Black Sabbath (1963) Reviews

Black Sabbath (1963)
Member Rating:  
This anthology features three chilling horror stories. "Il Telefono" is credited to Guy de Maupassant, although he never wrote such a story, and concerns a woman (Michele Mercier) receiving telephone calls from beyond the grave. "Wurdulak", by Alexei Tolstoi, stars Boris Karloff as an aging vampire who can only feed on those he loves. Co-starring Mark Damon and Susy Andersen, it is clearly the best story of the three. The final tale, "La Goccia d'Acqua," is falsely credited to Anton Chekhov. It features Jacqueline Pierreux stealing a ring from a corpse she is preparing for burial, only to be murdered by the old woman's ghost. The American version differs in four major areas: the print is shorter, the stories appear in a different order, there is a linking device with Karloff speaking directly to the audience from a foggy void, and Roberto Nicolosi's musical score is replaced with one by lounge-icon Les Baxter. The American release of the film is also missing a comic coda featuring Karloff riding on horseback (or is he?); this appears in most Eurpoean prints of the film, including Mario Bava's original cut. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

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Starring:
Boris Karloff, Michele Mercier, (more)
Director(s):
Mario Bava
Format(s):
DVD
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Average Ratings

(12 member reviews)  

Member Reviews

Chris T.

the 3 stories are ok, but I have to agree with the others that not having an English-dubbed soundtrack (only Italian w/ Eng subtitles) is a distraction from Bava's classic film.

Yes   |   No


Geoffrey G.

Make sure to see the Italian version of 'The Telephone'... the American version makes no sense. Michele Mercier is spectacular!

Yes   |   No


Katherine M.

Mario Bava's Black Sabbath is an uneven horror movie. It is composed of three stories: "The Telephone", "The Wurdulak", and "The Drop of Water". "The Telephone" is a thriller about a woman getting threatening phonecalls. It is mildly engaging but not scary enough to commit to. "The Wurdulak" is a story about a man who becomes a vampire that feeds on the ones he loves. It is an atmospheric, interestingly shot segment but it also fails to deliver on scares. "The Drop of Water" is the best of the three. It is about a nurse who steals the ring off a dead woman's finger and is later haunted by her. This segment has some true scares and some interesting lighting effects. Check it out for the last segment. It is worth a rental but is definitely not the best scary movie I've seen.

Yes   |   No


THOMAS C.

I like hokey old horror movies and probably would of gotten a kick out of this one but it was in italian and no English track. Go figure.

Yes   |   No


Ron D.

I prefer to view the English version vs. the Italian version I rec'd. Please make the English version available for rent.

Yes   |   No


Keith G.

Three short pieces. The first "The Telephone" is a thriller with no supernatural elements. It is also pretty dull and predictable. It takes its twists far too seriously. But the other two stories "The Wurdulak" ,starring a fun Boris Karloff, who also does the terrific bookend pieces to the whole film, and "A Drop of Water" have a real sense of enjoyable playfulness along with Bava's ever present stylishness, and over the top lighting (which can get annoying at times. In "Drop of Water" light from every window keeps rising and falling. It may be that it is supposed to suggest lightening, but it is mostly just distracting. When Bava has fun with the hoary cliches of vampires and revenge of the dead, it is a lot easier for us to have fun too (and, ironically, I also found it more tense).

Yes   |   No


Richard M.

great stories!!!! Boris Karloff is the best

Yes   |   No


William M.

As others have noted, the 3 segments are uneven with the 3rd being the best of the lot. The presentation feels dated and some of the acting is overwrought. It was probably more effective when it was released.

Yes   |   No


T L.

I purchased this DVD years ago thinking it would be the best version being the european cut, unedited and so forth. I like the US edit better. The movie is a good euro fright flick by a master, Mario Bava. The US version is the one I grew up on and was scared to death by as a kid. The stories in the US cut are in a different order and have more content. The second and third stories are reversed. This is the version I want to see again! Where is the old saturday afternoon creature features show when you need it?

Yes   |   No


Steve M.

I like a lot of '60's era Horror, esp. Vincent Price, but this is awful.

Yes   |   No


 
 
 

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    Member Reviews
    Read all (12)
     
    Chris T.

    the 3 stories are ok, but I have to agree with the others that not having an English-dubbed soundtrack (only Italian w/ Eng subtitles) is a distraction from Bava's classic film.

    Yes   |   No

     
    Geoffrey G.

    Make sure to see the Italian version of 'The Telephone'... the American version makes no sense. Michele Mercier is spectacular!

    Yes   |   No

     
    Katherine M.

    Mario Bava's Black Sabbath is an uneven horror movie. It is composed of three stories: "The Telephone", "The Wurdulak", and "The Drop of Water". "The Telephone" is a thriller about a woman getting threatening phonecalls. It is mildly engaging but not scary enough to commit to. "The Wurdulak" is a story about a man who becomes a vampire that feeds on the ones he loves. It is an atmospheric, interestingly shot segment but it also fails to deliver on scares. "The Drop of Water" is the best of the three. It is about a nurse who steals the ring off a dead woman's finger and is later haunted by her. This segment has some true scares and some interesting lighting effects. Check it out for the last segment. It is worth a rental but is definitely not the best scary movie I've seen.

    Yes   |   No

     
    Read All 12 Reviews
       

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