Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Sam Panico I can't see it as anything other than a success. A film that's all style, with a flashy couple that steals things because — hey, why not? — and battles the mob and the police because — hey, why not? I've seen reports that De Laurentiis had budgeted $3 million for this and Bava came in so low, he was offered the chance to do a sequel (this kinda conflicts with other reports that Dino was unhappy with the returns). Bava didn't want to work with Dino again, even when offered the chance to work on King Kong.Just watch a few minutes of the film and you'll realize there has never been anything before or since like it. It's probably my favorite comic book movie ever — the closest a movie will ever get to simulating the reading experience without slavishly copying panels ala Sin City.Read more at bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/07/12/danger-diabolik-1968

FlashCallahan Thief Diabolik wreaks havoc on a generic European country for his own financial gain and amusement. He shares an extravagant underground lair with his curvaceous, yet shallow girlfriend...who uses her looks and allure, to help Diabolik kill innocent people and steal billions from the government. Because of the origins of his wealth, Diabolik must face off against bumbling cops and revenge-seeking mafia........You done just see this film, you experience it, because its one of the most trippy, psychedelic, and surreal movies you will ever see. Yes, 2001: A Space Odyssey, has that trippy sequence, and all around stoner feel to it, but this is just blatantly in your face bonkers.For starter, we are rooting for a quite despicable person, a murderer, a robber, who in any normal film would be the main villain, but here, you cannot help but like him, because the film almost brainwashes you to do so, as the other characters are so superfluous to the narrative.Law is brilliant as the titular character, and proves that he made some wonderful decisions in the sixties, as this, along with Barbarella, are two of the most iconic movies from that decade. Yes, there are more popular movies, but these two films are referenced so many times, that you may think you've already seen them numerous times before.It out Bonds Connery, and Myers could only wish Austin Powers will be as fresh a this still feels thirty years from now.The soundtrack is wonderful, and although the film makes no sense in the slightest, it's still an amazing piece of cinema....

jaredmobarak Ah, Italian cinema from the late 60's. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Mario Bava brings the world an adaptation of the comic Diabolik. Complete with cheesy set pieces, laughable heists, and over-the-top sexuality, this film may not be quite bad enough to be good, but it isn't enough to be bad either. A lot is fun here and that must count for something. Feel free to check your brain at the door, (or perhaps you shouldn't even wake up that morning with it), because once you start questioning how emeralds can be shot out of a gun without gunpowder, the charm will be missed. There are enough sci-fi aspects to bring it out of the reality we think of, so when craziness occurs, please just go with the flow. It will be a better experience as a result and our villain's, (or is he the hero?), winks at the audience will bring a smile rather than an eye roll as you press the stop button on your remote control.I couldn't help but think about one of my favorite films CQ while watching this. From the camera-work of the car chase scenes, to the conveniently placed circles on the shower doors, to the bed romp with money, Roman Coppola's film borrowed a lot. However, what his film had was a dramatic storyline about the director of the cheesy sci-fi film being created rather than just be about that overblown story itself. Diabolik is its own tale without any meta-narrative aspects, so the fun factor did leave the building after the first couple heists. Once you steal 10 million dollars and then a priceless emerald necklace, does the theft of a gigantic bar of gold really hold any interest? Not really for me because it becomes the same recycled plot line over and over again with incompetent government police on his tail. For a 100-minute film, it did drag a lot for me, more for the repetition than anything else. Everyone is having a grand ol' time so it is definitely fun to enjoy the ride, a little variety would have been nice though.There are moments that did definitely work. Diabolik scaling a tower wall with suction cup gadgets and spying the catapult on top is great fun; his girlfriend Eva's sex appeal getting a truck driver to abandon his car is obvious yet well done; and the new Financial Minister's plea to the public to pay what they believe they owe in taxes is priceless. Without any real plot other than the police trying to catch a master criminal and his girl while they get away with all the goods, it is definitely the parts more than the whole that you should focus on. I wouldn't be surprised if the adaptation is from multiple comics in the series, strung together here as a cohesive whole when they may have been solitary books. The fact that our mob boss Ralph Valmont is dispatched so early on helps me believe this because is surely felt as though that would end the film, but no, it keeps on going to the next great caper.With hammy acting and some down right horrid actors, there is no way a movie like this wouldn't have a cult following, even if not directed by a schlock master like Bava. Marisa Mell is femme fatale to the fullest, never allowed to show she is anything more than an accomplice for the love of her man; Adolfo Celi is campy in all the right ways as Valmont, a brazen crime boss who thinks he's one step ahead but always two steps behind; and Michel Piccoli tries his best to be the straight man amongst the eccentrics as Inspector Ginko, the man who has made it his life work to catch Diabolik. However, the entire film hinges on the great facial expressions and calm coolness of our lead played by John Phillip Law. His stone-faced serious delivery of lines like, "don't worry, I could walk on the sun with this suit," are just plain top-notch. The painted on tight rubber wardrobe allow for his eyes to take center stage as they attempt to frighten us with their diabolic nature and the sly smile of success is great whenever he outsmarts the authorities. Law takes the role so seriously that the absurdity works even more as he thwarts the advances by those looking to capture him. This is Diabolik, the greatest criminal of our time, not even liquid gold can keep him down.

