Italian

  • Joe D’Amato – La morte ha sorriso all’assassino AKA Death Smiles on a Murderer (1973)

    Joe D'Amato1971-1980HorrorItalyMystery

    A man discovers an ancient Incan formula for raising the dead, and uses it for a series of revenge murders.

    Letterboxd review
    ★★★½ Watched by Lou (rhymes with wow!) 22 Jun 2021

    Deliciously gothic and weirdly erotic, Death Smiles on a Murder is a wonderful slice of Joe D’Amato bizarreness. The movie has an almost dream-like quality to it, which had me clueless as to what exactly was unfolding on screen. All I know for certain is that when you give Klaus Kinski some beakers you’ll end up with magic. Also, there is no such thing as too many cat jump scares.

    I got to search out some more Ewa Aulin movies.Read More »

  • Damiano Damiani – L’istruttoria è chiusa: dimentichi aka The Case Is Closed, Forget It (1971)

    1971-1980CrimeDamiano DamianiDramaItaly

    “Because of a violation of traffic regulations an architect is put in prison. There he witnesses the grim reality of life behind bars: corrupt staff, corrupt inmates, an inhuman judicial system and the power of the Mafia.

    “L´istruttoria e chiusa: dimentichi” – which translates into “The investigation is closed: forget about it” is one in a series of political thrillers Damiano Damiani (when he was good, he could to some extent rival Francesco Rosi, when he became pretentious and preachy he was intolerable) specialized in in the late 60´s through the 70´s. Its overall target is the corrupt Italian state of that day and age. Its means is classic melodrama of the wrongful accused who has to live through purgatory. Because he is wrongful accused, an intellectual and played by the then handsome Franco Nero we pity him for that (there is ample space for the suspicion that we would perceive his private hell in public custody as appropriate were he a criminal).To prove his case Damiani this time took the easy way out and that´s why his film is – judged by Damiani´s own best abilities – bordering on the mediocre side – and still worth watching; which is an achievement in itself.”
    by Georgios Tsapanos ( IMDB)Read More »

  • Antonio D’Agostino – Eva man (Due sessi in uno) [Uncut XXX Version] (1980)

    1971-1980Antonio D'AgostinoEroticaExploitationQueer Cinema(s)Spain

    Quote:
    Beautiful Eva, hermaphrodite from birth, with clear signs of both sexes, under the strict guidance of his uncle, Professor, masters the secrets of sexual energy, which give the possibility of a Superman. But an angry gangster steals it, with the help of a doctor-villain to move into the body of eve and take over the world. He tries to prevent his rival, who is going to deprive the girl masculinity and thus not to let it turn into Superman…Read More »

  • Nadia Ranocchi & David Zamagni – Zeus Machine. L’invincibile AKA Zeus Machine. The Invincible (2019)

    2011-2020David ZamagniDocumentaryExperimentalItalyNadia Ranocchi

    Twelve never-told-before vignettes from the life of Hercules which at once dismantle and condense the underlying myth: performances of bodies and machines, inspired by sword-and-sandal films, as a playful analysis of legends and their structures.Read More »

  • Luigi Russo – Pensione amore – SerVizio completo (1979)

    1971-1980ComedyItalyLuigi Russo

    Quote:
    Germano is a young man who, having been accidentally discovered by his father in intimacy with the servant girl, is sent on an unwanted vacation with his mother, Madame Amour, who runs a hotel-resort by the seaside. Since Germano is sexually gifted and doesn’t mind “engaging” with the hotel’s female guests, the clientele multiplies dramatically, attracted by the young phenomenon. Germano’s willing efforts lead him to impotence from which, however, Lucy will cure him by giving herself to him on the beach.Read More »

  • Paolo Virzì – Ovosodo AKA Hardboiled Egg (1997)

    Paolo Virzì1991-2000ComedyDramaItaly

    Can someone be hopelessly naïve and a cynic? Can someone be chronically depressed and positive? Can a hopeful young man ignore all his advantages and concentrate on his life’s drawbacks? These sorts of contradictions define young Piero (nickname “Ovosodo” or “Hardboiled Egg”, also the slang term for the slum area he inhabits). His mother is dead; his father spends years in jail for, in effect, incredible stupidity; his older brother is severely challenged; and he knows nothing at all about his best friend. At the end, he is thrilled that all his disadvantages provide him with a dead-end job in the factory owned by his best friend’s father, despite having the real advantage of four years of top-quality education at the best private school in the region as a scholarship boy.

    This is an utterly frantic yet very droll, ironic black comedy.Read More »

  • Tinto Brass – Ça ira, il fiume della rivolta (1964)

    Tinto Brass1961-1970DocumentaryItalyPolitics

    This is a compilation film consisting exclusivley of archive footage. Rather not the usual sort of film you get from Tinto Brass.

    Trivia from IMDB:
    “This film was scheduled for the second New York Film Festival (1964), but was withheld by authorities in Italy and thus deprived of a showing. In 1971, the film was re-titled and released in the USA as “Thermidor” (after the 11th month of the French Revolutionary calendar), with a new English narration, and with some attempt at updating made by its American distributor.”Read More »

  • Damiano Damiani – Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica AKA Confessions of a Police Captain (1971)

    Damiano Damiani1971-1980CrimeDramaItaly

    Commissioner Bonavia has hygiene-obsessed mafioso Lipuma release from the insane asylum where he has been incarcerated for the past six years knowing fullwell that Lipuma’s first action once released will be to make an attempt on his former rival Dubrosio’s life.

    Indeed this is what Bonavia, who is pursuing his own personal vendetta against Dubrosio is counting on; he knows that there is no point in pursuing legal channels when just about the entirety of the Palmero administration and judiciary is in league with Dubrosio.Read More »

  • Valerio Zurlini – Il deserto dei tartari AKA The Desert of the Tartars (1976)

    Valerio Zurlini1971-1980ArthouseDramaItaly

    As his first assignment, lieutenant Drogo is sent to an isolated fortress on the borders of a desert and of a range of high mountains. The mission of the garrison is to prevent a possible incursion by the fearsome Tartars, coming from beyond the desert. Some fellow officers are eagerly awaiting an attack; some no longer want to believe in it; others take advantage of the vague threat to further their career. All of them are sacrificing everything — health, youth, friends, family — for a distant military ideal: leading the defence against the onslaught of the enemy. But in the vast emptiness surrounding the fortress, nobody has ever sighted the Tartars…Read More »

Back to top button