This Friday, we’re going to talk about one of the most amazing Italian directors in our movie history. One that truly painted the screen with color, even if it was in black and white. Today, we celebrate the birthday of the late, great Mario Bava. Even before he was “officially” directing, he gave us incredible looking films, such as I, Vampiri (1957) and Caltiki, The Immortal Monster (1959). When he finally took the director’s chair, we were even more of a treat, with a stunning debut with Black Sunday (1960), then giving the world the first real giallo film with The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963). When he moved to color films, he showed them like we’d never seen before, with some much style, with Blood and Black Lace (1964) being a perfect example. Even in Planet of the Vampires (1965), which may seem a bit cheesy now, the look of it is incredible, not to mention giving a little blueprint for the future creators of Alien (1979). Continue reading →