Baba Yaga (a.k.a. Kiss Me Kill Me, Black
Magic, Devil Witch) (1973) DVD
Starring Isabella De Funès, Carroll Baker, George Eastman
Director: Corrado Farina
(Blue Underground)
"Even Snoopy, in his own way, is
anti-establishment."In Russian fairytales, Baba Yaga is an ugly old witch, but in this Italian-French arthouse/grindhouse pic, she's a MILF-y blonde in black lace (played by foxy American ex-pat Carroll Baker in old age makeup) who takes a shine to goldfish-eyed photographer Valentina (De Funès) after nearly running her over. Ms. Y plays hardball to get into Valentina's size 0 pants, starting with unexpected drop-bys and harassing phone calls and later progressing to a curse on her camera which causes people to drop dead after having their picture taken. Valentina decides to settle this hash at Baba Yaga's spooky old mansion (which features a bottomless hole in the middle of the floor), but she quickly finds herself overwhelmed on the receiving end of a whip. Director Corrado Farina's adaptation of the comic series by Italian artist Guido Crepax emphasizes the surreal stream-of-conscious narrative and fantasy reveries (Valentina interprets her stress and confusion over Baba Yaga's attention by imagining herself as a prisoner of Nazi torturers or as part of a Prussian firing squad); he also attempted to focus on the comics' anarchist leanings, but much of it was removed by the film's producers prior to release, which proved to be a good thing, as it clashes with the witchcraft/sex angle like toothpaste and orange juice (the disc features a deleted scene involving Valentina and her pals doing an anti-US performance piece in a graveyard that should bring back painful college theater memories for some viewers). Though hardcore pain maniacs will be disappointed that the comics' sado elements are relegated to the closing whipfest, Eurocult fans will appreciate the film's pop-art groove; horror hounds and sleaze beasts will appreciate the creepy atmosphere and abundant nudity.
Extra points for: Ely Galleani as Annette, Baba Yaga's sexy, whip-toting henchwoman who also moonlights as a toy doll; Valentina's bedroom roll with commercial director Arno (George Eastman-The Grim Reaper his own self), which unfolds in slowly dissolving B&W photos that evoke comic style and framing; and the mixed combo photo shoot, in which Valentina instructs her black male model to "forget his schooling" or something like that and show his real "primitive" side (the shoot wraps with the white female model remarking offhandedly that next time they should fuck for real; moments later, she drops dead). Blue Underground's disc offers a collection of deleted and censored scenes (one of which features a full-frontal scene by Baker, looking yummy at 42); an interesting subtitled documentary about Crepax and the history of Italian comics and a interview with director Farina as well as the original trailer and a poster/still gallery. Those with a DVD-ROM can check out a comic-to-film featurette. No points subtracted.
-Paul Gaita