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DIABOLIK (Italian-French co-production, 1967)
Director/Cinematographer: Mario Bava
Story: Angela and Luciana
Guissani, Dino Maiuri, and Adriano Baracco
Screenplay: Mario Bava,
Dino Maiuri, and Tudor Gates
Camera operator: Antonio Rinaldi
Editing: Romana Fortini
Music: Ennio Morricone
Main players: John
Phillip Law (Diabolik); Marisa Mell (Eva); Michel Piccoli (Inspector
Ginco); Adolfo Celi (Ralph Valmont); Terry-Thomas (Minister of the
Interior / Minister of Finance); Claudio Gora (Police Commissioner);
Mario Donen; Federico Boido
Alternate title: Danger: Diabolik
Aspect ratio:
1.85:1 |
SYNOPSIS:
Based on the popular comic strip, the film details the adventures of
super-cool super-thief Diabolik, a criminal mastermind who has managed
to remain completely anonymous.Together with his sensuous lover Eva,
Diabolik manages to outwit the police, represented by the affable
Inspector Ginco, at every turn as he amasses a fortune in pilfered
goods.
 The film opens with a daring daylight robbery. Though Ginco takes every
possible precaution to ensure that a one million dollar shipment reaches
the bank, Diabolik is always one step ahead of him. When the Minister
of the Interior hears of the theft, he calls for a press conference.
During the conference, the minister promises that Diabolik will soon be
behind bars. To that end, he reinstates the death penalty. The power
of authority is much diminished at this point, however, and the minister
finds himself to be the butt of a joke that finishes his career.
Failing to recognize Diabolik among the crowd, the minister continues to
preach to the reporters. Stating that he is not to be made a fool of,
the minister is reduced to just that when Diabolik sets off some
"exhilarating gas," reducing everyone in the room to hysterical
laughter.
Following the disastrous conference, Ginco attempts to resign, but
reluctantly agrees to stay when the commissioner gives him total
authority over the case. With tireless precision, Ginco and his men
"clean up the city." Mobsters are put behind bars, and then executed.
A drug den is raided, and the jaded hippies and drug addicts are carted
off. The scene in the drug den is one of the film's most memorable
vignettes, though curiously Paramount cut the scene from the original
U.S. theatrical release. Bava employs psychedelic lighting and
image-distorting lenses to create a completely over-the-top atmosphere,
which is complemented by Ennio Morricone's music. People strut about in
colorful costumes, their faces painted and liquor bottles dangling from
their bodies. A monstrously long marijuana joint is passed from hippie
to hippe, as a silent mobster -- dressed in the standard pin-stripe suit
-- watches in the background. The scene is broken up by the police, who
enter with the standard, "All right boys, the place is surrounded.
Everybody's under arrest!" A brilliant parody of the image of jaded
hippies brought to justice by the heroic police force popularized on
shows like DRAGNET, the scene pokes fun at those who buy into the
one-dimensional logic of such programs.
 The only two big objectives left for Ginco are Diabolik and Ralph
Valmont, a syndicate head who is actually responsible for most of the
crimes and drug trafficking on the police books. In order to save his
own skin, Valmont agrees to help trap Diabolik. Living the high life
and surrounded by beautiful girls, Valmont is also typical of the James
Bond-style villains, a connection strengthened by the casting of Adolfo
Celi, who had previously played Bond's nemesis, Largo, in THUNDERBALL
(1965).
The turning point occurs when the British finance minister and his wife
are honored at a gala party. The press, encouraged by Ginco, play up
the wife's recent acquisition of an emerald necklace, which is to be
unveiled at the celebration. Ginco knows that Diabolik will be unable
to resist stealing the necklace, so he and his men lay in wait to spring
their trap. Diabolik does indeed show up, but he manages to escape with
the emeralds.
