Cheap Blood and Black Lace (DVD) (Mario Bava) Price

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Customer Reviews of Blood and Black Lace

The First Giallo!
In my opinion, this film is the first giallo. This movie gave birth to what filmakers like Dario Argento & others have popularized in the late 60s & throughout the 70s & 80s as a specific genre of horror film. Bava used the now-familiar use of the gloved & hooded killer killing beautiful women in a variety of sadistic ways. In Argento's films like DEEP RED, TENEBRE, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMMAGE, & his latest one SLEEPLESS (aka NON HO SONNO), one can see the homage or formula that he used to make these films successful & effective. And it can all be traced back to this 1964 film, BLOOD & BLACK LACE (aka SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO).

Bava used lavish sets, deep colors, fluid camera work, & the familiar thin narrative in this movie that is copied later on by Argento, Fulci, & yes, even American directors like Brian De Palma & John Carpenter. The storytelling in this movie is rather weak as to what set off the murders of those lovely models. Instead, this film relies more on STYLE & loads of it. And the rervelation on who the killer is... well, I won't spoil it.

BLOOD & BLACK LACE is an exercise in style & taste. It's like watching a beautifully choreographed ballet of death with brutal intensity & violence.

I would also go so far as to name this film the FIRST TRUE "BODYCOUNT" horror film.

To modern horror film fans, BLOOD & BLACK LACE may not be your cup of tea. But watch it & relish it for it is a feast for your eyes. The mesmerizing beauty of Bava's genius is a sight to behold.

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Gorgeous Looking, Ground Breaking Giallo!
We all know that Director Mario Bava is really a Cinematographer at heart and it really shows in "Blood And Black Lace". Unusually graphic for 1964, though fairly tame today I guess, this film is still suspensful, full of red herrings and difficult to watch in certain scenes. This is the film often credited with popularizing and really starting the "giallo" genre and it truly is a masterpiece of it's kind. Of course we have the black-gloved killer, the plot twists, the sexual heat, etc... which makes any good giallo and as wonderful as Bava is at Directing this movie, just witness the tracking shots and the close-ups, he really excels as a Cinematographer in this one! The use of color is amazing! As strange as it is to say, it is a beautiful film to look at despite the fact that it is brutal in content. The beautiful colors grab you and hold you and create a surreal, almost dream-like quality in spite of the fact that there are people being brutally murdered. It is quite obvious that, even though it was different in content, this film with it's use of colors was a clear inspiration for Dario Argento's gorgeous, color-induced, frightening, nightmare film "Suspiria". If your looking for a film to show you what Mario Bava is all about as a Director and Cinematographer and you want to see the "grandfather" of the giallo film, there is no better place to start then with "Blood And Black Lace". A true cinematic masterpiece!

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ONE OF THE BEST USES OF COLOR EVER
If you are looking for a breathtakingly beautiful use of color and lighting, YOU MUST SEE "BLOOD AND BLACL LACE". This has to be one of the great overlooked movies of all time. Great Jazz score.
What happened to the mentality that could both make and go see this kind of movie? After watching this one, and looking over the current cinema listings in the local paper, I nearly cried at the lack of anything like this to see.
The rich jewel tones that flood every frame in this film are amazing. Eastmancolor must be one of the most underrated processes in film history. Notice how shocking the white undergarments of the models seem after the killer rips their bodices away.
A great movie in which nearly the whole cast lies dead at the end. Eva Bartok is amazingly beautiful, why didn't she become more of an international star?
Recommended.