Danger: Diabolik (also known simply as Diabolik) is a 1968 feature film from Italian filmmaker Mario Bava based on the Italian comic character Diabolik.
About the film
It is the story of a skilled thief (played by John Phillip Law) living out of a ritzy hideout who steals incredible riches from the Italian government — including $10 million in cash, a highly prized set of emeralds, and an enormous gold ingot. Eva Kant was played by Marisa Mell, while Ginko was Michel Piccoli. A Dino De Laurentiis production (producer of Barbarella, which also featured Law), filmed at his studios in Rome. Also some scenes from the roof of the nearby Rome Hilton hotel with Valmont and his men. It had a notable musical score by Ennio Morricone. The song in the early part of the film Deep, Deep, Down was sung by "Christie" which was later voted number three in the best sound tracks ever (though it had not been released in any form). So they could get a film sound track without any unwanted background sounds, the film was completely revoiced. There are two different voiced English sound tracks.
It was fairly faithful to the original, having Diabolik drive his black jaguar sports car and Eva drive her white one. The violence in the comics had to be toned down for the film and when it was finally shown in England in late 1969, it had 17 minutes cut from it. One of Diabolik's trademarks was his knife throwing but this was only done twice in the film, when he was after the necklace. The film was shot in 1967 and is copyrighted that year. A documentary included with the DVD release praises Mario Bava for creating one of the most faithful comic book adaptation of the 20th century.
The film came in at under $500,000, mainly thanks to the very skillful use of camera tricks by Mario Bava like under cranking (so making things look like they are moving faster), many matte paintings and cut-out pictures (to show buildings, the inside of the hide out and other things which did not exist) as well as front projection (which made it look like the stars were in speeding vehicles, etc). A distant view of a GI Joe doll was used for a crook falling from a plane. The Diabolik mask was made by Carlo Rambaldi.
In the titles, the story was said to be by Angela & Luciana Giussani (the 2 creators), Dino Maiuri & Adriano Baracco. The people who did the writing are down as "Screenplay".
Plot
Diabolik starts off by stealing $10 million which was under escort. Note the man adjusting his sock near the start. This is Goffredo Ungerole aka Freddy Unger who did a number of the Diabolik stunts. Under a smoke screen, Diabolik winches the money car away and escapes in a speed boat, then in his car, closely followed by a helicopter shooting at him (to the accompaniment of manic music). Diabolik changes cars in a tunnel and his black one goes off the edge of a cliff. He drives off with Eva when the helicopter leaves.
In their high-tech underground hideout (all matte paintings, etc), they shower (with some tittilation which there was lots of in the film, though no nudity). The couple do some smooching on a revolving bed covered in stolen money. The Minister of the Interior holds a sombre press conference which is disrupted by wild laughter by all thanks to some exhilarating gas Diabolik has released there.
In desperation, the death penalty (hanging) is brought back in. The police cannot find Diabolik but big time crook, Valmont suffers at their hands because of a clamp down due to Diabolik's actions. A club is raided by the police. Valmont on his bimbo-laden yacht has had enough and berates his men who have failed him. Realising things can only get worse because of Diabolik stirring the police up, Valmont contacts Ginko and makes a bargain, to catch Diabolik alive for the police. On his plane, Valmont tells his men of his plan and all who disagree with him are killed.
Back at his hideout, Diabolik decides to steal the famous Aksand emerald necklace for Eva's birthday from the Saint Just Castle. Meanwhile Valmont builds up an identikit picture of Eva and circulates it as a means of capturing Diabolik. Diabolik changes his normal black skin tight costume for a white skin tight costume so he can climb the white tower wall unnoticed (using suction devices). The police are waiting, knowing he will go after the necklace. He gets it despite police surveillance of the room and they go after him, shooting at a figure catapulted off of the roof, believing it to be him escaping. It is a dummy. A police car chasing him goes off a cliff and explodes, trying to avoid an oncoming car in a mirror Diabolik has set up.
Later, Eva is spotted in a garage with her white car. It is dry weather but when a man looks at her in his rear view mirror, it is raining and has been for some time. Valmont is informed and Eva is traced to a clinic and captured. She is used to lure Diabolik aboard Valmont's plane, along with the ten million dollars he has stolen and the eleven emeralds from the necklace as payment for Eva.
Diabolik is made to jump where the police are waiting below for him, but takes Valmont with him. The plane behind them blows up (a bomb placed by Diabolik) and he rescues Eva as the police close in. He makes her escape, kills Valmont and trapped, takes a golden capsule, and the police find him dead. Later while the police are holding a conference on the death of Diabolik, he is about to be autopsied when he returns to life. It is thanks to a technique he has learned from Tibetan lamas but if he doesn't get the antidote within 12 hours, he becomes dead for real.
The nurse, Eva, wheels Diabolik past the crowds and then Diabolik goes to the morgue in disguise, where Valmont's body has been cremated and collects the 11 emeralds he fired into his body, from his ashes. He escapes just ahead of Ginko who has just realised what the 11 bullet wounds in Valmont meant. A million dollar reward is offered for Diabolik who goes to war against the government by blowing up all the tax offices and destroying all their records.
The country (assumed to be Italy) is in deep trouble without tax revenue so decides to sell off some gold to buy hard currency. The 20 tons of gold is melted into one solid block to make it "impossible" to steal, put into a steel casket and loaded on a train. Diabolik and Eva reroute the train by dropping a (burning) truck on the tracks so it has to take a bridge over a wide river. There is an explosion and the train and gold falls into the water where Diabolik and Eva inflate balloons underwater and tow it away to their hideout.
However, they did not know that part of the steel casket has been irradiated allowing the police to trace it and they close in on Diabolik who is wearing a heat proof suit as he is melting the gold, to put it into ingots. Shot at by many police guns, Diabolik is unable to control the heating of the gold and it runs out of control. There is an explosion and Diabolik and the cavern are covered in molten gold. Again, Diabolik is believed to be dead, now covered in hardened gold. The police seal off the place to recover it later and Eva is allowed to pay her respects to the dead Diabolik, who when Ginko is not looking winks at her. Eva leaves with Ginko and the cavern lights are turned off, then is heard the laughter of Diabolik. The End.
Cast
In popular culture
Scenes were parodied in the music video for the Beastie Boys’ 1998 single "Body Movin'". In August 1999, the movie was featured in the final episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (although another out-of-sequence episode, Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders, was technically shown later). The movie also influenced Roman Coppola’s film CQ. The debut album from avant-garde metal band Fantômas is heavily influenced by Diabolik. In addition to the liner notes being composed of frames from the Diabolik comic books, some songs also contain samples from the film. Diabolik is also referenced visually in the motion picture Speed Racer.
Releases
A recent American DVD release of the movie includes a documentary on the movie, including interviews with illustrator/writer Steven R. Bissette & Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (MCA). Also contains an audio commentary with John Philip Law (Diabolik himself) & Mario Bava’s biographer Tim Lucas as well as the Beastie Boys music video for “Body Movin’” which contained a number of stunts from the films interposed with band members playing the main parts of the movie. That DVD has been discontinued as of November 23, 2009.
See also
External links
