Original subtitles

Welcome to the text commentary for Shameless' release of Baba Yaga

Fact track ported from the original DVD release may contain some anachronisms :)

Director Corrado Farina sure knows how to grab the attention of an audience

a graveyard at night, a creeping camera and most importantly -

an attractive woman in skimpy leather showing a bit of tit.

Farina uses unconventional camera angles (not unlike the Batman TV series)

To give the audience a sense of cinematic disorientation

as the unfortunate character you are seeing right now.

That sort of thing doesn't go down too well in America these days

Ah, it wouldn't feel like a REAL European exploitation movie

without those particular gunshot sound effects, now would it?

There were moments during this opening sequence where the audience

suspected that what they were watching was not an authentic attempt

at historical re-enactment. The guy driving the car probably tipped you off!

So here we are into the opening credits of Baba Yaga

starring Baby Doll herself, Carroll Baker

and the Anthropophagus beast, George Eastman

The opening titles' graphics reflect the fumetti origins of the material

more on this later...

Good grief!

We could be flippant and say that it looks like that guy

is still wearing a black crash-helmet, but we won't.

Here we have a verbal introduction to the main character

responsible for many stuck together pages across Europe: Valentina Rossetti

Needing no introduction is George Eastman (Luigi Montefiori to his mum)

Ol' George discussing the merits of Goddard? "Intoxically" surreal stuff!

Isabelle De Funes was cast purely to keep the French investors happy

via a native actress in the lead ensuring box-office returns back home.

Although Farina was initially unhappy with this, his expectations

were confounded when she turned out much better than anticipated.

Isn't that the cartoon kid with the funny shaped head?

Animals are often used as a symbol of or prelude to evil

but Baba Yaga avoids cat cliches by a dog heralding the witch herself.

Putting a cat (or The Devil's Fingertips) in peril leaves many cold

but placing a dog in jeopardy rivets an audience more effectively.

Like so!

Farina perfectly introduces his title character

making the audience worship Baba Yaga from her boots up.

And who wouldn't?

"Little" dog? That thing would have your bloody arm off

without even pausing to say "sausages", given half a chance!

Although different to the original Fumetti book

Carroll Baker makes for a convincingly seductive Baba Yaga.

Baker's no stranger to movies showing various facets of evil in the world.

While Baba Yaga is more of a spectral manifestation

those shown in Andy Warhol's Bad embodied human evil

as anyone who has witnessed the chucking of babies out of windows

and hideously splattering on the ground will attest!

The asking for a personal item by a witch is bad news

as it can be used to cast a spell over someone.

Witches often bury their own menstrual blood (very personal to them)

In order to cast a Wicca protection spell.

In a Franco-like cameo is director Farina playing a Nazi official.

Coming up is a prime example of footage excised from the original release

being a small snippet of full-frontal nudity from De Funes.

Boy, society is crashing down around us because of exposure to such filth!

Newbies might be wondering exactly what the Hell the Fumetti genre is

so allow us to throw some light on the subject.

When comics were a resounding success in America at the turn of the century

the same strips were snapped up by the Italian market

who took a dislike to speech-bubbles containing character\u82177?s dialogue,

and removed them in favour of text at the foot of the page.

The bubbles were described as fumetti little puffs of smoke

and thought to be "uneducational" but the name stuck

and became an affectionate term for all comics in Italy.

The imposed embargo on speech-bubbles came to a natural end

and eventually, in the 30s ltaly's own "fumetti" market began to emerge

shunning American favourites for its own work.

While this had a lot to do with the far-right politics of Italy at the time

and only lasted until the end of the war

it gave the Italian market confidence to compete in a field

dominated by US publications.

The Fumetti truly came of age when the legendary Diabolik...

first hit the newsstands in the 60s, bringing both a more mature edge

and a new layout which became the industry standard.

Printed on 128 pages utilising bisected panels and small enough to

fit in the pocket, comic books were now portable

and became all the rage with kids in much the same way...

