ARIO BAVA MADE his final film as a director for Italian television. Once again, the oppor- tunity came about due to the industriousness of Lamberto Bava, who again co-scripted and co-di- rected, this time sharing the directorial credit with his father for the first and only time. Based on an 1829 short story by Prosper Mérimée
M
FAUSTO DI BELLA as Alphonse, who foolishly places a wedding ring on the finger of LA VENERE D’ILLE.
(1803–70), La Venere d’Ille was shot in 16mm, on a very tight budget and schedule, with a crew consisting largely of friends and family; it thus represents a near- complete return to the basics of cinema that were at Mario’s disposal when he photographed his first shorts at the side of Roberto Rossellini, forty years earlier.
