Product Details

• Actors: Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner, Ariana Gorini, Dante DiPaolo
• Directors: Mario Bava
• Writers: Mario Bava, Giuseppe Barilla, Marcello Fondato
• Producers: Alfredo Mirabile, Massimo Patrizi
• Format: Collector's Edition, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Vci Video
• DVD Release Date: November 8, 2005
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BB1926
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,400 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #3 in	Movies & TV > Cult Movies > Cult Directors > Bava, Mario
  #30 in	Movies & TV > Horror > Italian Horror

• For more information about "Blood & Black Lace" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though the original Italian title translates to "Six Women for an Assassin," the American title, Blood and Black Lace, is far more evocative of the psychosexual nature of this elegant slasher picture. The thin plot concerns a respected Italian fashion house, a murdered model, cocaine, and a tell-all diary that seems to implicate just about everyone connected with the house of style. The disappearance of the diary initiates a wholesale slaughter of the remaining models. Mario Bava's stylish exercise in mayhem lovingly delivers every elaborate killing with dreamy assurance. As the stalker, a faceless figure wrapped up in a trench coat, makes a move for his next gorgeous victim, Bava's prowling camera snakes through sets, rushes down hallways, and generally takes off like a low-budget Hitchcock flick on speed. By contrast, Bava runs through the police investigations with a perfunctory air--the lifeless scenes, which aren't helped by the flat English dubbing, feel like he's marking time between the murders--and when the identity of the black-clad killer is revealed it almost seems beside the point. As the narrative melts into a near abstract display of choreography and color (with an often troubling misogynist edge), exposition and psychological explanations seem oddly out of place in this elaborate dance of death. As a traditional thriller it lacks any genuine thrill, but as a piece of cinematic spectacle it has moments of dreamy, disconnected beauty. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

An unscrupulous business operating under the guise of a top fashion house with exotic models running sexual favors, cocaine dealings and blackmail, becomes a murder scene—after someone is pushed to the edge. The saga begins when a beautiful model is brutally murdered, and her boyfriend, a known addict supplying her drugs, is suspected of the crime…but is he guilty or is someone waiting in the shadows setting him up? Languages: English, French & Italian. Subtitles:English & Spanish. DVD extras: Motion menus, Photo Gallery, Biographies, Commentary by Tim Lucas (Editor of the Video Watchdog), Interview with Mary Dawne Arden, Interview with Cameron Mitchell by David Del Valle, Bonus Music Tracks by composer Carlo Rustichelli, Original Theatrical Trailer, Dolby Digital 5.1, DVD-9/DVD-5.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Landmark Horror Movie, January 21, 2004

By	Daniel Kepley (Viola, DE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Blood and Black Lace (DVD)

Mario Bava, the founding father of Italian horror (see my BLACK SUNDAY/THE MASK OF SATAN review), was a real trendsetter with his innovative camera tricks (he was a cameraman as well) and cinematic mastery. Every one of his movies changed the face of horror worldwide. But BLOOD AND BLACK LACE may just well be the most influential and ground-breaking movie in his distinguished career!
A fashion house in Italy becomes a slaughterhouse when the diary of one of the models is discovered. It seems that there is some unsavory material within the diary concerning the models. Everyone is after the diary, and in fact somebody even goes as far as to bump off a few people for the diary. Who will survive?
See folks, this is where the Italian giallo, the career of Dario Argento (my favorite Italian horror director), and the slasher film began. When I saw BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, I gained a new understanding of Italian horror and how cool it is. It's all right here: wild camera moves (achieved on a red wagon!), lighting in different colors (echoing EC Comics long before George Romero gave it a shot in CREEPSHOW and even before the first TALES FROM THE CRYPT movie in 1972), gorgeous but ill-fated women, psychosexually motivated mayhem, and of course truly awesome murder sequences! Yes indeed, we can all thank Mario Bava for the state of Italian horror in its heyday and for all those slasher movies that have come out recently because Mario Bava singlehandedly shaped the state of modern, non-Gothic/supernatural horror in just 90 minutes of murder and mayhem!
VCI's DVD is a testament to this movie's significance in horror history. The audio commentary by Bava expert Tim Lucas provides a treasure trove of trivia for Bava buffs and Italian horror fans alike! Best of all, the presentation is uncut and in widescreen, complete with the original opening title sequence (which was truly awesome and evocative) and restored murder sequences which are as cringe-worthy as anything Tom Savini could come up with! We have the American title sequence (courtesy of Filmation Studios, the animators of Fat Albert and He-Man) and French title sequence, and much, much more! A truly ground-breaking horror film, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE is a definite must-watch!

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't let go of your old copy, this is a mixed blessing., February 5, 2006

By	Jeffrey W. Haddon (Matoaca, VA. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

1 star is for the DVD, 5 stars for the movie. I don't need to say anything about the film; those familiar with Bava's work know this is among his masterpieces. I'm writing this review to clear up some things about this new "Unslashed" edition. On the positive side, this version is Anamorphic widescreen and it does present noticeably more picture information on the right and left sides of the frame (the old VCI version was leterboxed a 1.66:1, where as this one is 16 x 9). Now the bad news. The color and contrast have been boosted/altered to the point that the image appears blurrier, grainier and more damaged than the previous version. Also, the interior sets (especially in the fashion house) have a putrid yellow/green hue to them not present in the old version. The soundtrack is horribly remixed, making the dialogue sound like it was recorded in a tin can and it pops quite a bit through the opening of the film. The French and Italian audio channels are reversed. None of these audio problems are present on the old version by the way. To top it off, the dvd menus are gaudy and offputting, trying to make this seem like a bloody slasher pic. In summution, the extra picture information just doesn't outweigh all of the drawbacks of this edition. My advice is to hold on to your old release until something better comes along. Thanks for reading. -JWH-

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PRIME BAVA...., October 11, 2002

By	Mark Norvell (HOUSTON) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Blood and Black Lace (DVD)

Many have said this movie is misogynistic. I won't get into that. To be fair, I would have to say that it is disturbing to a degree, but also a stylish shocker done by a master film maker that is highly watchable if you're not squeamish. The world of haute couture is a perfect place to present a murder thriller in that it affords the limitless opportunities of playing with color, showcasing beautiful women and providing a host of possible villains...and victims. Bava does all of this in classic continental style. The victims are beautiful fashion models, the murders are violent and ,in some cases, gory. The settings of the salon and showrooms are garish with lots of red and black. The murder set pieces are scary, bizarre and done to the hilt. The storyline has some cohesence with enough sordid details to make it juicy. VCI has done the film marvelous justice on DVD and it looks beautiful. All in all, an engrossing horror film that continues to satisfy Bava and giallo fans and a collector's treat as well. Enjoy this one.