La ragazza nella impermeabile giallo

"The Girl in the Yellow Mackintosh" would make an arresting title for a new giallo movie, and -- as you can see -- actress Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni is already dressing the part. It was a tremendous treat for Donna and I to meet this icon of contemporary Italian horror (Dario Argento's OPERA, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and THE MOTHER OF TEARS, Lamberto Bava's DEMONS 2: THE NIGHTMARE CONTINUES and GHOST SON), at Cinema Wasteland in Strongsville, Ohio this past weekend.

But what is inside that box held ever so tightly in her evil clutch?

Well, Donna and I were so moved by Coralina's deeply emotional response to her first look at MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK -- and we were so charmed by her personally -- that we decided to present her with her own personally inscribed copy. Those of you who have received the book will recognize our tailor-made, custom-fitting book container.

Coralina was lucky enough to receive her copy at Cinema Wasteland, where Donna's and my signatures could be joined by those of fellow Cinema Wasteland guests of honor Brett Halsey (FOUR TIMES THAT NIGHT, ROY COLT & WINCHESTER JACK), John Saxon (THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, EVIL EYE) and none other than...

... Maestro Lamberto Bava, whom Donna and I finally met this past weekend after 28 years of contact by telephone and personal correspondence! That's right, as incredible as it seems, I have finally made contact with the Bava family in the flesh! It was an emotional couple of days, as you can imagine, and there will be more pictures and details coming soon to Video WatchBlog!

Italy's greatest giallo directors like to kill Coralina, but we much prefer hugging her and talking with her over a table piled high with good wine and good food. She returns home today with a 12-pound book cradled in her arms, but we came home yesterday much richer, feeling that we had found many new friends -- and a new sister.

Bava Book Featured on New Bava DVD

Isn't this a great picture of Luigi Cozzi and Lamberto Bava posing with MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK at the world-famous Profondo Rosso store? Ah, but it isn't a picture! It's actually a frame grab from a 9m interview featurette included on a new Italian "Special Edition" DVD of I TRE VOLTI DELLA PAURA (aka BLACK SABBATH), the first-ever release from a new company called Sinister Film. The book sits in front of them for the whole 9m, and sometimes gets opened to share glimpses of the chapter devoted to this classic horror anthology, starring Boris Karloff.

The disc is Italian-language only, but the extras are certain to tempt hardcore Bava fans. There is an impeccable anamorphic transfer of the Italian version; a lively feature-length audio commentary by Lamberto and Luigi (unlike his earlier laconic commentaries, here an enthusiastic Lamberto almost never stops talking!); a 38m documentary utilizing Bava TV interviews to "comment" on scenes from various films; 15m of "deleted" scenes taken from the American BLACK SABBATH version; photo and poster galleries; a 16-page illustrated booklet containing testimonials from the likes of Jacques Tourneur, Riccardo Freda, Roger Corman, Joe Dante, Pupi Avati and many others; and some additional featurettes ported over from VCI's BLOOD AND BLACK LACE disc, including interviews with actors Cameron Mitchell and Mary Dawne Arden and composer Carlo Rustichelli.

Where can you find it? I got mine at Bloodbuster, a reliable Italian DVD website that takes PayPal. It took a couple of weeks to reach me, but it was worth the wait.

And that's not all the happy news about this Bava classic I have to share. David Sehring, the head of Dish Network's Monsters HD channel, has written to tell me that BLACK SABBATH -- the film's much-coveted, never-on-DVD, English-language version -- will be making its high-definition debut on Monsters HD sometime this summer!

Operazione Webcam

Donna and I had an amazing morning as we were interviewed about the Bava book, via webcam, for attendees of the Trieste Science Fiction Film Festival. The event was organized by Martina Palaskov Begov and (Bava book research associate) Lorenzo Codelli with Lamberto Bava, Joe Dante (who's receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award this evening), and critics Kim Newman and Alan Jones in attendance. There were a few worrisome glitches in the connection at first, but in the end it came off very well, and there seemed to be a sizeable turnout for this legitimately science fictional event. (Joe said that the webcam hook-up made him feel like a character in PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES.) It was a moving occasion for Lamberto and for me, but there was also lots of laughter and some wonderful kudos from the folks on the dais. Our warm thanks to Martina and Lorenzo for realizing this important occasion for us.

We successfully recorded the event by training our camcorder on a second computer screen -- the widescreen picture is strangely cropped at times, but it's all there. Once the footage is edited, we'll find a way of making it available to you online.

In the meantime, the first two parts of a webcam interview with us, conducted by Colin Reboy of Studio Kaiju.net, are now up for viewing. The interview mostly addresses VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine and my reviewing habits, but Chapter Two also touches on the Bava book and the challenge of completing it. You can access the current and forthcoming portions of the interview by clicking here.

A Letter from Lamberto Bava

Lamberto Bava with the Bava book and family. Surrounding him L to R: his son Fabrizio (aka "Roy"), daughter Georgia, son Alessandro, and Georgia's daughter Martina Brusco

-- an aspiring actress!

Dear Tim,

Incredible.
It's real, it exists.
I didn't have the courage to touch it.
Only by opening it and looking here and there it was evening, all day had passed and I haven't noticed it.
Great, unique.
Thank you, from Mario, from me, from all our family.
I need time to examine it carefully and live again all I have already lived as a child.
Thank you, you gave Mario immortality.
A masterpiece full of love.
My first impression just to let you know how grateful I am, I need time to try and comprehend the importance of what you have done.

Lamberto Bava

It doesn't get any better than this. To receive a letter and photo like this makes all our work worthwhile. - Tim Lucas