Baba Yaga (film)
Baba Yaga | |
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Directed by | Corrado Farina |
Screenplay by | Corrado Farina[1] |
Based on | Valentina by Guido Crepax |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Aiace Parolin[1] |
Edited by | Giulio Berruti[1] |
Music by | Piero Umiliani[1] |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Jumbo Cinematografica[2] |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Countries |
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Baba Yaga is a 1973
Plot
Valentina Rosselli is a
Cast
- Carroll Baker as Baba Yaga
- Isabelle De Funès as Valentina Rosselli
- George Eastman as Arno Treves
- Ely Galleani as Annette, the doll
- Angela Covello as Toni
- Mario Mattia Giorgetti as Carlo
- Daniela Balzaretti as Romina
- Sergio Masieri as Sandro
Production
Baba Yaga was an adaptation of
During pre-production Farina signed a deal with producer Turi Vasile, which led him to Franco Committeri who later took over for Vasile as the film's financial backer.[4] Farina made changes to the script by removing the character Philip Rembrandt and turning a small character in the comic, that of film director Arno Treves into a role as large as Valentina.[4] After finishing the script, Committeri left the project after the release of Marco Bellocchio's Slap the Monster on Page One (1972).[4] Farina had to find a new producer, and eventually signed with a company called 14 luglio Cinematografica.[4] A French film production company is also credited, but this was predominantly done for tax reasons.[4] The French connections eventually led to the casting of Isabelle De Funès as Valentina.[4] Farina was not happy with her in the role, as his first choice had been Elsa Martinelli. He eventually had to choose between De Funès and Stefania Casini.[4] The director initially had wanted the popular Italian singer Ornella Vanoni for the role of Baba Yaga in the film.[4] He eventually cast Anne Heywood who left the project as shooting began.[4] This led to Farina casting Carroll Baker in haste.[4] George Eastman was cast as Arno.[4] Farina was unfamiliar with the actor at the time but found that "he proved to be fit for the role. He had the right looks.".[4]
After completing shooting and post-production on the film, Farina left for a vacation.[5] On returning, he found that producers had edited nearly half an hour out of his film, who found it too slow.[5] The cuts made to this film were done on the negative of the film, making Farina lose his original edit of Baba Yaga.[5] Farina was furious and threatened to take his name off the film.[5] With the help of assistant director Giuilio Berruti, they tried to re-edit Baba Yaga but since the original version was lost, they could not complete it per their original idea.[5]
Release
Before Baba Yaga's release in Italy, the Italian Board of Censors ordered two cuts: the first being a long shot of De Funes full frontal nudity and the moment where Baker undresses before Valentina.[5] Baba Yaga was released in Italy in 1973.[1] Film historian and critic Roberto Curti stated that the film had poor box-office results due to bad distribution in Italy.[5][6]
The film was shown as the 1973 Trieste Science Fiction Festival.[7] Baba Yaga was released in the United States on DVD and Blu-Ray by Blue Underground.[8]
Reception
Curti noted that most critics panned the film.
From retrospective reviews, Danny Shipka, who discussed this film in his book on European exploitation films, noted that the film is "never uninteresting and the comic book style in which many of the scenes, especially the sex scenes are filmed is well handled" as well as that it was "not altogether successful mix of Guido Crepax's Italian comic book genius and European exploitation", concluding that it "seems to be lacking the "spark" that made the comic books so memorable."[9] Film critic and horror author Kim Newman referred to the film as "enormously boring".[10] TV Guide referred to the film as an "exceptionally handsome example of 1970s Italian pop-exploitation filmmaking sweetened by Piero Umilani's lounge-jazz score," and praised Baker's performance, but noted that she was "physically wrong for the role; her elaborate lace-and-beribboned costumes sometimes make her look more like a fleshy Miss Havisham than a sleekly predatory sorceress".[11]
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Curti 2016, p. 136.
- ^ "Baba Yaga (1973)". Archivo del Cinema Italiano (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Curti 2016, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Curti 2016, p. 138.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Curti 2016, p. 139.
- ^ Curti 2016, p. 140.
- ^ Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 41, no. 480. London: British Film Institute. p. 268.
- ^ Curti 2016, p. 141.
- ^ Shipka 2011, p. 165.
- ^ Newman 2011, p. 255.
- ^ McDonagh, Maitland. "Baba Yaga Review". TV Guide. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
Sources
- Curti, Roberto (2016). Diabolika: Supercriminals, Superheroes and the Comic Book Universe in Italian Cinema. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 978-1-936168-60-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-1750-6.
- Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4888-3.
External links
- Baba Yaga at IMDb
- Baba Yaga at AllMovie
- Baba Yaga at Rotten Tomatoes