...that Star Wars action figures outsold all their rivals

because all others were too big to be comfortably transported around

by those who wanted fun on-the-go

As with any advances in media, the porno market seized this handy format

and hardcore Fumetti publications later became rife.

After a huge backlash against the more violent darker crime publications (or Fumetti Neri)

A campaign one similar to the McCarthy era crusade...

...against EC Comics and their contemporaries an effort was made to bring

respectability back to the medium with many literary luminaries...

...coming out in support, and the quality of fumetto raised to a higher level

for a more adult audience. Sure enough, it worked!

Whose celebrated creation is the reason you are watching this Blu-ray.

From this new lease of respectability came an artist named Guido Crepax

Obviously this isn't the entire story of the Fumetti

with too much info out there than we can print here!

Ask at your local library for books on the subject...

...and get promptly told to "sod off" when your enquiry

exceeds the usual requests of the new Patricia Cornwell.

Note the book De Funes is reading here: The Crimes of Love by De Sade.

Many toss his books aside, too, dismissing his work...

...as the product of an imaginative pervert

The use of De Sade here can be seen as a prelude to the famed S&I'm...

...imagery which appears later on in the film.

Man, that is one funky phone! It beats the humble trim-phone...

...in the coolest retro communication stakes, for our money!

Here is a perfect showcase for the superb efforts of composer Piero Umiliani

contrasting against the more frenetic music earlier.

Umiliani was something of a workhorse for the European exploitation genre

notching up a list of credits only Morricone could top.

He has contributed to every genre in the industry lending his tones

to cult favorites like "Five Dolls for an August Moon" and "Roy Colt & Winchester Jack"

Along with a host of Django rip-offs to down-right odd movies -

such as the Blaxploitation/Giallo fusion "Tropic of Cancer”.

Well, this is what happens when you choose Arriflex...

...over Panavision cameras.

Want to bet he's using Eastman colour film? Geddit?

He's called George Eastman and there's a film stock...

Oh, forget it. Where's Bernard Manning when you need him?

Ah, that's right. We remember now. Oh well...

Farina squeezes a lot of political commentary in Baba Yaga

that was a natural reflection of the turbulent times it was made in.

The right-wing grip was waning before left-wing intellectuals

leading to personal, intellectual & sexual freedom previously denied.

Looks like George is just as surprised as we are...

...that Valentina's going to put out for him!

It's to Farina's credit that he maintains Baba Yaga's omnipresence

without showing her physical body, as he does here.

While Crepax's Baba Yaga might well have been the first comic-book

to feature the legendary witch, but certainly not the last.

Mike Mingola featured her in issue 3a of his Hellboy books

a story entitled "Wake The Devil" being an introduction to the character.

The following story "The Baba Yaga", saw the witch confronting

the hornless spawn of Satan and losing an eye for her trouble.

Mingola reveals that Baba Yaga hid half of Rasputin's soul in the roots...

...of Yggdrasil AKA the World Tree granting him eternal life.

This important detail was missed out in the first Hellboy movie

and might have cleared up a couple of incongruities.

Younger viewers might need to know that at the time Baba Yaga was made

chicks really dug guys with beards but since the 80s, it has become...

almost impossible for guys with full facial furniture to get laid. But back then...

..."Cor! What a hunk" the ladies would cry. Not any more, though.

Rather depressing, really.

Hope this clarifies just how come ol' George is getting his end away.

Introducing the next damned soul courtesy of Valentina's camera.

In that outfit, she's certainly a hit with the chaps...

Jesus, if puns are a symptom of depression, pass the Fluoxetine

Much has been written about the censorship problems Farina encountered...

...in bringing Baba Yaga to the screen with fanboy scribblings going so far

as to mention an unseen version which bordered on hardcore pornography

but the real answer is both more rational and interesting.

