Product Details

• Actors: Michèle Mercier, Lidia Alfonsi, Boris Karloff, Mark Damon, Susy Andersen
• Directors: Mario Bava, Salvatore Billitteri
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305942986
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,574 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Black Sabbath" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When American audiences first saw Mario Bava's 1963 horror trilogy, it wasn't the same film he had made in Italy. Finding it too terrifying for kids (imagine that!), AIP pictures trimmed it of violence and intensity, rescored it, and renamed it in order to cash in on the success of Black Sunday. New tongue-in-cheek introductions with costar Boris Karloff were added, the segments were rearranged, and one segment was completely rewritten in the dubbing. It was a good film even in its butchered form, but the original Italian version is excellent. The correctly ordered stories begin with "The Telephone," a gripping, ornate thriller that anticipates Bava's later "giallo" horror classics such as Blood and Black Lace. (In the American version, lesbian overtones were removed and the escaped criminal killer was turned into a vengeful ghost.) Karloff stars as a demonic, wild-haired patriarch in the eerie "The Wurdulak," a gorgeous vampire tale shot on misty, menacing sets. The masterpiece of the collection is "The Drop of Water," a chilling ghost story with shiver inducing imagery: the piercing dead eyes of the restless corpse will haunt you long after the film is over. Bava's original framing sequence ends with a playful tribute to the magic of moviemaking and storytelling, a sweet coda to remind us that it's only a movie.

The print suffers slightly from wear and tear and water damage but the colors are sharp and vivid. It's a bit disconcerting to hear Karloff dubbed in Italian, but that's a small price to pay for seeing the film in its original, uncut form. The DVD also features an extensive gallery of production and promotional stills, biographies, and liner notes by Bava historian Tim Lucas. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Experience Mario Bava's horror classic "Black Sabbath" (original Italian title: "Three Faces of Fear")--as it's never been seen in America before! A beautiful woman is terrorized by calls from an ex-lover who has escaped prison for the pleasure of killing her... A family becomes a feeding ground when their father returns home wounded after ridding the countryside of a hideous vampire... A nurse is haunted by reproaches from the Beyond after stealing a ring from the finger of a dead medium! Join Boris Karloff as he hosts (and stars in) this trilogy of terror tales--presented in its original aspect ratio and in Italian with English subtitles, with every shock intact!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A terrifying vampire tale, May 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] [James Dalton-Thompson] (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sabbath [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Black Sabbath is one of those movies that made a horrifyingly-indelible impression on me when I first saw it. In "The Drop of Water", I can still see the contorted visage of the dead spiritualist as she fixes her malevolent stare on the woman who has robbed her in death. "The Telephone" was the weakest of the trio. But the third segment--The Wurdalak--gave me insomnia for days. As a lover of the vampire genre, I was struck by the twist in the old legend: a Wurdalak returns from the dead to attack those whom he loved best on earth. Boris Karloff plays the title character, a paterfamilias who sets out to destroy a local bandit-turned-Wurdalak. If he has not returned in exactly three days, the family will know that he has been victimized, and must be destroyed. Of course, he returns just after the three day mark. The sheer horror comes from the fact that the family knows the truth, but can't admit it. The scene of Karloff cuddling and stroking his young grandson is enough to make you want to call Child Protective Services! Really good stuff, and a clarion call to those who insist that one needs massive special effects or blatan, on-screen gore to succeed. Kudos!

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT the American Version, October 31, 2007

By 

Eric Huffstutler (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Sabbath (DVD)

Buyers be forewarned. Unlike the "also from" Anchor Bay trailers showing the American AIP version of "Black Sabbath", what is on the disc is NOT that version. Instead this is the European Italian language version with subtitles and even Karloff's voice is dubbed in Italian. Their advertising is very misleading for the unaware.

Due to some sort of contractual differences with AIP, this is all that is currently available to the public.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT THE AMERICAN VERSION!!!!!!!!!, October 31, 2007

By 

Fred Godlash "L A Review" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Sabbath (DVD)

You know I have never seen a DVD that is more ambiguous in its description and based on Amazon's reviews I am not alone. I purchased this DVD fully thinking I was getting the U.S. version and not the Italian version that I already own. The movie is in Italian with subtitles and a commentary track. For those of you who think I am a pan and scan knucklehead who does not appreciate films in their true uncut version you are wrong- the American Version is actually a different cut with alternate footage. Why not release both versions on one disc. If you are a Bava fan check it out but if you own the Image DVD you do not need to purchase this disc.