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The Whip and the Body Description:
- Amazon Sales Rank: #53153 in DVD
- Released on: 2000-10-24
- Rating: Unrated
- Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
- Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Number of discs: 1
- Running time: 87 minutes
Customer Reviews:
“You can’t stop the hand of fate.”
While watching this `uncut’ European version of La Frusta e il corpo (1963) aka The Whip and the Body (1965), I had a hard time understanding just what the heck was so controversial about it at the time of its release that it should have been hacked to pieces the way it was by various editors (I think the U.S. version end up being the most mutililated)…I guess it is just difficult for me to fathom the seemingly excessive stringent nature of film censorship in place some thirty plus years ago, when the film was originally released…by today’s standards, the `shocking’ material is fairly mild…but then I find a lot of things I consider tame in the cinematic sense tend to have a stronger effect on less avid movie fans. Directed by Mario Bava (Black Sabbath, Planet of the Vampires), the film stars Christopher Lee (Circus of Fear, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave), Daliah Lavi (Lord Jim, The Silencers), and Tony Kendall (Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill). Also appearing is Gustavo De Nardo (Baron Blood), Harriet Medin (Schlock, Death Race 2000), Ida Galli (The Leopard), and Luciano Pigozzi (Yor, the Hunter from the Future)…just a note, if you’ve seen this film and don’t recognize many of the names of the writers, crew or the supporting cast, that’s because it wasn’t unusual for producers to require the usage of `American’ nom de plumes as it was deemed easier to schlep a film to the U.S. if it had familiar sounding names rather than `crazy’ names with more vowels than consonants…and example of this is the listed director John M. Old, which is actually a pseudonym used by Mario Bava. Was this a product of American arrogance? Or a ruse used by European producers to more easily introduce their films into the lucrative American market?
The film begins with an older woman eyeing a glass case containing a dagger and roses (some people just collect Hummel figurines), and then we see a lone figure on horseback arriving at a castle perched on cliff above a beach. The rider, known as Kurt Menliff (Lee), has arrived home, but not necessarily to the warmest of welcomes. Turns out Kurt was the cause of some `unpleasantness’ involving the housekeeper’s daughter and her subsequent suicide by use of the dagger we saw earlier (hence why the mother keeps it under glass, I suppose)…anyway, Kurt claims his return was prompted by his desire to wish his brother Christian (Kendall) and his new wife Nevenka (Lavi) well, but the real reason is because he wants to lay claim to what he believes is rightfully his (the land, the castle, etc.) as Kurt and Christian’s father, Count Menliff (De Nardo) isn’t in the best of health. By the way, did I mention that Kurt and his new sister-in-law Nevenka were somewhat of an item in the past? Oh, Nevenka claims she hates Kurt now, but we all know true love never dies, especially between super freaks (of which both Kurt and Nevenka are, given their little S&M adventure on the beach). Soon after this there is a violent death (whose, you ask? I won’t say) and thus begins the real creep show as them vengeful bones seek comeuppance from the living…
If you’re looking for buckets of blood and gallons of grisly gore, you best turn around and keep on keeping on as, while this is an Italian horror film, its not really of the normally visceral kind churned out by the likes of Lucio Fulci (City of the Living Dead), Dario Argento (Suspiria), Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), or even Bava (A Bay of Blood) himself…there is some violence, and even some blood, but what I think most shocked people at the time was the scene featuring the reaction of Nevenka as she was being flogged (she appeared to be having the big O, if you get my drift)…the movie may seem slow, even boring, to some, but I thought of it more as deliberate, as Bava used the element of horror as sort of a backdrop to focus on the odd relationship between Kurt and Nevenka, one I had a hard time understanding not because it wasn’t clearly developed, but only because my own, personal preferences in terms of romantic relationships don’t include such overt acts of dominance. A number of aspects stand out in this superior production, the three most prominent being the performances, the direction, and the thoughtful development of the main characters. Lee does especially well (despite limited screen time) coming across more as an intelligent, seductive, malevolent force of evil rather than nasty character with a penchant for flogging. Lavi is also excellent as a woman tormented by the denial of her inner desires, exacerbated by the return of her ex-lover. The direction is such that it creates a moody, brooding, gothic atmosphere soaked with tension (some scenes were dragged out a little long for my tastes) that will keep the attention patient viewers as the mystery unfolds, and the seemingly supernatural elements kick in…Bava does especially well presenting sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle, metaphorical life/death imagery that compliments the story, adding to the overall production. Two other key elements is the contrast of vibrant (just short of gaudy) colors compared with the deep, dark, spooky shadows, along with the lush and sweeping musical score. There are a couple of weaknesses, in my opinion, one being the unnecessary dubbing of Lee’s voice…why this was done I don’t understand. The person they got to do the dub does sound similar to Lee, but he couldn’t reproduce the commanding, authorative, and aristocratic tone normally present in Lee’s voice. The other weakness was in the dialog itself…sometimes it was near perfect, and then sometimes it came off awkward, but perhaps this was due to the Italian actors having to speak their lines in English…regardless, neither of these would be cause for me not to recommend this film to someone interested in one of the better (if not best) examples of European horror I’ve seen yet…
VCI Home Entertainment presents a very good-looking, wide screen (1.85:1), uncut European version of this film. There are signs of wear due to age (some lines, white specks in the dark scenes), but overall the picture comes across very clear. The audio, presented in Dolby Digital mono, comes through well. Special features include musical tracks by composer Carlo Rustichelli aka Jim Murphy, an original theatrical trailer, biographies, a photo gallery, and trailers for a couple of other Bava films including Planet of the Vampires (1965) and Blood & Black Lace (1964). Also included is a commentary track by Tim Lucas, and editor for Video Watchdog. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend listening to this commentary as Lucas is like a human computer when it comes to details and information about this, and other films in the genre. And it’s not that he just spews forth facts, but he really seems to have a passionate, comprehensive, knowledgeable understanding of the material that may provide a perspective on this film one may not get from viewing the movie itself…four stars for the movie, and one extra for the commentary.