Finally, Valmont's men kidnap Eva. Diabolik promises to hand over the
necklace to Valmont if he gives Eva back, so they arrange for a meeting
aboard Valmont's private plane. This is all part of Ginco's plan, as he
and his men are waiting on the ground. Once the plane reaches the
designated spot, Valmont is to release the trap door, literally dropping
Diabolik into the inspector's lap. Once again the plan backfires in a
big way. In the subsequent shootout, Diabolik frees Eva and kills
Valmont.
With no other alternative open, the government offers a one million
dollar reward for Diabolik's capture. Enraged by the "bad way" the
government is squandering the public's money, Diabolik blows all tax
offices, federal banks and treasuries to smithereens.
 With the government strapped for cash now that everybody has stopped paying taxes -- all of the tax forms and records have been detsroyed --
Ginco puts one last plan into action. He has the entire gold reserve
melted down into one twenty-ton ingot. Knowing that Diabolik will try
to steal it, he has the gold "radioactivated." In this way, if stolen,
they will be able to trace the gold back to Diabolik's lair, effectively
leading them to all of the stolen goods. The ingot is stolen as
planned, and while Diabolik attempts to melt the gold down, Ginco and
his men penetrate his underground lair. Diabolik is temporarily
distracted by their intrusion, only to meet his fate when the extreme
heat from the drill he is using to melt the gold causes the container to
explode, covering him entirely in gold. However, once Ginco and his men
leave with Eva under arrest, a diabolical laugh rings out. Diabolik
still lives.
CRITIQUE:
DIABOLIK was designed by producer Dino De Laurentiis (later responsible
for the infamously mammoth remakes of KING KONG and HURRICANE), and enabled Bava to work with a much larger budget ($3,000,000) and a more prestigious cast than he was accustomed to, but he
remained true to his principles, relying on imagination rather than
money, and brought the film in massively under budget at a mere
$400,000. De Laurentiis was so thrilled, in fact, that he offered Bava
the opportunity to make a sequel with the left over money, but Bava had
by then tired of working with the megalomaniac producer and decided to
pass.
 DIABOLIK is especially interesting for the way it covers different
territory than Bava's horror films and gialli, while at the same time
remaining true to the tone of his overall body of work. The character
of Diabolik is, like the protagonists of most Bava films, an outsider
who is unable to abide by the standard codes of "moral" behavior. In
common with these other protagonists, he is literally governed by greed.
Regardless of the overall pessimism exhibited by Bava's work, the
director nevertheless reveals a concern for delivering an appropriate
come-uppance on the heads of his anti-heroes. In Bava's world, things
are not particularly up-beat or "fair," but those who willfully exceed
the boundaries of rational, decent behavior are eventually punished, in
all but a few ironic exceptions. Diabolik is no exception. Though
still alive at the end of the film, by trapping him in gold -- a
deliciously blatant realization of the idea of being consumed by greed
-- Bava robs the character of any means of escape. By refusing to helm
a sequel, Bava thus forces Diabolik to undergo a long, agonizing death.
DIABOLIK remains the definitve big screen "super hero" epic; not as
childish as the Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN films, it also skillfully
avoids the excesses of Tim Burton's BAT MAN pictures. The pace is
sprightly, the dialogue snappy and the performances are a joy to behold.
Bava's inventive visual sense is also readily apparent: the odd camera
angles, quick machine-gun edits and glossy lighting make it a dry run not
only for many contemporary MTV videos, but also for Quentin Tarantino's
enormously successful drive-in homage PULP FICTION (1994).
Above all else, DIABOLIK is an enormously entertaining and captivating
film. For those only familiar with the Bava of LA FRUSTA E IL CORPO or
SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO, this film is bound to come as a surprise.
From beginning to end, Bava adopts a style that is playful and just
out-and-out fun. Such an approach can also be seen in LE SPIE VENGONO
DAL SEMI-FREDDO, but -- unlike that disaster -- DIABOLIK is not at all
forced. It is a live action cartoon distinguished by its endless
imagination and resourcefulness.
