Review: 5 Dolls for an August Moon
Blu-ray: 5 Dolls for an August Moon (1970)
There are times when I start watching a film to review and I already think, “what the hell am I going to write?” Or, “this seems like a Tina kind of film, I wish she was reviewing it” (sorry Tina!). ‘5 Dolls for an August Moon‘ is one of those films and in the first five minutes I began to have those kind of thoughts. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad film, maybe I just don’t get it?
I’ll be completely honest and say that I’m no authority when it comes to Mario Bava or Italian cinema in general, so I apologise now to people who are massive fans of his or these type of movies.
A group of couples are spending time on a remote island to relax but it soon becomes clear that there is a killer in their midst. Everybody suspects one another and its not long before the body count is longer than the lingering shots of scantily clad women!
It’s fairly obvious that the director knew how to attract an audience as there are lots of beautiful women wearing short skirts and bikinis or sauntering about in their underwear. The men are generally a bunch of scumbag playboys squabbling over buying a secret formula and trying to shag each other’s wives. There is even a spitting image of a young Nigel Farage who gets in on the act.
Made in 1970, this movie oozes 60s/70s kitsch from the music to the clothing. Trust me when I say that you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen one of the characters proudly wearing the tightest multi-coloured budgie smugglers!
In a strange way I’m kind of glad that I watched 5 Dolls for an August Moon if only to experience something completely different and if I’m honest a bit bonkers. There is a market for this type of film but I’m afraid it hasn’t converted me to seek out more work from Bava. One for enthusiasts only in my opinion.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Optional English and Italian soundtracks presented in original uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Optional isolated Music and Effects track
- Optional English subtitles for the Italian audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English audio
- Audio commentary by Mario Bava’s biographer Tim Lucas
- Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre – a documentary profile of the director, hosted by Mark Kermode and featuring interviews with Joe Dante, John Carpenter and Tim Burton
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Glenn Kenny and a new essay by Adrian Smith on the Fancey family and their efforts to bring international exploitation titles, including Five Dolls for an August Moon, to a UK audience during the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Review by Chris (co-host of 60 Minutes With and The Same Coin) from a disc kindly supplied by Arrow Films.
