I VAMPIRI On Blu-ray From Radiance

 

2024 has become a big year for Italian Gothic Horror on home video, and now what is considered the very first modern sound Italian Gothic gets a major release from Radiance Films. I VAMPIRI (1957) was co-directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava, two of the most important names in the genre of Euro Gothic. 

It's ironic that I VAMPIRI is considered the first major Italian Gothic, when one realizes that its story was set in Paris, in contemporary times. A number of young Parisian women have been found murdered and drained of blood. Newspaper reporter Pierre Lantin (Dario Michaelis) is determined to track down the killer, while fending off the advances of a beautiful young aristocrat named Giselle (Gianna Maria Canale). Pierre's instincts about the woman are more correct than he knows--Giselle is actually her elderly aunt, the Countess du Grand, and a brilliant scientist has been using the blood of the murdered girls to reinvigorate the aged lady and make her appear decades younger. The problem is, the process hasn't been perfected. 

I VAMPIRI isn't a traditional vampire tale--it's more like a cross between the Bela Lugosi potboiler THE CORPSE VANISHES and Hammer's COUNTESS DRACULA. The story also reminded me of many of the Krimi thrillers coming out of West Germany in the 1960s. The majority of the film was directed by Riccardo Freda, but he left after a couple weeks, and Mario Bava (who was cinematographer on the film) finished up the shooting. Freda might have shot more footage but Bava's imaginative touch resonates all throughout. Bava makes full use of the Cinemascope frame, and his atmospheric black & white photography, along with Beni Montresor's striking production design, is the real highlight of I VAMPIRI. The Countess du Grand's castle, with its baroque halls, crypts, and secret passages, is far more interesting than any character in the movie. 

Gianna Maria Canale (who was married to Riccardo Freda during production) does have the right haughty glamour for the role of the vain Countess/Giselle, but there's the feeling that more could have been made out of the character. (The plot point of Giselle actually being the aged Countess is given away rather early in the running time.) Obviously the various complications inherent in the making of the film prevented the story from being fleshed out--the extras on this disc detail how Freda's script concepts where different than how the movie wound up. Dario Michaelis is a somewhat bland and pushy hero, and Wandisa Guida as the damsel in distress doesn't get enough screen time to make a connection with the viewer. Euro Cult legend Paul Muller gets a prime role as one of the Countess' underlings. 

Radiance presents three different versions of I VAMPIRI on this region-free Blu-ray. There's the original uncut Italian version, taken from a 2K restoration, with an Italian audio track and available English subtitles. The visual aspect of this print is simply spectacular. There is a SD presentation of the American cut of the film, titled THE DEVIL'S COMMANDMENT. This is a much shorter version even though it has added inserts and a different opening sequence. These additions are rather crude, and they certainly don't help the story. (One of the actors used in these scenes is none other than Grandpa Munster himself, Al Lewis.) What really hurts the American version is the English voice track, which is filled with lame dialogue and off-putting line readings. The British version of I VAMPIRI is also included--this is titled LUST OF THE VAMPIRE. It's the shortest version of all, and it also looks the worst. This too is also saddled with the mediocre English voice track. All three versions are in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. 

Among the extras is a 20 page illustrated booklet with a main article by Roberto Curti. He discusses how most postwar Italians would have had no experience with the now accepted Gothic definition of the vampire as a supernatural creature, and he goes into the making of the film, and how it shaped Mario Bava's future. Three short programs are on this disc, one with Fabio Melelli that has some very rare TV footage of Mario Bava himself showing an example of his special effects work. There's also a short interview with Bava's son Lamberto, and a talk by Leon Hunt, discussing the film's place in genre history. All three programs give one more insight into the movie, Bava, and Riccardo Freda. 

This disc also has a new audio commentary by Bava expert Tim Lucas. He points out that I VAMPIRI was made before THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and he delves into which scenes may have been specifically directed by Mario Bava. It's an informative and interesting talk. 

Finally, there's a very rough-looking trailer for the American version of the film, and the disc sleeve artwork is reversible. 

I VAMPIRI is a film that has long deserved a major home video release, especially for English-speaking audiences. I had not actually seen this movie before, and while I wouldn't rate it as one of the best Italian Gothics, it's certainly among the most important, and it has plenty of atmospheric and intriguing moments. Once again Mario Bava used his cinematic genius to take a very rushed, low-budget production and make it something much more than what it should have been. This Radiance Blu-ray is one of the best home video releases of 2024.