 DIABOLIK succeeds admirably as a witty, creative romp, but it equally addresses the thoughtful. The idea of the generation gap runs
throughout the film. The police force and the Mafia represent the
established order of the "old society," so it is perhaps not surprising
that they should join forces to protect the world they have helped to
shape. Diabolik and Eva, by contrast, are young rebels. The Minister
of the Interior (delightfully played by the great Terry-Thomas) refers
to Diabolik as "a manifestation of exaggerated delinquency." To the
Minister, and the other authority figures, Diabolik represents a threat
to the old order of things. Diabolik is imaginative, sexually dynamic
and iconoclastic. In short, he is everything that the more
tradition-bound characters are not. By virtue of their way of life,
Valmont and Diabolik would seem to have much in common. They are both
thieves who live luxuriously off of the things they steal. Yet Valmont
feels that Diabolik is a threat, not only to himself but to the Mafia.
In his refusal to conform, Diabolik cuts off his ties to the normalcy of
society and to the "security" of belonging to the syndicate. Rather
than risk Diabolik cutting into his share of the looting, Valmont allies
himself with the police department. This allegiance simplifies things
for both organizations. Apart from saving Valmont from being executed
with all of the other mobsters, this move also insures that his rival
will be put out of the picture. For Inspector Ginco, it allows him the
satisfaction of capturing the allusive Diabolik alive. Valmont's
cunning does bring Ginco one step closer to his goal, but Diabolik is
able to outwit both of his pursuers. The mobsters, dressed in their
pin-strip suits and posing with tough guy ease, seem anachronistic in a
1960s setting. The more trendy Diabolik is the wave of the furture, at
least so far as crime is concerned. He makes full use of modern
technology to defeat his opponents. Valmont, on the other hand, relies
on slow-witted thugs to carry out his orders. At the same time, Ginco
is hindered by his inept superiors and underlings. It is the lone
Diabolik who emerges victorious, at least until the very end. Ginco
does differ from the others, in the sense that he exhibits some real
compassion and understanding. Unlike the arrogant and ineffectual
police men that populate Bava's thrillers, Ginco is very sympathetic.
He does not bask in his eventual defeat of Diabolik, and when he finally
apprehends Eva, he does so without histrionics. Ginco is the exception
to the rule. Rational and cool-headed, he makes genuine progress when
he is allowed to work without constant supervision. Though Bava sees
Diabolik and Eva as being liberated on certain levels, he nevertheless
recognizes that the way in which they are rebelling is not the answer.
By making the sympathetic Ginco the victor, he allows the old order to
win out by virtue of its only sensible member.
 Another aspect worth noting is the wonderfully bizarre score by the
legendary Ennio Morricone. Sadly this was the only time that the
prolific composer (still best known for his collaborations with Dario
Argento and Sergio Leone) collaborated with Bava. Best described as a
psychedelic fusion of rock and jazz, Morricone's trademarked use of
twangy strings, screeching vocals and thundering percussion helps to
drive the film along at a furious pace.
Few films evoke the period in which they were made better than DIABOLIK. Bava's expert use of the ultra-hip decor, costuming and music, combined
with over-the-top humor, literally crystallizes everything that the pop
art movement was about.Inevitably bracketed with Roger Vadim's BARBARELLA (with Jane Fonda,
David Hemmings, and Diabolik himself, John Phillip Law) as a prime
example of pop cinema, there is no question but that this is superior to
Vadim's tiresome soufflé of a movie (the films were shot simultaneously). The
brilliant realization of this ultra-mod milieu also proves to have a
profound impact on Bava's subsequent work in the late 60s and early 70s.
It can be seen quite clearly in IL ROSSO SEGNO DELLA FOLLIA, QUANTE
VOLTE. . . QUELLA NOTTE, and in particular, in CINQUE BAMBOLE PER LA
LUNA D'AGOSTO, which even goes so far as to reuse the revolving bed from
Diabolik's boudoir, though in each case the realization would be
hindered by mediocre scripts and increasing boredom on Bava's part.
Review © Troy Howarth
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