Bogmeister MASTER PLAN: steal everything. Based on the Italian fumetti/comic strip, this was director Bava's follow-up to "Dr.Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs" and, at first glance, would seem merely a slight upgrade from that earlier unfortunate campy fiasco. But, with the availability of a decent DVD version, the picture's strengths become more readily apparent. Bava's ability with design and color enables a fairly successful transposition from comic books to movie screens. Many might point to "Dick Tracy"(90) as another such heartfelt attempt to capture comic strip ambiance on the screen, but that one was far more blatant & apparent. Bava's creativity due to a lack of a huge budget resulted in a more subtle interpretation of comic book action, as incongruous as that sounds when talking about an adaptation of a comic strip. Some of the images here, whether large buildings or close-ups, are startling - something seems a little off in the image but you're not sure what it is. When you think about it or view it again, you realize it's a comic book come to life. Bava was also fond of filming a frame within the frame, resulting in some intriguing compositions. This also invites comparisons to "Barbarella," released a little later. But, Barbarella's images are awfully static when compared to all the movement we see here - everything and everyone moves here - whether on foot, in a sports car or on motorcycles.Since this was the sixties, one also can't help but think of the James Bond craze of this period. The obvious difference between this and the Bond imitators is that the central character is a villain, not some agent-hero. Diabolik (Law) specializes in outrageous acts of thievery; at the point the film begins, the establishment (government & police) are well aware of him, to the point that they resort to unusual methods of transporting valuables in an attempt to avoid him; of course, they fail. Diabolik wears a weird comic book-styled suit, with a mask that covers the lower half of his face; yet, you can still see the outline of his mouth. He also has a weird, sinister laugh, though this is not over-indulged. He operates from a fantastic underground hideout, an expansion of the Batcave from the "Batman" TV show. Of course, he does not work with the authorities but against them, a rather subversive message in those pre-Watergate times, where-in the audience is placed in the position of rooting for this, at best, anti-hero; but, remember, this is from Italy (see Sergio Leone's 'Man-With-no-Name' western trilogy). Also, rather than hanging out with a younger version of himself, as Batman did, this guy gets it on with a cool chick; ah, yes, the villains do have all the fun. Keep in mind, though, his violence does extend to killing cops, so it's not just a laughing matter.There's no 'main' plot line; the authorities make a deal with a local bigshot gangster (Celi, the villain from "Thunderball") to capture or eliminate Diabolik, but this plot is wrapped up way before the conclusion. The story switches to an attack by Diabolik on all the economic bastions of power, a rather direct act of terrorism (though there are no realistic repercussions, such as showing fatalities) and then there's some climactic action involving all the gold on a moving train. It's as if the filmmakers took several disparate plots from the comic strip and welded them together in one film; but, it holds together pretty well, against expectations. The ending is a little on the eerie side. Since this is, overall, an amusing and even silly take on the super-hero/super-villain genre, it may be why "Mystery Science Theater 3000" chose it as one of the films they made fun of, an honor they saved for the most silly movies out there. But, this has enough esoteric style and panache to place it above those clunkers and MSTK3 should have saved their efforts for some other truly dumb film. Anti-Hero:6 Villain:6 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:5 Fights:5 Stunts/Chases:7 Gadgets:6 Auto:7 Locations:6 Pace:6 overall:6