Danger: Diabolik / / Leon Hunt.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2018
• VerfasserIn: Hunt, Leon,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2018]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Cultographies
• Physical Description: 1 online resource :; ‹B›B&W Photos: ‹/B›12.

Danger: Diabolik (1968) was adapted from a comic that has been a social phenomenon in Italy for over fifty years, featuring a masked master criminal-part Fantômas, part James Bond-and his elegant companion Eva Kant. The film partially reinvents the character as a countercultural prankster, subverting public officials and the national economy, and places him in a luxurious and futuristic underground hideout and Eva in a series of unforgettable outfits. A commercial disappointment on its original release, Danger: Diabolik's reputation has grown along with that of its director, Mario Bava, the quintessential cult auteur, while the pop-art glamour of its costumes and sets have caught the imagination of such people as Roman Coppola and the Beastie Boys.This study examines its status as a comic-book movie, including its relation both to the original fumetto and to its sister-film, Barbarella. It traces its production and initial reception in Italy, France, the U.S., and the UK, and its cult afterlife as both a pop-art classic and campy "bad film" featured in the final episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Diabolik, chi sei? -- 1. From fumetto nero to 'wild and kooky cape-opera': Production, promotion, initial reception -- 2. 'Uh-oh - it's getting groovy!': The cult afterlife of Danger: Diabolik -- 3. Fantômas all'italiana: Analysis -- 4. Genius of Crime: The place of the film -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index