LA BAMBOLA DI SATANA (The Doll of Satan) (1969)
Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Aurora Bautista, Erna Schurer, Roland Carey,
Ettore Ribotta, Lucia Bomez, Manlio Salvatori, Beverly Fuller
My Review and Thoughts:
Wowzer’s. First off this is an acquired taste. One has to be
a fan of these older murder mystery Italian films to fully grasp its
entertainment value. Although this one goes over board, above and beyond most of these films, it truly is an odd duck of confusion and yet intriguing at the same time because of it being so different. I have never seen this film before and so going into this
one I was thoroughly excited. I love adventuring into films I have never seen.
Always a treat. This was a fantastic treat in that it was taken care of and
brought out on Twilight Time Special Edition Blu-ray in High Definition. So
many of these older Italian films are lost by time, or so badly degraded,
because they were never taken care of. Thankfully Twilight Time choose this for
Blu-ray, I can only hope that they will adventure again into the Italian style
films for future releases.
So many of them need proper treatment. I am a huge Italian
film fan. I love Giallo films. I grew up watching Italian Splatter films. Lucio
Fulci is a Horror God to me. So going into this I was all the more excited
knowing a Giallo style film would be getting a new outlet. After watching it,
Twilight Time did not let me down, they amazingly fixed this film, although I
have never seen this before I can’t imagine it being anywhere near the
treatment Twilight Time has given to it. This being the first time on Blu-ray,
I saw a wonderful example of how to treat a film. To be thoroughly honest yes
there is a little grain in spots of images, it is not totally crisp in imagery,
in a few small spots, but this does not falter or take away from the transfer
in anyway. It looks fantastic for its age and also the reality that this film
has never been taken care of in the first place.
Now this is not a great film, this not a good film. As I
have said it is an acquired taste. Some will find this absolutely crazy or
boring. Many might roll their eyes, and I did in certain spots, but with that
said there are fans of this style of film making, and in the end I still was
entertained because I have that acquired taste in obscure, lost, strange
Italian films.
The plot is you have Elizabeth who takes a journey to the
family castle. Her Uncle has died and the will is going to be read and the
Estate is left to her. Mix in eccentric, strange characters, nightmares that
are like acid trips, and a killer, and you have a spiraling weird, confusing mystery.
The plot is hard to explain unless you have seen it. A lot of dialogue.
Dinners, some really bad dancing, a gloved hand, and a conclusion that will
have you laughing and in amazement at how over the top the ending is.
This was directed by Ferruccio Casapinta and to my knowledge
this is his only film. He wrote and directed it. This is a film that makes no
sense at times, but that is in reality some of its charm. I found myself,
smirking, laughing and rolling my eyes in many spots, but that was the humor
and enjoyment of this film. It has all the trademarks of a B-movie, if not
Z-movie. It’s a drive-in cheese-fest of silly over the top moments that truly
linger in just how weird or odd, or strange this film is.
This stars Erna Schurer as your main character Elizabeth.
Erna has been in many Cult following films, B-movie classics like 1970’s Scream
of the Demon Lover, a.k.a. Blood Castle which is a total B-movie classic that
warrants to be seen. 1974’s Carnal Revenge which is a sexploitation thriller with
trademarks of a Giallo. The one of kind Italian women in prison film 1974’s
Riot in a Women’s Prison. One of my
personal favorite Giallo’s starring the very beautiful and amazing Edwige Fenech,
1975’s Strip Nude for Your Killer. 1976’s Deported Women of the SS Special
Section which is so godawful it has to be seen to be believed. Her last movie
was the snore-fest, oh my god did I just sit through that, 1987’s Specters. She
had a long career in the lower budget Italian B-movies. Erna Schurer to me is a
prime, classic example of an Italian B-movie Goddess. She had such an
interesting way about her. Beautiful with the flair of naive personality that
displayed itself in her parts she acted in. Throughout the years watching her I
found myself really attaching to her craft. She had all the sense of a classic
Cult icon, or damsel in distress style of character. No matter if she was a
full blown, important character, or a small on the side lines character, she
was able to express herself, and stand out in my viewpoint. I thought it was great seeing her once again
in a part I had never seen.
Audio/Video: My Rating:
Audio: 5 out of 5
Video: 4 out of 5
Audio is fantastic. The sounds are vibrant in tone, which
most of this film is filled with dialogue which is in the original Italian,
with optional English Subtitles. I always love hearing, watching a film in its
original language. Films that dub or alter the original language take away so
much from the film. The music comes off with a perfect ease. The range of music
and dialogue are top notch.
A few minor spots of grain but no big deal, does not take
away or alter the clarity of the film. The video is solid considering its age
and the reality of this film being lost and never taken care of in the first
place should sum it up with that. I am not one to pick apart a film because of
minor things that does not alter or damage the entertainment of the film.
LANGUAGE: Italian
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1
AUDIO: Italian 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English
1969 / Color
90 MINUTES
Extras: My Rating: 2 out of 5
Isolated Music & Effects Track. Score by: Franco Potenza. Another fantastic
listen. Something the Italian films always had was perfect soundtracks.
Sometimes the soundtracks to these films where the films. The music in Italian
cinema always had its own emotional reality. In a sense the music in Italian
film was a pivotal part in the overall outcome to the film. Music in Italian
cinema always left me with a journey, a tale by itself. The music in The Doll
of Satan is no different. Potenza was truly a master at his craft of creating an
ear listening orgy of deep, in-depth scenarios that display on screen. His
music made the film flow.
Audio Commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and
Derek Botelho. This was a fantastic listen. I thought it was humorous and
insightful at the same time.
Overall:
This is a mixed bag of a film. As I stated it is an acquired
taste. Most will not get this film, or like this film. I for one am a fan of
these Italian films that came out left and right, some amazing, some better
than others and some forgettable. The Doll of Satan is one those films that
will appeal to only a select audience. An audience that is few, but still
maintains a fan base larger than any big budget high class classic could ever
have.
INFO:
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