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Stars: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ivan Rassimov, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Franco Andrei, Federico Boido, Mario Morales | Written by Ib Melchior, Alberto Bevilacqua, Callisto Cosulich, Mario Bava, Antonio Roman, Rafael J. Salvia | Directed by Mario Bava

Mario Bava, often celebrated as a master of Gothic horror and Italian genre cinema, brought to life a diverse array of films that showcased his visual ingenuity and flair for mood and atmosphere. Planet of the Vampires, a standout entry in the realm of science fiction horror, epitomizes Bava’s commitment to stylistic audacity and thematic exploration. This review examines how this film fits into and enriches Bava’s oeuvre, highlighting the characteristics that align with his broader body of work.

Bava’s films are renowned for their distinctive visual style, characterized by deep chiaroscuro lighting, saturated colour palettes, and intricate set designs. Planet of the Vampires is no exception, showcasing these traits within the context of a futuristic,...

There’s no getting around it — Mario Bava’s one space opera is now confirmed as a classic. Barry Sullivan and Norma Bengell must oppose invisible aliens that possess the corpses of their fellow space men. Bava’s ‘gothic’ Haunted Planet recipe just adds more weird colored lights and swirling fog to his supernatural Gothic formula. The designs are excellent and the results unique, from the odd spacecraft to the kinky costumes. The show is also genuinely influential, as should be well known to every fan of more modern sci-fi / horror films. The new HD remaster is an improvement, too!

Planet of the Vampires

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 88 min. / Terrore nello spazio, Planet of Blood, The Demon Planet / Street Date July 26, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Stelio Candelli, Franco Andrei, Fernando Villena, Mario Morales, Ivan Rassimov.

Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi,...

By Fred Blosser

In Sergio Corbucci’s 1967 Italian Western, “The Hellbenders” (1967), now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, embittered Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotten) devises a plan to avenge the outcome of the Civil War. Where today’s cultural conservatives mostly express their nostalgia for the Old South by gathering to protest the removal of Confederate monuments, Jonas takes more extreme measures. He and his three sons -- the remnant of his old command, known as the Hellbenders -- ambush a military convoy transporting $1.5 million in greenbacks. Slaughtering the convoy’s cavalry escort, they transfer the stolen money to a makeshift coffin supposedly containing the remains of Jonas‘ “son-in-law” Ambrose Allen, another Confederate officer killed in action at the Battle of Nashville. In truth, an officer named Ambrose Allen died at Nashville, but he wasn’t Jonas’ son-in-law, and his corpse isn’t in the coffin. Jonas picked his name off...

Confined to the walls of a spaceship with the same crew for days on end could cause irritability in some people, but it’s odd to be at each other’s throats after finally landing on your destined planet. For the astronauts aboard the Galliot in Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires (1965), the passing chaos onboard is only the beginning of a nightmare that waits outside. Regarded as a cult classic, Planet of the Vampires is heading to Blu-ray just in time for Halloween.

Slated for a tentative October 28th unveiling on Blu-ray and DVD from Scorpion Releasing, Planet of the Vampires will include yet-to-be-revealed extras. Directed by Italian filmmaker Mario Bava, this 1965 sci-fi fright flick stars Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, and Stelio Candelli. For those unfamiliar, here’s the official synopsis (courtesy of Blu-ray.com!):

“In the near future the two spaceships Argos...

Click here to read our french "Planet Of The Vampires" movie review, directed by Mario Bava with Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda.In the near future the two spaceships Argos and Galliot are sent to investigate the mysterious planet Aura. As the Galliot lands on the planet her crew suddenly go berserk and attack each other. The strange event passes, but the crew soon discovers the crashed Argos - and learns that her crew died fighting each other! Investigating further, the explorers come to realize the existence of a race of bodiless aliens that seek to escape from their dying world. ...

Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies who have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Norma Bengell (1935-2013) - Brazilian actress who starred in Planet of the Vampires (see below), Mafioso and the Oscar-nominated The Given Word (aka Keeper of Promises). She died from lung cancer on October 9. (Uol) Antonia Bird (1927-2013) - British director of Ravenous, Mad Love and the famously controversial Priest. She died of anaplastic thyroid cancer on October 24. (BBC) Daniel H. Blatt (1937-2013) - Producer of Cujo, The...

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Norma Bengell controversies (photo: Norma Bengell in Walter Hugo Khouri’s ‘Eros’) (See previous post: “Dead at 78: Norma Bengell, First Actress to Go Full Frontal in Mainstream Films.”) Norma Bengell found herself embroiled in numerous controversies throughout her life. For instance, besides her not infrequently "scandalous" anti-establishment screen roles of the ’60s and ’70s, she took to the streets to protest against both censorship in the arts and Brazil’s military dictatorship. At the 1985 edition of Rio de Janeiro’s Fest Rio, Bengell got into a verbal match with American actress and fellow jury member Ellen Burstyn (Oscar winner for Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) following alleged improprieties at the festival’s awards ceremony and Bengell’s role in the jury. Presumably to justify her worth as a jury member, the native Portuguese-speaker Bengell bellowed in Spanish: "I am a great actress!" Norma Bengell: Controversial filmmaker In later years,...

Norma Bengell dead at 78: Iconic (and controversial) Brazilian film, stage, television, and recording star made history as the first actress to be seen naked (full frontal) in a mainstream film (photo: Norma Bengell and John Herbert in ‘As Cariocas’) Norma Bengell, a sort of Brazilian Jeanne Moreau, Brigitte Bardot, and Jane Fonda rolled into one, died of lung cancer in her hometown of Rio de Janeiro on October 9, 2013. She was 78. Best known internationally for her leading-lady roles in several Italian-made cult classics of the mid-’60s, Norma Bengell was known in Brazil as a controversial show business veteran and for being the first “name” actress (purportedly anywhere in the world) to be seen fully naked — full frontal — in a mainstream film. Note: Hedy Lamarr, then billed as Hedy Kiesler, does swim and run around in the nude in Gustav Machaty’s 1933 Czech drama Ecstasy. However, Lamarr’s naked swimming was disguised by the water,...