Another Film Four documentary from the guys who brought us a similar one all about Dario Argento. This one which goes into some depth as it studies Bava's life, his motives, methods and unique style. There are plenty of clips shown from all of the staples like BLACK Sunday, BLACK SABBATH and BAY OF BLOOD, although some of Bava's more obscure horror films and his work in the peplum and spaghetti western genres is sadly glossed over.
This film's strength is in its anecdotes from a wide variety of people connected with Bava - Lamberto Bava, Daria Nicolodi and Samuel Arkoff are all there, with only one notable exception - Barbara Steele, who refused to appear. Then there are the directors like Tim Burton and Joe Dante who owe a debt of inspiration to the master, and genre critics and writers like Kim Newman and Allan Bryce who offer up their own opinions of the director. Engaging stuff, and pretty informative for those who know little about Bava, although widely-read fans of the genre may find a lot of this familiar stuff.