Bava Book Wins IPPY Award

We're pleased to announce that MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK has been awarded a Bronze Medal in the "Performing Arts" category of the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards, also known as the IPPY Awards. This article will give you all the details about the award and our fellow finalists.

Bava Book Semi-Finalist for IPPY Award

Independent Publisher has announced MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK as one of the semi-finalists in the "Performing Arts" category for the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Award, also known as the IPPY Award. The winners of the gold, silver and bronze medals in all 63 categories will be announced on May 23.

Bava Book Featured on New Bava DVD

Isn't this a great picture of Luigi Cozzi and Lamberto Bava posing with MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK at the world-famous Profondo Rosso store? Ah, but it isn't a picture! It's actually a frame grab from a 9m interview featurette included on a new Italian "Special Edition" DVD of I TRE VOLTI DELLA PAURA (aka BLACK SABBATH), the first-ever release from a new company called Sinister Film. The book sits in front of them for the whole 9m, and sometimes gets opened to share glimpses of the chapter devoted to this classic horror anthology, starring Boris Karloff.

The disc is Italian-language only, but the extras are certain to tempt hardcore Bava fans. There is an impeccable anamorphic transfer of the Italian version; a lively feature-length audio commentary by Lamberto and Luigi (unlike his earlier laconic commentaries, here an enthusiastic Lamberto almost never stops talking!); a 38m documentary utilizing Bava TV interviews to "comment" on scenes from various films; 15m of "deleted" scenes taken from the American BLACK SABBATH version; photo and poster galleries; a 16-page illustrated booklet containing testimonials from the likes of Jacques Tourneur, Riccardo Freda, Roger Corman, Joe Dante, Pupi Avati and many others; and some additional featurettes ported over from VCI's BLOOD AND BLACK LACE disc, including interviews with actors Cameron Mitchell and Mary Dawne Arden and composer Carlo Rustichelli.

Where can you find it? I got mine at Bloodbuster, a reliable Italian DVD website that takes PayPal. It took a couple of weeks to reach me, but it was worth the wait.

And that's not all the happy news about this Bava classic I have to share. David Sehring, the head of Dish Network's Monsters HD channel, has written to tell me that BLACK SABBATH -- the film's much-coveted, never-on-DVD, English-language version -- will be making its high-definition debut on Monsters HD sometime this summer!

Two Celebrated Bava Book Patrons

Jim Knusch of Fort Jefferson, NY writes: "Here's a photo of myself, Jim Knusch (aka Professor Kinema), with Jean-Claude Romer in his residence in Paris enjoying the Mario Bava book he waited so patiently for. It's become one of the jewels of his collection."

Both Jim and Jean-Claude's names appear in the Patrons section of MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, meaning that their early orders helped Video Watchdog to finance its publication. We're grateful to them both, but I am particularly honored to have Jean-Claude's name included as his seminal magazine MIDI-MINUIT FANTASTIQUE was a major inspiration for VIDEO WATCHDOG (and for CINEFANTASTIQUE before it). Thanks to Professor Kinema for passing along this great photo!

Bava at Mr. Peel's Sardine Liqueur

I don't know who "Mr. Peel" is, but the blogmeister at Mr. Peel's Sardine Liqueur has posted a wonderful appreciation of MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK and VIDEO WATCHDOG, and I'm... well, very appreciative. He has also posted his thoughts on some different presentations at the Bava retrospective at the Egyptian Theater here and here, and I enjoyed reading them too.

LA TIMES on Bava Retrospective

Here's a link to a Susan King piece about the Mario Bava Retrospective now in progress out in Los Angeles, which ran in yesterday's LOS ANGELES TIMES. Yours Truly is briefly quoted, along with Elke Sommer, Joe Dante (who describes a memorable boyhood viewing of WHAT!) and Eli Roth.

Bava Book Named Rondo's Best Book

MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK has been announced as winner of the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Book of 2007. You can find the other results here, including my very happy win as Best Writer.

