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Italy
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1961
Directed by Mario Bava
Starring
Cameron Mitchell
Giorgio Ardisson
Alice & Ellen Kessler
Color
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90 Minutes
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Not Rated
Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC)
Starz/Anchor Bay Home Entertainment
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
A
Viking king (Cameron Mitchell) does battle with
an English lord (Giorgio Ardisson), neither realizing
that they are long-separated brothers...
With
his solo directorial debut, Black
Sunday (1960), Mario Bava established himself
as a master of black and white gothic horror.
His next two films would establish him as a master
of widescreen color fantasy and adventure: Hercules
in the Haunted World (1961) and Erik
the Conqueror. If the former film found
Bava still experimenting in the genre in which
he found immediate acclaim, the latter would eschew
genre trappings in favor of offering a colorfully
revamped take on Richard Fleischer's box-office
hit The Vikings
(1958). Despite its obvious debt to the American
picture, Erik offers ample evidence not only of
Bava's technical prowess and ingenuity but proves
his ability to make his mark in virtually any
genre he turned his attentions to.
The story is, as alluded
to above, a reworking of the Fleischer film and
its tale of warriors doing battle without realizing
that they are brothers separated at an early age.
The setup isn't particularly novel, but Bava imbues
it with Shakespearean dimensions and ensures that
the eye never wanders by painting each scene in
an array of candy colored hues and textures. The
action is very well staged for a director never
noted for his affinity in this field, and the
film belies its low budget at every turn through
a series of impeccably designed, and seamlessly
integrated, miniatures and matte paintings. The
film compares well to other films of its ilk,
including its far more lavishly budgeted American
model, which is a testimony to the director's
uncanny mastery of technique. The pacing is very
well sustained, and the action never loses sight
of its characters — true, they may not be especially
three dimensional, but there's nevertheless a
resistance to paint the characters as purely evil
or virtuous, a characteristic typical of Bava's
oeuvre.
In his first official collaboration
with Bava, American actor Cameron Mitchell (The
Toolbox Murders) gives an energetic and sincere
performance. One may carp that he's a little old
to be playing a character hinted to be in his
early 30s, but with his muscular physique and
bleached hair, he makes for a convincing Viking
warrior. Mitchell isn't give quite the same scope
to emote as in his last collaboration with the
director — the Viking western Knives
of the Avenger (1966) — but he makes the
most of every dramatic opportunity and never fails
to impress in his various fist and sword fights.
Giorgio Ardisson (Hercules
in the Haunted World) is also effective
as Mitchell's brother — he proves to be more than
a pretty face in his ability to lend shading to
the character's emotions, and he is also more
than adequate in his various physical confrontations.
The beautiful Kessler twins — former cabaret stars
who escaped from their native East Germany — are
more than mere window dressing. Alice and Ellen
Kessler prove to be very competent performers;
they're both allowed moments of genuine pathos,
and they manage to be beautiful and elegant without
coming across as vacuous. Bava's friend Andrea
Checchi (Two Women),
previously cast as a good guy in Black
Sunday, makes for an appropriately hissable
villain. The scene in which he tortures Ellen
Kessler with a tarantula is the closest the film
veers into horror territory, and the fetishistic
lighting gives the scene a nicely Sadean air.
Bava's widescreen color photography
is absolutely stunning, and Roberto Nicolosi contributes
an effective score. All told Erik
the Conqueror remains one of the handsomest
films of Bava's career and, if it lacks the intensity
of his mature masterpieces, for sheer entertainment
value it's hard to beat.
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Anchor Bay's wonderful release
marks the film's long overdue DVD release in America.
A German edition surfaced last year, but the absence
of English subtitles for the vastly superior Italian
track and the omission of the film's final shot
compromised it somewhat. Anchor Bay's edition
rectifies these flaws, and offers an even more
stunning anamorphic transfer. The source material
shows some sign of age and wear (scratches, etc.)
but there is nothing too distracting to complain
about. Color and detail are absolutely beautiful,
making this one of the best Bava releases in terms
of visual splendor. The final shot, restored to
this edition, is taken from a dupey VHS source
— but it is only
a few seconds long and is chiefly reinstated for
the sake of completion. The mono Italian track
is in very good shape, with removable English
subtitles; the inferior English track is also
included. Extras
include an informative commentary by Bava scholar
Tim Lucas, a poster/still gallery, American and
German trailers, and a 29-minute excerpt of Lucas'
1989 telephone interview with the late Cameron
Mitchell. Bava fanatics will likely have read
the transcript of this interview, which finds
the actor praising Bava as his favorite human
being and likely the best of the many great directors
he worked with and/or knew (including the likes
of Orson Welles, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman
and John Ford), but it's nice to hear him recounting
his experiences on Erik
— especially since
his voice is nowhere to be heard in either the
English or Italian soundtracks.
10/31/07
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