Taglines: Meet Diabolik – a bank-robbing hood who battles the cops.
Danger: Diabolik movie storyline. In psychedelic swinging 60s style, the dreaded thief Diabolik wreaks havoc on a generic European country for his own financial gain and amusement. He shares an extravagant underground lair (and a giant bed of money) with his curvaceous, beautiful girlfriend… who uses her awesome powers to help Diabolik foil gangsters and steal billions from the government. As the anti-hero of the film, Diabolik must face off against bumbling cops and revenge-seeking mafiosi.
Danger: Diabolik (Italian: Diabolik) is a 1968 superhero film directed and co-written by Mario Bava, based on the Italian comic series Diabolik by Angela and Luciana Giussani. The film is about a criminal named Diabolik (John Phillip Law), who plans large-scale heists for his girlfriend Eva Kant (Marisa Mell). Diabolik is pursued by Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli), who blackmails the gangster Ralph Valmont (Adolfo Celi) into catching Diabolik for him.
An adaptation of the comics was originally envisioned by producer Tonino Cervi, who hired director Seth Holt and began producing the film as an international co-production with a cast that included Jean Sorel, Elsa Martinelli and Gilbert Roland. Appalled with the quality of the footage that had been shot, distributor Dino De Laurentiis took over production duties and restarted filming from scratch. Working from a new screenplay and under creative pressure from De Laurentiis, Bava directed the film on a reduced budget, with established actors taking smaller roles. The film was produced in tandem with De Laurentiis’ other comic book adaptation of that year, Barbarella, with both films sharing several cast and crew members.
Upon its theatrical release, Danger: Diabolik performed below De Laurentiis’ expectations at the box office, and received negative reviews from The New York Times and Variety. With the re-evaluation of Bava’s filmography, retrospective reception of the film has been more positive, with critics praising its visuals, the performances of Law and Mell, and the score by Ennio Morricone. In 2008, it was chosen by Empire magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.
Danger: Diabolik began filming on April 11, 1967, and was shot at a Fiat plant in Turin, on location in Rome, and at the Blue Grotto in Capri. In a 1970 interview with Luigi Cozzi, Bava described the filming as “nightmarish”, and said that De Laurentiis had him tone down the violent scenes in the film. Law commented that the producer and director had opposite ideas for the film: De Laurentiis wanted to make a family-friendly film with a charming thief, while Bava wanted to make a film that was faithful to the comic books. Danger: Diabolik finished filming on June 18, 1967. Law stated that shortly after the film’s production ended, shooting began on Barbarella. This led to the same sets, such as the set for Valmont’s night club, being used in both films.
Danger: Diabolik’s release was highly anticipated in Italy, and this led to De Laurentiis threatening to sue producers of films whose titles were similar to his, such as Superargo Versus Diabolicus and Arriva Dorellik. Danger: Diabolik was submitted to the Italian Board of Censors in December 1967 and, after five brief cuts were made to the film, it was released in Italy on January 24, 1968. The film was described by Curti as a “financial disappointment for De Laurentiis” with a gross of only slightly more than 265 million lire. It opened in Paris in April 1968 under the title Danger Diabolik. In the United States, the film opened in New York in December 1968.
Danger: Diabolik (1968)
Directed by: Mario Bava
Starring: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas, Claudio Gora, Mario Donen, Renzo Palmer, Caterina Boratto, Lucia Modugno, Annie Gorassini, Carlo Croccolo
Screenplay by: Dino Maiuri, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Mario Bava
Production Design by: Carlo Rambaldi
Cinematography by: Antonio Rinaldi
Film Editing by: Romana Fortini
Costume Design by: Luciana Marinucci, Giulio Coltellacci, Piero Gherardi
Set Decoration by: Ennio Michettoni
Art Direction by: Flavio Mogherini, Piero Gherardi
Music by: Ennio Morricone
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: January 24, 1968 (Italy), April 1968 (Paris)
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