Claudio Carvalho In Milan, the professional photographer Valentina Rosselli (Isabelle De Funès) takes a ride close to her home with two friends in a party and decides to walk alone in the middle of the night. She saves a dog from a fancy car driver by Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker), a mysterious older woman that insists to drive her home. From this moment on, the life of Valentina changes and she has nightmares and her camera seem to be cursed. She believes Baba Yaga is a witch and that she is under a spell to possess her but her skeptical friend and filmmaker Arno Treves (George Eastman) does not believe. Until the day Valentina visits Baba Yaga´s house."Baba Yaga" is a film with stylish cinematography, beautiful music score that becomes tiresome after many repetitions, and a storyline typical from the Italian films from the 70´s (especially from Jesse Franco) with eroticism and cult elements such as references to Goddard and "The Golem". The conclusion is a plus in this interesting witch movie. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Baba Yaga - A Bruxa Maldita" ("Baba Yaga - The Coursed Witch")

Benedito Dias Rodrigues Carroll Baker by this time had moved to Europe to start a new phase of his career,there had more opportunity to make movies like this,worth to remember a Italian star George Eastman who made several spaghetti western,Baba Yaga is an interesting Giallo with some lesbian and fumetti style,that period of time was so popular,using a famous names and appealing to nudes scenes,the fans weren't disappointed for this time,worth each cent!!!! Resume: First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6

RavenGlamDVDCollector Reviewing BABA YAGA, the Blue Underground DVDThere is something terribly wrong here. And it's not just the horrible dubbing. (I'm only too thankful that there is an English version available, I have had a difficult time with DVDs that do not feature the most beautiful language in the world) What immediately strikes you, is that these two actresses are a long way off from looking like the cartoon version. Not that I have any knowledge of Guido Creepax's work, besides having read about it. But the Blue Underground copy I've got, clearly shows the original concept, and these two, though they DO act the parts, and they DO veer in that direction, are kind of almost off- putting, especially Isabelle de Funes. Carroll Baker could scrape through, but Isabelle is a far cry from what was really needed in the looks department. The whole production suffers from this. In the interview with the director, I have since learned that both his main protagonists were rebound choices after initial arrangements fell through AT THE LAST MINUTE, well, three days. Which in MovieLand with its time constraints, is at the last minute! Carroll Baker was taken on in lieu of an androgenic actress/singer that pulled out of the project, and the problem with her was that she wasn't at all 'the witchy type' but she came on board by virtue of being a credited actress. As for Isabelle, she was decided upon because of a photograph, and believe me, she was a promising young stunner, but a (ahem) couple (or so) years before. Again, this one too, was an able actress.So, these two DO manage to live up to their parts. But to settle in with this, and accept what is going on here on the screen, you have to be rid of your notion that all of this is so seriously flawed, and the whole time I just think about re-casting, so there is no way it really gets off the ground for me. I'd say, Good Try, But Not Nearly Close, No Cigar. I did like the Devil Doll, both the plastic and the full flesh versions, wow, there is a story in the interview about her too, fully explaining why she didn't get a speaking part. She was 'catastrophic' but fortunately not on the physical front.Lots of bare breasts, and I want to like it more than I do, but the overriding feeling is that this was a waste. Completely. I cannot bring myself to give it the lower score it deserves, though. I love stuff that goes against conformity, and, my sympathies to the director, this was really 'directed by circumstances'!

ferbs54 I am wholly unfamiliar with Guido Crepax' "Valentina" comic strip, so really cannot say how closely the Italian/French coproduction "Baba Yaga" (1973) hews to its source material. Director Corrado Farina states, however, in one of this Blue Underground DVD's many extras, that he failed in his intention to produce a film that replicates the feel of a comic strip. Be that as it may, the objective viewer should easily discern that this film has much to offer in its own right. In it, we meet Valentina (Isabella de Funes), a pretty fashion photographer living in Milan, who, one evening, encounters a very strange woman. She is Baba Yaga, a sensual, echoey-voiced, blond enchantress of sorts who gives Valentina a leather-clad living doll, puts a hex on her camera, and shows her her creepy old house (replete with a bottomless pit in the living room!). Carroll Baker, older but still very beautiful, is quite good as this "witchy woman"--I just love the way she wraps her mouth around the word "Valentina"--although, Farina reveals, she was far from the director's first choice for the role. The film has been directed and edited for maximum weirdness, and a dreamy piano theme by Piero Umiliani greatly adds to the strange aura that permeates throughout. Ultimately, however, the film is unsatisfying, in that nothing at all is explained, and the sudden denouement leaves one wishing for a lot more. Still, the picture is consistently interesting, engaging and atmospheric, and the staccato editing, dream sequences and groovy jazz should please viewers who are into "head movies." A mixed bag, to be sure, but good for those who are game for something different....