Danger: Diabolik works more on a premise than a full storyline. Diabolik is a steely mastermind in the mold of such Euro-criminals as Fantomas, Dr. Mabuse, Dr. Nikola and even Raffles the gentleman thief. When at work, Diaboik tends to hijack shipments of cash or gold while taunting the local constabulary. When off the clock he grabs his icy blonde girlfriend and retreats to a cavernous underground lair that resembles a gigantic glass-and-chrome Habitrail, only with lava. Constantly attempting to out-thwart Diabolik is Inspector Ginko, not the typical bumbling policeman but still one whose plans never quite turn out as he had hoped. Such as the time he decides the best way to capture Diabolik is to turn loose the mobster powers-that-be.
Hundreds upon hundreds of B-movies and direct-to-video releases didn't dare to skimp by with barely this much plot but what's kept Danger: Diabolik going long after those have been forgotten is simply the brash, in-your-face way it's told. Director Bava (Black Sunday) cultivates a lushly unrealistic style, deploying an array of unmuted colors, peculiar camera angles, overly broad acting and whatever else might keep the proceedings in motion. The opening sequence, for instance, features a very high shot looking down on an almost empty parking lot, jumps to fish-eye-lens distortion and drops to low angles with the camera almost on the ground. This doesn't amount to a vision in the way that, say, William Blake or Jean Vigo had a vision but it could hardly be bettered for the exploits of Diabolik.
Such a catch-all approach even extends to the casting. What else could you make of a movie that includes art film refugee Michel Piccoli, British comic Terry-Thomas, former Bond baddie Adolfo Celi and Austrian exploitation queen Marisa Mell? Portraying Diabolik is American-in-Europe John Philip Law who filmed Danger: Diabolik while prepping for his role in Barbarella. Law is required to do little more than glare, look serious and occasionally sweet talk Mell but he can glare with the best of them.
A perfect complement is the twisty, quasi-psychedelic score by five-time-Oscar® nominee Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Mission). Diabolik's theme is an incessant, unforgettable guitar riff (sometimes accompanied by blaring trumpet) while the underground lair gets a quasi-Indian trippiness. Morricone is dashing all over the place with enough ideas for five films, so much that eventually it starts to sound like somebody's just dropping needles on assorted LPs from an impossibly hip collection. Though never released separately from the film, Morricone's score has been widely recognized by critics and aficionados as a landmark.
Fans may have been dismayed when an earlier announced release of the DVD was delayed but the final version was definitely worth the wait. The transfer is bright, letterboxed and nearly spotless. A commentary from Diabolik his-own-bad-self John Philip Law along with Bava biographer and Video Watchdog editor Tim Lucas is a constant pleasure. They're pretty much an ideal tag team, tossing out info from both historical and personal perspectives. Law reveals how the astonishing underground set was mostly matte paintings though so well done that few viewers are likely to realize this. Lucas not only IDs various supporting actors but explains what relevance this has. They keep this exchange going for the entire film, resulting in one of the best DVD commentaries to date. Other extras on the disc include a featurette about the transition from comic to screen and a Beastie Boys video based on Diabolik (unfortunately not that interesting).
For more information about Danger: Diabolik, visit Paramount Home Entertainment. To order Danger: Diabolik, go to TCM Shopping.
by Lang Thompson
