Director: Mario Bava
Screenplay: Mario Moroni, Charles Ross, Guido Leoni
Starring: Brett Halsey, Daniela Giordano, Pascale Petit, Brigitte Skay
Country: Italy
Running Time: 81/83 minutes
Year: 1971
Italian horror and giallo legend Mario Bava helmed ‘commedia-sexy’ Four Times That Night (1971) which follows a Rashomon-style narrative revolving around a bad date. The film is being released in 4K UHD and Bluray by Powerhouse Films’ Indicator label.
This new restoration comes from an original negative by Powerhouse Films and comes with Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). The release includes both the Italian and English versions of the Italian sex-comedy.
The film follows four contradictory retellings of the same date from different perspectives. After male-model John Price (Gianni Prada in the Italian version) sees Tina Bryant walking her poodle, and they go out on the date that same night. It ends with Tina having a ripped dress and John having a scratch across his forehead. We see the contradicting retellings from the perspectives of Tina, John, the doorman and a scientist (who bizarrely pops up quite at random in the English version).
Daniela Giordano is alluring as Tina – she was particularly great when acting as an overly voracious lover in John’s retelling. Brett Halsey was adept as John, coming across as sympathetic for the most part. American film producer Dick Randall puts in a very entertaining performance as the doorman, recounting a fever dream of a tale.
The low-budget film is a fairly light non-taxing affair enhanced by the classic Bava visual flourishes, like dramatic camera zooms, lurid-intense lighting and there’s a particularly great kaleidoscope-style spinning transition. There are some problematic elements, including an attempted rape scene and a date rape scene, but these can be handwaved away when new information comes to light due to the unreliable narration.
The comedy feels as tame and dated as some of the gaudy costumes – but the 4K restoration does give the awesome set design and Bava trademark elements a real flair. The picture quality is crisp and clear.
It is drenched with lurid colour enhancing the pop art artifice of John’s geometric bachelor pad and a funky 70s nightclub. The soundtrack sings smoothly from the speakers with an upbeat jazz style opening number, multiple scenes in the same nightclub and there’s even a Benny Hill style sequence scored with invigorating piano.
I decided to watch the English version as the Italian version was more heavily censored, losing two sex scenes. After watching sections of the Italian version, the writing seemed better on that one, however. The English dubbing was generally very good, apart from the ridiculously over-the-top Texan dubbing for Tina.
Film:
Special Features
- Audio commentary with Italian genre film expert Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth (2026)
- Audio commentary with Mario Bava: All the Colors of Dark author Tim Lucas (2019)
- Interview with son of editor Otello Colangeli, also an editor in his own right, Roberto Colangeli (2026)
- Interview with assistant director, and son of Mario Bava, Lamberto Bava (2026)
- Video essay by film critic Rachael Nisbet on the Rashomon-like structure of the film (2026)
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Leon Hunt, new writing on the film’s Italian censorship history, archival interviews with director Mario Bava and actors Daniela Giordano and Brett Halsey, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth audio commentary: English version commentary. Entertaining commentary. It was great to hear these pair discuss the movie and their love of all things Bava. They speak about the “jinxed” production, the severity of the censorship board, why and who was a part of it. I was stunned to learn this film was actually shot in 1968 but released four years later. They say it was regarded as dated at the time.
Tim Lucas commentary: Lucas commentates the Italian version. It’s far more dry than the previous commentary track, but Lucas delves more into film analysis while also discussing influences in Italian and US cinema. He has a great Rashomon-style behind the scenes story for this film.
Lamberto Bava interview (12 mins): Bava speaks about what attracted his dad to the project which was neither horror or supernatural, unlike his other work. He also spoke about his own involvement and relationship with the cast, while admitting he has no recollection of the actual movie.
Roberto Colangeli (14 mins): Editor Otello Colangeli had an incredible legacy. Son Roberto spoke about his dad’s life and his set up. As a kid he was around his dad’s work, and has a funny story about making stink-bombs out of film and tossing them for laughs.
Rachael Nisbet on the Rashomon effect video essay (18 mins): Great detailed look on how the Rashomon template/style of storytelling applies to the film. Nisbet then speaks about how Bava’s approach contrasts with Akira Kurosawa’s, i.e. how the historical drama operates differently to the social sex comedy. I wish this had been listed on the features sooner as it would have been fantastic to have meditated on Nisbet’s thoughts directly after the movie.
Disc/package:
Indicator releases Four Times That Night in 4K and Bluray on June 29, 2026.