I’m behind in Jim Groom’s Mario Bava Festival — put it down to an intermittent Internet connection, … and other stuff. In getting caught up, here’s an initial contribution (albeit tardy) for the Week 1: Black Sunday (1960).
I did spend quite a bit of time on this GIF, getting rid of some lighting artifacts. There were actually three cuts back and forth from the tomb to Kruvajan (Andrea Checchi), and by removing him from within the sequence the inconsistencies were immediately apparent. So I was creative with the frames to create something that tells the story of the moment, while removing some of the distractions.
Can you see the tension build as Asa increases her efforts to get out of the tomb?
Things to remember in the future, should you find yourself dealing with a witch such as Asa.
- Stick to the script. If you’re going to burn them (as Monty Python would be quick to remind you), DON”T try to do it during a thunderstorm. The rain puts out the fire, and they don’t get burned. Which means they can come back to life later on.
- If you are going to entomb them in a tomb with a window in the tomb that lets them see the cross that is mounted on top of the tomb to keep them in place because you didn’t finish burning them due to a thunderstorm, DON’T break the cross and leave it un-replaced. Dumb.
- If you are going to entomb them in a tomb with a window in the tomb that lets them see the cross that is mounted on top of the tomb to keep them in place because you didn’t finish burning them due to a thunderstorm, AND you break the cross and leave it un-replaced, DON’T also break the glass window at the same time. Doing that gives the witch access to the outside, where they might come in contact with some energy-providing substance, like, oh, I don’t know, blood?
- If you are going to entomb them in a tomb with a window in the tomb that lets them see the cross that is mounted on top of the tomb to keep them in place because you didn’t finish burning them due to a thunderstorm, AND you break the cross and left it un-replaced, AND you also broke the glass window at the same time which gives the witch access to the outside, where they might come in contact with some energy-providing substance, like, oh, I don’t know, blood, DON’T cut your hand on the glass window that you broke and let your blood drip in through the open window. If you do, you’re just asking for it.
- And, if all of that isn’t enough, DON’T go back into the crypt, at night, alone.
So yeah. Definitely formative stuff for a lot of the subsequent horror genre films that have come along since 1960. For sure.
Moving forward, today I did manage to get some decent bandwidth and was able to get ahold of both Hercules In the Center of the Earth (Hercules in the Haunted World, 1961) as well as La Ragazza che Sapeva Troppo (1963, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, in Italian), and so I’ll see if I can’t get caught up over the next day or so. I’ve also got Jim’s comments about the American movie trailer to use for a bit of comparison — and also Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) original, to which Bava was paying homage (homage?)
The Fest continues ….
Great job Andy. I saw the post on your site this morning and was so inspired to get on board the BavaFest Bus that I signed up for NetFlix. Next thing I know, it’s late afternoon and I’ve watched Black Sunday and Hercules in the Haunted World.
As the films stream through NetFlix rather than download to my computer, I’m trying to figure out how to get a file with which to try making an animated GIF. Seems like a screen capture with something like iShowU might do the trick.
I’m also curious as to how I just found your post at the festival site and wound at your site when I clicked the comment button. Can you explain how Jim’s blog picked up this specific post and redirected here for the comment?
Hi Scott!
I’ve had some success with a screen capture utility — I’ve used SnapzProX by Ambrosia Software for years http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/
As to how the comment button beneath my post on the BavaFest site redirects you to my de•tri•tus blog, Jim would have the answer to that. Not sure what tech he is using to syndicate — but I think he’s drawing on posts tagged “Mario Bava” …
Great GIF! I like what you did with the timing of the frames. I’ll have to experiment more with that.
Good to have you along. The more bodies on the Bava bus the better. Because Bava has a thing for body counts.
Thanks, Paul! I’ve got another from Black Sunday, and lots to work with from The Girl Who Knew Too Much. Body Counts of engaged students on a bus are the good kind!