During the unstable political climate in Italy Farina completed his final cut

of the movie, which was signed & sealed. Farina thought this was

the end of the editing process, but unbeknownst to him, the producer

had been hacking away at the film, aiming to make it less controversial

and easier to sell in other markets.

As mentioned earlier, Farina squeezes in political commentary into his movie,

there was much more in his cut.

Of the 20 minutes butchered from his vision

most of it was socio-political in nature viewed by some as an act of government...

...censorship by proxy. Naturally Farina was furious, and the Italian papers

carried his outrage... to his benefit. He was given control of the negative

and was able to undo some of the permanent damage to the materials

with a compromise being struck - some of the political material could

be restored, with the nonessential sequences, mostly lifted from Crepax, discarded.

Whilst this was a minor victory, the shots of full-frontal

nudity fell afoul of the Italian censor board, and were not reinstated.

The movie had been recut completely as the negative had been finalised

but Farina got the movie closer to his vision than he would have if he had

remained silent... an example to PG-13 obsessed producers everywhere.

Shameless has worked closely with Farina to bring you the most complete

version of Baba Yaga ever.

Furry front bits included!

Whatever you can say about the way Baker's career has gone

convention has never been used in a description of her.

This is the actress who shocked audiences in the notorious "Baby Doll",

branching into epics like "How The West Was Won", "The Big Country"

and "The Greatest Story Ever Told"

then going into exploitation classics like "Orgasmo" & "Paranoia”

before ending up in the Margi Clarke boxing vehicle "Blonde Fist"!

Jeez, it sounds like somebody's using the pest-control device...

...from The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue!

Oscilloscope included!

Now we come to an extended sequence which contains

...some of the most iconic imagery from the movie.

Even those who have only heard of Baba Yaga

associate with bondage imagery and lesbianism.

Obviously not forgetting everybody's favourite:

The doll in bondage! Yay!

Valentina's seduction by the caress of a leather glove...

...Is a common catalyst for many who embrace the fetish scene.

Farina presents a literal translation of Fumetti to the screen

with the incredible use of photographs allowing him to depict

explicit content which would have caused many problems

if they had been filmed live-action.

Old genre proverb: Beware Russian witches bearing gifts!

OK, who thinks she's been shopping at QVC?

...So always keep the certificate of authenticity!

De Funes was primarily a TV actress, with only a few credits to her name

but little baggage meant she could become Valentina completely.

As captivating as she is Baba Yaga did little for De Funes' career

with only two major screen credits to her name after release.

The board literally translates as: "God died and now you know it!"

Farina sharply depicts the turbulent times Italy was living in

at the time the movie was made. Not only were times changing

but Italy was at war with itself, as its' youth and disquiet organisations

like the Brigate Rosse / Red Brigades were "assisting" the winds of change in their own ways.

Here we get to see the first real example of Baba Yaga's power

as she steers Valentina's path toward her by dropping dead bodies

at her feet, simultaneously spiting the Catholics as she goes.

Police/Nazis... Nazis/Police. We've all thought it before...

The following sequence gets our vote for the most brilliantly surreal...

segment of the movie.

The majority of it clearly existed from the original prints...

...but is presented for your delectation here.

You didn't get Burgess Meredith touching up Sylvester Stallone, did you?

Looks like she's out for the count... we said count!

The "V" on the back of the robe is a nice detail.

Valentina comes out swinging...

but then what else is new?

Here we have the most explicitly lesbian scene left in the "standard" cut.

Unspoken seduction seems more acceptable than the stroking of thighs...

...although creative cutting prevents any actual physical contact.

So once again: tits = OK. Furry bits below the waist = wrong.

Esther Rantzen's "That's Life" formula comes through again!

Don't do it!! Didn't you see "The Vault of Horror" with Tom Baker

earlier that year???

"Yes, Commissioner?" Bugger... force of habit...

Let's see her try that old trick with a digital network.

