a5c7b9f00b International man of mystery Diabolik and his sensuous lover Eva Kant pull off heist after heist, all while European cops led by Inspector Ginko and envious mobsters led by Ralph Valmont are closing in on them. In psychedelic swinging 60s style, the dreaded thief (and killer) Diabolik wreaks havoc on a generic European country for his own financial gain and amusement. He shares an extravagant underground lair (and a giant bed of money) with his curvaceous, superficial girlfriend…who uses her awesome powers of wig-wearing to help Diabolik kill innocent people and steal billions from the government. Nonetheless, Diabolik is the "hero" of the film because he must face off against bumbling cops and revenge-seeking mafiosos. If there's a failing of most filmmakers when it comes to bringing a comic book to the big screen, it's a fundamental misunderstanding of the term "comic book." It goes all the way back to the origin of the comic book in this country, when "comics" were primarily humorous. These "funny strips," which appeared originally in newspapers, were eventually cobbled up into collections and sold as "comic books." Hence, the label. Like an albatross, that label was draped around the neck of one of the darkest characters to ever grace the pages of a comic book- BATMAN- when television producer William Dozier brought The Dark Knight to the small screen in the 1960s. Campy and as in-the-closet funny as the law would allow, it became a huge success. When Mario Bava decided to bring the fumetti DIABOLIK to the screen, he took his cue from the BATMAN TV series. The sometimes psychedelic 60s silliness (characters passing around "whacky tobaccy") was a perfect blend for the telestupidness of the series. One can't help but groan, remembering Batman's anti-shark repellent, when Diabolik, prior to unleashing laughing gas on an unsuspecting audience, takes his anti-laughing gas pills. Terry Thomas's prissy performance, the whirling images come-a-whirling straight out of the TV series, and John Law's exaggerated posturing all help make DANGER: DIABOLIK forgettable. Nor does the plodding snail's pace help. This is a great-looking movie full of action, humour and all kinds of fun. The anti-hero, a super-criminal known only as Diabolik, dresses in a sexy black pervert suit (or occasionally a near-identical white one) when he's on the job, and looks like a dashing '60s hipster when in civvies.<br/><br/>One of the best things about the movie is how relentlessly amoral Diabolik is. He only cares about having fun and acquiring wealth for himself and his lover, Eva, and is happy to slaughter anyone who gets in his way.<br/><br/>Director Mario Bava makes the most of the '60s settings and fashions, the spy movie trappings and the absurdities of the situation, all the while maintaining a striking and ingenious comic-book look.<br/><br/>All in all the movie kicks booty over all comparable movies (such as Barbarella, Flash Gordon and the Bond movies) and deserves to be much more widely seen. Thank goodness for the excellent recent DVD release!
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