Blood and Black Lace

Devil's Advocates #35

by Roberto Curti

Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (1964) is a legendary title, and is commonly considered as the archetypal giallo. A murder mystery about a faceless and menacing killer stalking the premises of a luxurious fashion house in Rome, Blood and Black Lace set the rules for the a masked, black-gloved killer, an emphasis on graphic violence, elaborate and suspenseful murder sequences. But Blood and Black Lace is first and foremost an exquisitely stylish film, full of gorgeous color schemes, elegant camerawork, and surrealistic imagery, testimony of Bava's mastery and his status as an innovator within popular cinema. This book recollects Blood and Black Lace's production history, putting it within the context of the Italian film industry of the period and includes plenty of previously unheard-of data. It analyzes its main narrative and stylistic aspects, including the groundbreaking prominence of violence and sadism and its use of color and lighting, as well as Bava's irreverent
approach to genre filmmaking and clever handling of the audience's expectations by way of irony and pitch-black humor. The book also analyzes Blood and Black Lace's place within Bava's oeuvre, its historical impact on the giallo genre, and its influential status on future filmmakers.

120 pages, Paperback

Published January 31, 2020

About the author

Roberto Curti is a free lance writer for several Italian and foreign magazines. He’s a regular contributor to Italian music, film and literary magazine Blow Up (http://www.blowupmagazine.com). He has collaborated, among others, to the Italian cult film magazine Nocturno Cinema and to the Canadian web mag Offscreen (www.offscreen.com). His most recent work is Italian Crime Filmography 1968-1980 (McFarland), an in-depth history of Italian crime and noir films.