This was an amazing year for film books: Stephen Thrower's NIGHTMARE U.S.A., Gary Don Rhodes and Richard Sheffield's BELA LUGOSI: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES, the revised Second Edition of Tom Weaver and the Brunas brothers' UNIVERSAL HORRORS, August Ragone's EIJU TSUBARAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS, to name only a few of the top contenders. People are sending me their congratulations tonight, but I want to send out my congratulations to all the other nominees in this category, as this was a year when, truly, everybody deserved to win.

Win A Copy of the Bava Book!

Bava Book Reviewed in New CINEASTE

There's a new issue of CINEASTE (Spring 2008) now on newsstands, which includes Robert Cashill's review of MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK on page 75.

"This is not a book you read, but a book you live, much as its author did," Cashill writes. "My return on investment has been thousand-fold..."

Mario and Tim in WESTERNS ALL'ITALIANA #70

The new issue of Tom Betts' long-running fanzine WESTERNS ALL'ITALIANA has been posted online, and here's a direct link to the pdf files. Included in this issue is Lee Broughton's review of MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, focusing on those portions of the book encompassing a history of the Italian, or Spaghetti, Western -- and also a lengthy interview with me about my own interest in the genre. My thanks to Tom and Lee for their outstanding coverage.

Bava Book to Receive Special Achievement Saturn Award

Excerpted from a letter received today from Robert Holguin, president of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films:

Dear Tim:

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films was founded in 1972 to honor, recognize and promote genre entertainment. The organization was an extension of another group, The Count Dracula Society, which was founded by Dr. Donald A. Reed. Dr. Reed’s passion was bringing recognition to the people who were often overlooked because they dealt in the fields of filmmaking which were considered, in certain circles, juvenile entertainment. Through Dr. Reed’s efforts, we have seen the genre film become a major force at the box office. It’s the genre film which keeps the studios alive and well. Dr. Reed felt strongly in honoring and recognizing extraordinary work and the people who create it. I try to follow in his footsteps.

With your recent publication, Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, you have completely awed us in your efforts to chronicle the life and work of filmmaker Mario Bava. The book is simply astounding. I am completely blown away by your accomplishments in publishing this monster of a book. The devotion you show to your subject matter is inspiring to the point of obsession. And we are humbled that you had this passion to work on a book which took many years of your life to complete. It’s one of the most incredible achievements we have seen in our lifetime.The Academy has chosen you to receive a Saturn Award, The Special Achievement Award, for your hard work in seeing this project come to fruition. If Dr. Reed were with us today, I know he would be the first to congratulate you on this monumental labor of love and wish to honor you for it.

We would like to present this award to you at the upcoming 34th Annual Saturn Awards. The show will take place on Tuesday, June 24, at the Universal Hilton in Universal City, California (right on the hill where Universal Studios sits). If you and Donna are able to attend, I can assure you that you will be surrounded by many admirers and peers who feel the same as I do about your work. I know this would be a memorable occasion for both of you. I hope you will be able to fit this into your schedule. It would be our great honor to see you receive earned accolades at the 34th Annual Saturn Awards.

Thanks so much, Tim, for your years of hard work and devotion. It is greatly appreciated by those who work within the fields of genre entertainment.

Sincerely,

Robert Holguin
President – The Saturn Awards

Naturally, Donna and I are delighted by the news and we hope to attend the Saturn Awards ceremony in June to accept this honor in person.

A Big Rondo for the Little Lady?

Donna burning the midnight oil as she designs the discography layout for the Bava book, with lil' Pip riding shotgun, on March 10, 2007.

The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards nominees were recently announced, and Donna and I were pleased to see a number of our efforts recognized on the ballot -- VIDEO WATCHDOG once again nominated for Best Magazine, my Mario Bava talks made the list of Best DVD Commentary candidates, and, most gratifying of all, MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK is in impressive company as a Best Book nominee. I finally found the time to cast my votes the other night, but last night I received an e-mail from a friendly reader and customer that jolted my thinking about a particular category.

