I own 2 versions of this 1-hour doc on the titular film-maker whose centenary was celebrated in the past day(s): in fact, it is included as an extra on both Anchor Bay UK's edition of Bava's HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON (1970) and the Italian disc of his official directorial debut BLACK Sunday (1960), from RHV (albeit presented here with forced native subtitles).During my ongoing Bava marathon, I have already watched MARIO BAVA: OPERAZIONE PAURA (2004), which I had reviewed (and rated **1/2) back when I first checked it out on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his demise. At the time, I had criticized the later documentary for being somewhat redundant in the wake of the one under review (though I can see now that a few choice participants are exclusive to it, notably director Roger Corman) and for missing out on discussing a number of key works within Bava's filmography. In retrospect, there are glaring omissions here as well – apart from THE WHIP AND THE BODY (1963; which I pointed out in the other review), there is barely a mention of either BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964) or KILL, BABY…KILL! (1966) – but, all in all, it makes a better case for his artistry (taking care even to include a psychologist{!} among the line-up of interviewees, which comprise many of the usual suspects of relatives, collaborators, peers and lifelong admirers) since it generally comes across as having less of a fan-boy approach to it (what can you expect when the opening speaker on OPERAZIONE PAURA proves to be none other than know-it-all motor-mouth Quentin Tarantino?!).Incidentally, with respect to the selection of titles covered, it appears that the film-makers had access only to clips from movies owned by the major studios (like Paramount's DANGER: DIABOLIK {1968}) and the DVD company Image Entertainment – which not only distributed the doc itself in R1 land but was behind the release of the entire "The Mario Bava Collection", numbering the director's efforts then owned by Alfredo Leone (his last producer) and who, naturally enough, features heavily here. Perhaps in compensation, then, there is rather too much footage this time around from films that were apparently influenced by Bava's efforts! Needless to say, though, neither documentary comes close to reading an authoritative biography on the subject – be it Tim Lucas' massive tome (also an on-screen 'talking head' in both films) or Troy Howarth's more manageable treatise – or, for that matter, experiencing the beautiful craftsmanship of Bava's legacy on one's own rather than having it described to him

This is a pretty solid introduction to the work and personality of Mario Bava, the Italian director who transformed the horror genre through his formative Gothic films and giallos. Although it might be hard in some ways to mount an argument that giving us the slasher genre is something that we should be thankful to Mr. Bava for, this film labors mightily at that task. Unfortunately it's a very sterile affair, very much your standard DVD extra that was designed as a tool for selling the Alfredo Leone series on Image. It ignores most of his other titles, and features the predictable array of available "major" directors like Joe Dante who attest to Bava's influence on their art. They got Tim Burton to appear as well, apparently by promising to include footage from his then-most recent film "Sleepy Hollow." The most irksome aspect of this whole proceeding is the film's subtle support for the Image line regarding the Bava releases. At one point you have an author in the film talking about how people are now supposedly discovering the true artistry of Bava's films, thanks to proper widescreen releases. Worst of all, the author says "most of these films have only been available before in dubbed versions." Well yeah, that's because they are Italian films and Italians films are always dubbed. The Italian language version is just as much a dubbed version as the English one. A responsible documentary would not try to misinform the viewer in this way.There is absolutely no reason why anybody should seek out the poorly done Italian language (dubbed, as well) version of "Black Sabbath", for example, which doesn't even feature Boris Karloff's magnificent voice. The only reason this documentary pretends that it's the superior version to watch and that it shows Bava's artistry as never before is because Leone and the people behind this DVD release didn't have the legal rights to the AIP version which actually used Karloff's voice. Besides that, the film lavishes praise on some of Bava's worst pictures like "Baron Blood", presumably because they are being sold along with the rest of the pictures. It largely passes over his work in the peplum field and the western, as well as in comedy (again, these works belong to some other copyright holder). So it is not a comprehensive view of Bava's career, but rather at best an examination of his career in horror and at worst a mere advertisement for the Image DVD series. The one thing I really did appreciate as a fan was all the footage of interviews with Bava family members like his son Lamberto. It was nice to hear about Bava's sense of humor, although I would have liked to know a bit more about his personal life.

Rabid Mario Bava fans might possibly complain about this documentary for not covering ALL his major movies, for not discussing the ones it does in greater depth, for not showing enough of the actual films themselves, or for not explaining his influence on subsequent film makers in a more explicit fashion, but hey, this is only an hour long, and I think it manages to cover a great deal in the short time available. I think even the most knowledgable fan of Bava will find it interesting, and even better I'm certain that any fan of horror not familiar his work will be curious to investigate his movies after watching this. And if this show can make ONE viewer into a Bava fan then it's done a great service. Bava is one of the most underrated directors in modern film history. He shouldn't just be a cult figure, but a household name! Most of his major films are discussed, including his astonishing debut 'Black Sunday', one of the three or four greatest horror movies ever made in my opinion, and 'Black Sabbath', 'Planet Of The Vampires', 'Kill, Baby...Kill!', 'Diabolik', 'Baron Blood' and 'Lisa And The Devil'. Interviewees include directors and admirers Tim Burton, John Carpenter and Joe Dante, all major Bava fans, actors John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi and John Philip Law (sadly, no Barbara Steele), and writer and critic Kim Newman (whose novel 'Judgement Of Tears: Anno Dracula 1959' includes references to several Bava movies, most notably 'Kill, Baby...Kill!'). Along the way they discuss such things as the influence 'Planet Of The Vampires' had on Ridley Scott's SF/horror classic 'Alien', that 'Bay Of Blood' had on the hugely popular 'Friday The 13th' series, how Martin Scorsese deliberately referenced 'Kill, Baby...Kill!' in 'The Last Temptation Of Christ' (true!), and Tim Burton admits that his 'Sleepy Hollow' is his major homage to Bava's work, especially 'Black Sunday'. Every horror and cult movie fan should try and see watch this documentary as it is a real eye opener if you aren't that familiar with the movies covered. Nearly all of Bava's movies are now available on DVD, though unfortunately usually in dubbed versions. I hope one day Bava gets the recognition he deserves. Until now critics, other film makers and cult movie fans around the world have kept his name and movies alive, but it's about time the larger movie viewing public get hip to this fantastic director. This documentary is a big step in the right direction! Highly recommended!

"Mario Bava:Maestro of the Macabre" is a great documentary about life and career one of the legendary directors of the Horror Cinema.There are many interviews with directors,producers,relatives of Mario Bava,film critics,authors and actors.Some of the guests are:Bava historian Tim Lucas,Gremlins director Joe Dante,"Danger:Diabolik" star John Phillip Law,film critic and horror specialist Kim Newman,AIP founder Samuel Z.Arkoff,Mario Bava's admirers John Carpenter and Tim Burton,talented horror actress Daria Nicolodi,screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti,E.T. creator Carlo Rambaldi and Mario Bava's son Lamberto.But some important and big names are missing like Dario Argento,Barbara Steele,Martin Scorsese..Argento was a friend,collaborator and successor of Bava.Steele was created by Bava with masterpiece "La Maschera del demonio"..Scorsese is another admirer of his films..Still,you can watch and watch again this effective documentary.There are lovely memories,interesting studies and comments.