RETRO MOVIE REVIEW: DANGER DIABOLIK, 1968

Lance Lucero

6 years ago

DANGER DIABOLIK, 1968. A Dino de Laurentiis production. Directed by Mario Bava. Starring the amazing John Phillip Law. A totally unique film adaptation of the Italian sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani“s fumetti neri comic book series ”“ DIABOLIK, created in 1962.

The plot is simple: Diabolik is a ruthless master thief who will not hesitate to kill anyone who stands between him and is goal. He is aided by the love of his life and partner in crime Eva Kant, played by the international super model Marisa Mell. Although Diabolik steals indifferently from both good guys and bad guys, he is often pursued by his arch nemesis Inspector Ginko, played by Michel Piccoli.Â

John Phillip Law fills the shoes of the master thief wonderfully. His sharp features, expressive eyes, and lean frame fit the dynamics of the comic book character perfectly. His interpretation of the anti-hero is bold, stylish, emotional, and dare I say it, SEXY! It“s really fun to see him in action.

The structure of the film is unique in the way of how the acts are laid out. Rather than the usual film structure, which has a through-line, DANGER DIABOLIK takes a really fun approach by telling four different stories and linking them together by the actions of the antagonist Inspector Ginko.

The first story revolves around the prevention of a robbery, which involves trying to stop Diabolik from stealing several million dollars from the government. Ginko tries to stop him and fails. The next story is about how Diabolik plans to steal a priceless necklace for Eva, a birthday present for her.Â Â Ginko is there again. This time though, Ginko baited Diabolik with the necklace in order to try and capture him.Â Â After the failure to capture Diabolik, Ginko coerces the villains of the underworld to help him capture Diabolik. Things go bad for the villains when they kidnap Eva. Diabolik goes to extremes to recover the love of his life and make those who hurt her pay. Ginko is there again to capitalize, but fails once more. The story travels full circle; going back to the theft of the millions Diabolik stole from the government. To make it worse, Diabolik destroys all of the financial institutions holding all tax records, freeing people from the government burden. Take that Chuck Palahniuk and David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB)! Diabolik did it first! In order to keep the country“s financial situation from total collapse, its entire gold reserve, one giant 25-ton gold ingot, was brought out for re-circulation.Â Â Diabolik steals it, of course, but Ginko had a brilliant plan up his sleeve and he finally captures the master thief. And yet, there“s much, much more going on as all of these stories unfold!

This retro European production is truly the originator of the International Man of Mystery. This film is loaded with style, action, and flair! The screen is painted with amazing psychedelic costumes, and set designs of the 1960s.Â Â Adding to the visuals is the music created by the legendary composer Ennio Morriconi. This comic book cinematic masterpiece is a feast for the eyes and the ears!