Danger Diabolik (1968), the super-cool film by Mario Bava, came up on our radar again this week with posts about designer Verner Panton. The film, which starred John Phillip Law and Marisa Mell, is a cult classic and one of the best adaptations of a comic ever made. Despite the pedigree, however, the film has been tagged unfairly in the pop-consciousness as trash/camp due to its heckling in Mystery Science Theater 3000. Spy Vibe agrees with Double O Section and writer/artist Steve Bissette that MTS3K went too far when they chose the film as their final episode. As much as I enjoy their riffs on bad-but-fun flicks, Mike and the robots had no business dragging Bava's Diabolik into that campy pigeonhole. As Bissette pointed out in his special feature on the DVD, it was not a campy movie. The characters may have winked at each other, but never to the audience.
If you haven't seen it in a while, watch Steve's bonus feature before the film for some great insights about Bava's use and blend of comic and film forms. I assume most Spy Vibers know that Danger Diabolik was based on an Italian comic series. Bissette points out some great panel-to-frame comparisons. The official website (Italian) includes some cool on-line comics (both drawn panels and photographic-panel formats). Danger Diabolik came in at #1 in our top-10 set countdown. The film also sports some of the best Spy Vibe fashion you'll ever see on screen! Additional Spy Vibe posts about Danger Diabolik here.
Boxing Day 2019... listening to the soundtrack as I surfed onto this... Be Well.
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