Youth and Beauty and Fulfillment

Victor Harland Smith of Los Angeles, California, says of the Bava book's long gestation: "Years? It only seemed like a few months to me!"

Jason Passons of Kansas City, Missouri, poses with his Bava book and another prized possession: his 47 x 63" French BLACK SABBATH poster, which hangs in his living room.

Greg Zeicher of New York City, New York, takes his copy of the Bava book to a place where he can be assured of absolute peace, quiet, and no distractions -- outside the Victoria's Secret store at the corner of 67th and Broadway!

Incidentally, the Bava book was received today by the Bava family. Mario's granddaughter Georgia, who lived with Mario for a year when she was a child, told me that she was moved to tears when she opened the box and saw Mario's name on the cover. She sent me a beautiful e-mail I'll always treasure, but I couldn't resist calling her to better share the happiness with her ("You wanted to HEAR me crying?" she laughed). At the end of our talk, she told me that, half an hour earlier, she had seen her father Lamberto Bava and given him a box containing the book, telling him that it was "a gift from Tim Lucas." All of the compliments the book has received have been precious to me, but Georgia's response is the first to make me feel truly fulfilled.

I also heard today from one of my favorite correspondents, WHIP AND THE BODY screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, who says of the "incredible wonderful superior pantagruelic colorful" (his words) MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK: "It's the most complete and beautiful book about a filmmaker I've ever seen!"