY (Steele, witchery, curses, reanimation, fireplaces that con- nect with crypts through secret passages) while inverting the ba- sic situation of Gastaldi’s earlier script for Bava’s THE WHIP AND THE BODY (here, it’s Kurt that’s haunted). It might also be seen as a prequel of sorts to Camillo Mastrocinque’s Gastaldi-scripted TERROR IN THE CRYPT (1963; DVD title: CRYPT OF THE VAM- PIRE), a contemporary story also featuring Sheridan Le Fanu’s Karnstein family—and long before anything by Hammer ever did.
To cover a murder commit- ted for political gain, Count Humboldt Whalen (Giuliano Raffaelli) blames local witch Adele Karnstein (THE LEOPARD’s Halina Zalewska), sentencing her to be burned at the stake. Her grown daughter Helen (Barbara Steele) flings herself on the Count’s mercy, sacrificing her vir- ginity as a plea for mercy, but Adele is burned before the eyes of younger daughter Elizabeth and Helen is herself thrown down
a falls to ensure her eternal si- lence—but not before Adele places a curse on the town, its crops and the entire Whalen bloodline. As Elizabeth grows to maturity (Zalewska without the haggard makeup), she attracts the eye of Humboldt’s son Kurt (ERIK THE CONQUEROR’s Ardisson), who determines to have her any way necessary— by marriage, if need be. As promised by Adele’s curse, the village crops begin to suffer. The church, in the person of the priestly Von Klagge (Umberto Raho in a blond soupbowl cut), grants Kurt permission to wed Elizabeth, reasoning that it may assuage Adele’s vengeful spirit—even if it is against the young woman’s will. On their wedding night, Kurt—son like father—forces himself on Eliza- beth (“You’ve had my body, but you’ll never have my soul!”), but his passion for her is readily for- gotten when a supernatural storm revives the comely corpse of Helen, the first sight of whom is enough to kill the guilt-rid- den Count Humboldt on the spot. Introducing herself as Mary, the survivor of a coach overturned in the storm, Helen insinuates herself into the royal castle and the new Count’s bed, and the two plot to poi- son Elizabeth. The domestic crime comes off as planned, but for one small detail: in a trick that Bava himself would later lift for his HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON, it seems ev- eryone can still see Elizabeth as a living person, except the adul- terer who took her life. Add- ing icy but benign menace to the setting is Fellini favorite Laura Nucci as the sinister handmaiden Grimalda. Given a British release as THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH, this passable Italian gothic—art di- rected and edited by Bava squad
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