Once again, Baba Yaga's power pervades without having to resort to

clichéd imagery of cauldrons and pointed hats.

There are those who have speculated that the way Valentina is manipulated

by her own curiosity into the witch's lair might have inspired Dario Argento

in how Suzie Banyan finds her way into the clutches of the Black Queen

and Mark Elliot into the domain of Mater Tenebrarum.

OK, so we do have a witch with a cat, but if cliché was being followed,

then it would have been a black one.

Which, with knowing irony, segues us into a sequence which might have

been horribly offensive in the hands of a director without Farina's touch.

It's up to the viewer as to whether you interpret this shot as

either the character being bewitched by Baba Yaga's image in the doll

or the more obvious approach...

Ah, the spirit of Leonard Rossiter's Mr Rigsby lives on...

Valentina...s camera plays a bigger part in the unfolding events than

she can possibly comprehend...

Here we have the "checkerboard-chicks" sequence

outdoing Mandingo by a couple of years.

Farina skilfully contrasts the two skin tones

neatly avoiding the "smut" angle easily blundered into.

All this only a few scant years after Star Trek had southern rednecks

up in arms about the same sort of thing!

Farina started out in film like many of those after him,

by making 8mm films. Where some like Sam Raimi had the luxury of

having access to equipment at home.

Farina used the facilities at Torino...

film school, where he used it as an escape from a law degree he didn't want.

Farina then found himself employed by Studio Testa,

where he was something of a wunderkind

turning out over 500 commercials during his stay.

Even this wasn't satisfying him, as his aspirations to get into film were too strong.

From an early age, Farina caught "cinephilia" as he puts it... and was obsessed with film,

his urge initially slaked by writing about film, but ultimately wanted

to direct his own projects.

Farina was not exactly prolific when it came to his movie career

with Baba Yaga being the culmination of his movie work.

Producers decided Farina's artistic abilities didn't equal box-office.

He was unable to get financing for others, instead being forced into

the world of documentary filmmaking which granted him work

but not the artistic freedom he craved.

Farina still viewed it as a compromise, calling himself a director first

and a documentarian second

OK, even with the irony intended this bit still causes upset today...

Not wishing to be puerile, but here comes a cracking exchange of innuendo:

It's as though Farina's using the concept of infinite regression...

...or it might be that he's stepped out of frame with the B-camera.

We're not saying that ol' George is cheap but when you ask him

for a ritzy date, the Anthropophagus Beast (or Grim Reaper, to you importers)

This is what you get: an inexpensive bottle of vino rosso...

...a small pizza eaten with cutlery...

...and more fags than you can smoke!

Rothmans! Good ol' "lung-bleeders” as they were affectionately known.

Baba Yaga came shortly after dissolution of De Funes' short-lived marriage

to prolific French actor Michel Duchaussoy...

You might remember him from such films as:

"Man with the Transplanted Brain"...

"The Return of the Tall Blonde", "Man with one Red Shoe"...

...and "Poltergay".

Valentina has just inadvertently brought in a classic Giallo element

to the movie, where the central character wracks their brain

trying to remember a vital element they have seen, a small detail which

can unravel the mystery enveloping them.

Once again, Shameless have scoured the vaults...

...to bring you the most complete version of Baba Yaga.

We know that if you are smart enough to be watching this movie

then you aren't one of the arseholes with redneck mentality of:

"I don't want to read the movie, I want to watch it!"

Isn't that a picture of Herman Munster on the wall, rather than Frankenstein?

Ah, "The Golem": a movie which needs no introduction to genre fans.

Wanna bet that the print they are watching isn't nearly as butchered

as the average copy found in the DVD bargain bins!

Jesus! We've nearly hit the hour mark and have only mentioned...

...Guido Crepax in passing! The father of so much fantastic smut...

Milanese artist Crepax's career in graphic design was lauded early on.

Not stopping at just designing posters he also worked on album covers

for the likes of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller & Charlie "Bird" Parker.