Cookieman108
By the way, if I were one of the characters in this story, I probably would have chucked that dagger (you know, the one that kept turning up and killing people?) in the ocean…I would have also secured some chains around the gates of that crypt, as it seemed a popular place for many to visit…
PAIN AND PLEASURE
Another Mario Bava masterpiece - THE WHIP AND THE BODY - has royally entered the DVD market thanks to an admirable treatment from VCI. If you are not aware that, under the pseudonym of John M. Old, is hiding Mario Bava and that 90% of the initial credits are also english pseudonyms of well (or less -) known italian actors or technicians, you could mistake THE WHIP AND THE BODY for a Hammer production. At least during the first 10 minutes.
Then, you would have certainly recognized the maestro touch ; who else could have filmed in 1963 a sadistic Christopher - Kurt - Lee whipping the delicate Daliah - Nevenka - Lavi who asks for more after each strike. I doubt Terence Fisher would have dared to shoot such scenes. Think also of the delirious travelling of Tony Kendall whose face has a different colour each time he appears in the light of the corridor. Thank you once more VCI to let us appreciate all the subtleties of Mario Bava’s work on light.
Once again, the surprisingly rational Bava leaves room for a psychologic explanation at the end of THE WHIP AND THE BODY. Until his last movie - SHOCK - , the italian director will remind us that Cinema is a tremendous liar and that reality is so simple to explain. This theme will be treated masterfully by Bavain in his last genial movie RABID DOGS.
In short, a DVD for your library.
Brooding and Erotic, Chris Lee’s Best Performance!
There are darn few films that really scare me. In fact, I can only think of three, and all of them come from the early 60’s. The Haunting (the original, not the remake), the Innocents, and, of course, Whip and the Body, the subject of this review.
These three films mix ghostly goings on with psychopathology and erotic obsession in a way that is not only dramatically valid but PLAUSABLE - hence their continued ability to unnerve and disturb, even after multiple viewings. All three films succeed in creating and, what is more difficult, sustaining a mood that is dark and eerie, a mood which lingers long after the last fade-out.
The Haunting and The Innocents are both filmed in marrow-chilling black and white, but Whip and the Body is lush and succulent as an overripe and poisonous fruit in TECHNICOLOR. Bava’s films are incredibly lovely to look at, but nowhere moreso than here. For Whip and the Body,he chose a pallete of sombre hues which wouldn’t be out of place in a nightmare. At the same time we are responding viscerally to the horror, we are paradoxically aware of the great beauty which underlies it and supports it. Formal beauty in a horror film is a rare commodity. One finds it in some of the Universal horror classics of the 30’s, in some of Hitchcock’s works, and in the films of Mario Bava.
Christopher Lee has said that this is one of his favorite films — it’s easy to see why. It contains what may be his best performance, understated and chillingly effective. He becomes a romantic, doomed figure - not unlike Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. He manages to mix menace with romance in exactly the right proportions.
His costar, Miss Lavi, is not only a beauty in the classic mold (she reminds me a lot of Barbara Steele)but a very effective actress as well, adroitly portraying some very difficult passages with ease and grace. She is unforgettable.
Watch With: Theatre of Death; Blood and Black Lace; Blood and Roses; Black Sabbath (1960- Bava), Flesh for Frankenstein, The Haunting (original vers.), The Innocents.
Amazon.com
The hungry, haunted eyes of the voluptuous Daliah Lavi dominate Mario Bava’s kinky little ghost story. Set in a cavernous castle on a lonely coast, it looks like something out of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allen Poe thrillers, at least at first. Christopher Lee is the bad sheep prodigal son who returns to the family manor. A sexual sadist whose proclivities brought about the death of a young girl and sent him into exile, he immediately lures his brother’s wife (Lavi) into his sadistic games upon his return. There’s no shortage of suspects when he’s found dead, a dagger plunged into his neck (the same one his former lover killed herself with), but when he returns as a gray-faced ghost Bava pushes the gothic conventions and repressed sexual desires into delirious territory. It’s one of the most psychologically compelling scripts in Bava’s filmography, wracked with mad passions and haunted with guilt, and he pushes the emotional hysteria to the limits with lush style, surreal color, and gorgeous, often perverse imagery. The film was drastically cut and renamed What! for its U.S. release. VCI’s edition is not only completely uncut but mastered from a gorgeous, color drenched print, restoring Bava’s rich play of crimson red and cerulean blue.
The DVD features both English and Italian language soundtracks (neither of which feature Lee’s voice, though the English track better matches the images) with optional subtitles, a sharp, informative commentary track by Bava historian Tim Lucas, and two cut scenes hidden as “Easter Eggs.” To access these, go to the Special Features menu, move the cursor to “Play American Titles,” and push the left arrow button. -Sean Axmaker
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