EFP 85: Rachael Nisbet on Danger: Diabolik

On this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by film critic and historian Rachael Nisbet to discuss one of cinema’s most dazzling comic book adaptations, Mario Bava’s Danger: Diabolik (1968). Based on the comics written by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani, Diabolik chronicles the escapades of the masked master criminal and his lover and co-conspirator Eva Kant. The comics have been massively influential since their first publication in 1962 and have spawned various film adaptations, including a recent trilogy of features released between 2021 and 2023 directed by Marco and Antonio Manetti. The first Diabolik picture was released in 1968 and starred John Philip Law and Marisa Mel in the lead roles. It was recently released in a beautiful 4K restoration by Eureka Entertainment and it will also be screening at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse cinema in early August in all its vivid, kaleidoscopic glory.Rachael and Pasquale discuss the background to the original Diabolik comics, and how Bava's film came about. They then focus on elements such as the film's casting, set design and its brilliantly psychedelic score by Ennio Morricone.