After an award-winning stint in the world of advertising

Crepax took his talents into the world of comics

where he could give his vivid imagination free reign

It was only after two years' toil that, in 1965, Crepax created his muse:

Valentina, a character who obsessed her creator & bewitched readers.

Originally appearing as a minor character in his Neutron saga

Crepax expanded the character and gave her an existence of her own...

...one outside the confinements out of Linus magazine where she first appeared.

Crepax managed to tear himself away from his muse in 1967 just long enough...

to design the storyboards for the Tinto Brass movie "Deadly Sweet"

...the pairing of Brass and Crepax who designed Valentina to have...

...the most perfect arse in creation was inspired!

Come 1968, Valentina was her own girl appearing in over 30 solo books

whilst exploring various facets of sexuality as she went.

It was in 1971 that Crepax put his own slant on Baba Yaga

the Russian folk-tale of the hideous, iron-toothed witch.

That we are all watching this Blu-ray

is proof of bewitching nature of Crepax's celebrated work.

Crepax's career eventually took him more in the direction of Jess Franco...

...rather than Tinto Brass, as he ended up adapting such works as "Justine”,

"Venus in Furs" & even a pictorial of "Histoire d'O".

In the 80s, Crepax resurrected his Neutron character to great acclaim

with his new adventures - based on Homer's "The Odyssey" giving Crepax

the chance to finally have his writing match the quality of his images

a problem which dogged his career from the start.

Valentina was finally put to bed... on her own... in 1995, when Crepax

wrote her final story. Unlike most other comic-based characters

Valentina aged over the years of her publication and both character & author

were feeling their age.

Although Crepax's output decreased in the run-up to his death,

he was able to adapt one more literary classic: Frankenstein.

The following year, 2003, Crepax died at the age of 70.

Crepax and Baba Yaga's director Farina were friends for years

and Shameless is proud to honor both warped geniuses with this

director's own Final Cut edition of the movie.

We can't guarantee that no zebras were harmed in the making...

...of Valentina's wall decoration!

Note Farina's minor details like the dust covering all in Baba Yaga's domain.

One of the lasting legacies of Guido Crepax is that even though many will not

know of screen icon Louise Brooks every time a new generation gazes adoringly

at Valentina, her spirit is evoked.

Brooks beguiled audiences during the 20s with the film "Pandora's Box"

and the young Crepax couldn't get her out of his mind

His obsession was channeled into print giving Brooks the most perfect

arse he could muster and Valentina was born.

At this point in the story, Valentina realizes just what is going on around her

finally realising she is being used by Baba Yaga... and doesn't like it!

In almost a last-ditch effort to bag her prey, Baba Yaga rolls out

the 'ahem' big guns...

So hold on to your moral fibre, kids, cause here's more censored footage!

"Why Grandma, what a deep voice you have..."

There are many who cite similarities between Baba Yaga...

...and Bunuel's Belle De Jour. While there are some superficial & tonal resemblances

it would be a disservice to both Crepax and Farina to give credence to them.

Those intrigued by Farina's political slant to his filmmaking are advised...

...to seek out his only other feature-length work, "Hanno Cambiato Faccia"

- or "They've Changed Faces"

A blistering satire of capitalism and greedy corporations,

this Golden Leopard-winning movie is ripe for re-release "hint, hint"

Oh, come on! It stars Adolfo Celi, for Christ sakes!

Shit! They didn't shoot coverage for foreign-language audiences!

There are those who have cited this sequence as a form of reference

to the sequence in "The Wizard of Oz", where Dorothy watches as the hourglass

counts down to her demise, overcome with fear by a fate she cannot change.

Let's hear it for interpretation!

Hmm. Valentina. The bird in the S&I'm outfit. Lots of candles.

That sounds like the recipe for the best Christmas ever, doesn't it?

