Thank goodness for Italian Blu-rays, especially those with English subtitles (even bad ones), which have made it possible for me to finally see the long-awaited new version of DIABOLIK (2021).
To get the most enjoyment out of it, it’s important to forget the colorful, imaginative Pop Art fun that Mario Bava brought to his 1967 version. This film is truer to the original graphic novels; the room tone throughout is sub-Bondian romantic gravity, not outrageous action and even more outrageous romance. After the opening car chase, action is almost entirely removed from the story, which is more about how Diabolik and and his muse Eva Kant became partners. Miriam Leone is no Marisa Mell, still she pretty much knocks Eva out of the park with her personal style and the animalism of her presence. I wish I liked Luca Marinelli even half as much in the title role; he has a muscular build but is lacking the necessary presence and piercing gaze. Diabolik's look was originally based on the actor Robert Taylor, and much could have been improved simply by outfitting Marinelli with bold blue contact lenses. In the comics, Diabolik's hair is almost a black skullcap with a widow's peak, which the movie completely fails at suggesting; instead, Marinelli's hair appliance conveys the impression of a lame Dracula makeup.
The film is set in the 1960s, without saying so, and there is absolutely no evidence of the Baby Boomers' impact on mass culture; there are young people in the film but they seem prematurely mature, reveling in wealth and listening to anonymous lounge records. The story is derived from two early comics stories by the Giussani sisters, which are very much indebted to situations in the early Fantômas novels, but done less well. There are a few nods to the Bava film in terms of shots and locations, but—surprisingly—no analogy to the famous money-bed shot. And here is the greatest disappointment: there is no joy in this Diabolik’s life of crime. We never understand his guiding philosophy, the reasoning behind his lifestyle, or even how he is able to commit himself to these pursuits to such a financial extent. Likewise, even though Eva is introduced as a wealthy social climber who is on the threshold of succumbing to the offer of marriage to a rich executive she loathes, it's not enough to explain why she is drawn to the danger of Diabolik and his subterranean lifestyle. Which brings us to Diabolik’s hideout: it has a terrific entrance and a dizzying foyer of tunnels (how did all this get built?) but, when we finally reach the actual headquarters, the effect is anticlimactic; it is all too believable, by contrast, as a one-man job.
What this film really needed was a megadose of personality and panache, not least of all on a musical level. (The score is disappointingly low-key, and even stoops during one caper to aping Lalo Schifrin's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE theme.) Bava was able to pull it off with some panes of glass, some paint, and a handful of magazine clippings. The film's faults aren't really about not having enough money, but about having enough money but not the imagination to know when not to spend it.
Even so, and despite a running time of more than two hours, there are signs of promise here and I would be very interested in a sequel to see what its directors (The Manetti Brothers, Antonio and Marco) might have learned from their mistakes. According to the IMDb, DIABOLIK 2 and DIABOLIK 3 are now in post-production.
(c) 2022 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.
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