Original
Italian Title: LA VENERE D'ILLE [Venus of Ille]
director: Mario Bava and Lamberto Bava
starring: Daria Nicoldi · Fausto Di Bella · Andriana Innacenti
· Mario Maranzana · Francesco Di Federico
Wealthy landowner
Mr De Peyhorrade uncovers a bronze statue of Venus buried on his property.
Afterwards, he asks antique expert Matthew from another village to examine
the statue and determine its value. Upon arrival, Matthew is stricken
with love for Clara, Mr Peyhorrade's daughter who bears an uncanny resemblance
to the Venus. The wedding of Matthew and Clara comes quickly but terror
disrupts the ceremony when the statue comes to life.
This joint
project - initially intended for Italian television - is the only time
Mario shared directing credit with his son Lamberto (they had worked together
previously, but Lamberto always received only Assistant recognition).
As it turned out, this rarity would be Mario Bava's final film. He died
from a sudden heart attack a few months later, in April 1980, at age 65.
Next, Lamberto
worked as an assistant director for Ruggero Deodata's CANNIBAL
HOLOCAUST in South America before directing his first solo project
MACABRE
later in 1980. Over the years, Lamberto Bava (also known as Larry Louis
and John Old Jr) has become the premiere genre director in Euro, responsible
for 40+ films including THE
TORTURER, the DEMON series including MASK
OF SATAN and YOU'LL
DIE AT MIDNIGHT.
An
Italian production with English subtitles; widescreen format (16:9), uncut
(62 minutes), DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT; extras include
selected theatrical trailers.
