‘Danger: Diabolik’ or — The Thrill of Pop-Art Nihilism?
It wasn’t just fortuitous but down-right essential that the opportunity to finally watch ‘Danger: Diabolik’ (1968) presented itself wholly unexpectedly to me last night as being a huge fan of Mario Bava, and Italian cinema, I’m not sure there’s a single movie in existence I’ve been so desperate to see, so I was acutely aware that even a nanosecond of forewarning could allow a window of “unrealistic expectations” to inadvertently open wide and induce a panic attack.
I needn’t have worried because ‘Danger: Diabolik’ is so mind-frazzlingly entertaining it effortlessly demolishes even the most towering of high expectations in much the same way the film’s “hero” effortlessly destroys much of Italian society and its financial infrastructure.
The film is exactly the sort of mash-up of Doc Savage, 60’s Batman and James Bond you’d expect from even a cursory glance of the poster (this is one of the few instances where the movie itself is even more wild, colourful and exciting than its cover) as master criminal Diabolik (John Phillip Law), and his girlfriend Eva Kant (Marisa Mell) steal jewels, cash and bullion from under the increasingly exasperated noses of Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli) and the authorities.
When the mob starts feeling the blow-back from Diabolik’s activities their head, Ralph Valmont (Adolfo Celi), decide to catch him themselves meaning Diabolik now has the cops and the underworld after him. Oh no! Poor Diabolik! But don’t worry as he’s the smartest criminal who’s ever lived. That and the fact he’s also a fucking psychopath.
Based on the fumetti (comic strip) by Angela and Luciana Giussani ‘Danger: Diabolik’ is crammed with the familiar types of action-packed set-pieces of the genre and its comic origins are perfect for Bava to indulge in his legendary use of bright colours, prismatic lighting and pop-art set design. And the result is extraordinary. Combine all that with a vast array of Bava’s inventive special effects work — matte paintings, miniatures, models, etc — and this film feels, and looks, like the most Bava-esque movie possible. To paraphrase Nigel Tufnel — How much more Bava could this movie be? The answer is none. None more Bava.
Still, that’s not a surprise for Bava fans who know he always brings his wonderful touch and style to his work. Neither is it a surprise to find many of the tropes, clichés and ideas found in the crime and spy genre at play here, specifically 007’s ‘Thunderball’ (1965). What was a surprise, however, was seeing ‘Danger: Diabolik’ actually pre-empting the James Bond series with certain ideas including two men in free-fall fighting over a parachute — ‘Moonraker’ (1979) — and a consignment of precious stones collected from a funeral home after the body they’ve been stashed inside has been cremated — ‘Diamonds are Forever’ (1971).
Although the film’s biggest surprise is Diabolik himself who isn’t just a morally ambiguous anti-hero or mischievous scamp tweaking the buttocks of the law but, instead, he’s a FULL-BLOWN HEDONISTIC NIHILIST!
Why does he want all that money? To buy fancy villas or expensive clothing? No! So he and Eva can roll about in it and fuck (admittedly a pretty fun reason, but still). Diabolik also has zero problem killing anybody in sight, especially normal, everyday policemen doing their job. He’s a complete nutcase!
Yet his pièce de résistance is when he brings the entire nation to a financial stand-still by… blowing everything up?! Buildings, banks, tax offices, financial towers — KABOOM!!!! He must’ve killed thousands but what’s even more shocking is we don’t mind. In fact, I was actively cheering him on and by the time this unhinged, epicurean terrorist is laughing maniacally to himself as he pisses molten gold everywhere I was too giddy to care about any of the moral implications anyway.
This giddiness also results from the fact that Bava keeps this movie moving like a bullet because, a few brief comedic dead-spots aside, it’s always in constant motion. There’s a phenomenal sequence (it might be the great thing I’ve ever seen in my life) where Diabolik is tracking through a set of binoculars the movements of a train carrying a giant gold ingot and once the train hits a certain position — BLAM! — he leaps into action.
He jumps over the hood of his E-Type Jag, the setting sun blazing behind him, and blasts off in pursuit. Eva kisses him on the cheek, obligingly working his gear stick as she does so, as the car rockets down the road, camera as close to the ground as possible to heighten the sense of speed while Ennio Morricone’s insanely energetic music (imagine John Barry meets ‘On the Corner’ period Miles Davis) and some perfectly timed editing elevate it all into the realm of the sublime.
So as I said, raise those expectations of yours to the heavens because Danger: Diabolik’ will obliterate them to bits.