Tim Hammell of Calgary, Alberta wrote: "Just did my Rondo voting with MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK as Best Book, yourself as Best Writer for said book, and wrote in Donna as Best Artist for book design of said book."

This note jolted my thinking in a most welcome way. To be perfectly honest, I had not considered Donna for the Best Artist category and had cast my vote for someone else, someone who draws and paints. But as soon as I read Tim's note, I knew immediately that Donna was not only worthy of this award, but in my opinion, had done more to earn it this year than anyone else. The wording of the category guidelines only served to further solidify my conviction:

25. ARTIST OF THE YEAR (for 2007)
Not your favorite all-time artist (although they might be the same), but which painter, illustrator, model-maker or designer did the best published (or online), work in 2007?

Donna herself protested the idea of being proposed for this category until that all-important word "designer" popped up. Most everyone who received the Bava book has written or called to tell us how overwhelming it is visually, and I know myself that it actually satisfies the reader on purely visual and visceral levels before they read a word of my text. What Donna achieved with her design of the book is extraordinary, and if you agree, I ask that, when you visit the Rondo website to vote, you consider Donna Lucas as your choice for Best Artist of 2007. Or -- if you've already voted, as I had -- there is the possibility of writing to Rondomeister David Colton at taraco@aol.com and reconsidering your vote.

Donna is the first to remind people who compliment her efforts on the book that she was assisted in her labors by people who are more deserving of being called artists -- Charlie Largent, Simonida Perica-Uth, and Matt Bradshaw -- but I can personally testify that it was Donna's vision of the book that guided them all, and that she and her computer were the final filters through which all of her assistants' digital work had to be passed, processed, and finally applied to page.

I think it's wonderful that the Rondo rules are flexible enough to allow for the recognition for the superhuman work she did. If you were impressed by the book, I would naturally appreciate your vote in the appropriate category or categories, but I would personally love to see Donna Lucas win a Rondo all her own for what she contributed to MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK.

Opening the Bava Book

Ted Haycraft of Evansville, Indiana sent us this uncanny sequence of photos, which illustrate his dramatic experience of opening the Bava book. Having received his copy at work, Ted peeled away the outer wrapping while seated in his cubicle at NBC affiliate WFIE-TV. He stripped away the final layer of bubble-wrap, revealing the last barrier between him and the book he had awaited so long... the box containing it!

Gingerly opening the box, Ted felt his anticipation surge once again as he found the contents of the box covered once again by bubble-wrap. He removed the outer wrapping from the tome inside -- in mint condition! -- and the smell of printer's ink reached out like beckoning arms, drawing him inside! He took a deep breath, drawing the ink into his lungs...

AH! All the colors of the Bava book took root and blossomed in his senses, suffusing not only Ted's entire being but the fabric of reality itself! It was incredible! It was like seeing THE WIZARD OF OZ for the first time! The Bava book existed! The world had changed!

Another satisfied customer.

Thanks, Ted!

Blood and Black Dog

Greg Sonier of Calgary, Alberta writes: "I've been looking back at the year 2007 and realized it was a year of patience rewarded. I've been waiting for THE BAVA BOOK since Feb of 2001 and even longer to see my favorite band LED ZEPPELIN. Here's a picture of me with the BAVA BOOK holding a ticket and a wristband for the Dec 10th, 07 LED ZEPPELIN reunion show.
What a great show, what a great book , what a great year! Keep up the great work, Bava and Zeppelin will never die!"

SGM's Best Genre Book of 2007

The Sex Gore Mutants website has announced the winners and finalists in their 2007 SGM Readers Awards poll. Alan, SGM's senior editor/webmaster, wrote to us late yesterday with the news that MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK was voted "Best Genre Book" of the year -- with Stephen Thrower's NIGHTMARE USA (FAB Press) and Robin Bougie's CINEMA SEWER - THE ADULTS ONLY GUIDE TO HISTORIES SICKEST AND SEXIEST MOVIES (FAB Press) as second and third place finalists, respectively. Donna and I are delighted by the happy news and we thank SGM and everyone who voted for the Bava book for their enthusiasm and support!