With Baba Yaga, Farina finally did justice to the humble Fumetti

after a number of efforts most wouldn't even call "heroic failures".

One of the most financially successful Fumetti adaptations to hit the big screen...

was Roger Vadim's "Barbarella”, which sent Hanoi Jane into space.

Even with a reasonable amount of naked flesh on display,

matched by a budget as brazen, there are many who feel it was emasculated

during the transition from print to screen.

Are the rumours that Farina used Barbarella as a "how not to" guide true?

It's one of those questions you don't want answered

as it might spoil a perfectly good anecdote!

Farina and Mario Bava reside in a very exclusive club of directors

who have successfully understood the aesthetics of the Fumetti

when translating it to film.

Might we recommend cannonballing this movie with a screening of Diabolik

for the ultimate Fumetti cinema rush?

This sequence is particularly remarkable in that even though it uses

hand-held photography it still looks exactly like a Fumetti panel

with dynamism expressed through the set-up rather than actual movement.

The multi-tasking talents of Giulio Berruti cannot be ignored on Baba Yaga.

Aside from his inspired editing which holds the movie together

he also penned a couple of additional sequences

along with assistant director duties.

The new scenes were supposedly - written via his capacity as an editor

to keep the movie cohesive upon transition from page to screen

Many genre fans will know Giulio Berruti as the director of "Killer Nun" (1978)

...also on SHAMELESS

which saw Anita Ekberg as an evil Mother Superior going apeshit!

While Farina is almost dismissive of his attempt to film Fumetti

he sites himself as "accidentally" being responsible for marrying Bava with the genre

In the late 60s, Farina was adapting scripts with the Giussani sisters

the legendary creators of Diabolik and was asked who would be a good director

to bring their master-thief to the screen to which he suggested Mario Bava.

So even if Farina wasn't entirely happy with his own efforts, he at least

had a hand in the most beautiful attempt at getting Fumetto in the can.

Those who have developed a taste for filmic Valentina might like to seek out

the 1988 TV series entitled ingeniously... "Valentina".

Starring former American gymnast Demetra Hampton

Three of these were edited together as a movie for US cable TV

and it's easier to track down than the actual series.

It's here that Baker gets to shine in the film where she goes beyond

more that just malevolence and shows her emotions.

It is well documented that Baker wasn't even on the short-list

for the title role, she was lagging behind two very different performers

Ingrid Thulin, star of Bergman's legendary "Cries & Whispers"

and singing supreme-turned actress Ornella Vanoni (Fulci's Jukebox Boys)

Even then, Baker was not in the frame, as they had settled on Brit actress Anne Haywood

[see her in Argent's superb nunsploitation "The Nun & The Devil"]

Anne Heywood was cast as Baba Yaga but she backed out of the movie at the last minute

...even paying a fine to do so...

Enter Carroll Baker, who proved to be the professional Heywood wasn't.

With great chunks of the social commentary removed from the film

it comes as a comfort that the ending is left open, with no clear sense

of morality forced upon it as there is certainly opportunity for it.

Sure, the police bust in at just the wrong time but Valentina isn't arrested

for the suspected murder of poor old Baba Yaga.

They should thank God that it wasn't made in China, where at the time

the state was ensuring that Bruce Lee's acts of cinematic Vigilantism

ended with him being either arrested or shot by the police.

As we come to the closing shot of Corrado Farina's Baba Yaga

we are forced to wonder: is the witch dead? Has good really triumphed?

Or is she a familiar and trans-moggie-rifted into a cat?

In the grand Italian tradition:

"Avete Visto" BABA YAGA, THE FINAL CUT

The cinematic culmination of director Corrado Farina,

and a superb showcase for the warped imaginings of Guido Crepax -

a man who earned his title of "World's Sexiest Cartoonist”.

Turn up the volume and listen to the play-out from Piero Umiliani, guys!

Commentary by the Wilson Bros exclusively written for Shameless copyright © 2008