Dino Mele Movies
- 1978
A brother and sister, both of whom grew up in the slums of Naples, communicate with one another periodically over the years from 1944 to 1976 as they go their separate ways. Through flashbacks, and as they grow reacquainted during their meetings, the story of each is told. The girl struggles to study her way out of poverty, learns English well enough to become an airline stewardess, and discovers the limitations of her success. The boy joins the communist party early on, ardently serving as another body in the movement on the picket lines and at demonstrations. Despite his dedication, the best job the party can deliver to him is a menial one, and he too feels betrayed. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Antonio Orlando
- 1973
A woman undergoes a surgeon's scalpel in a last-ditch attempt to win back her husband in this drama. Barbara Sawyer (Elizabeth Taylor) has been married to her husband, Mark (Henry Fonda), for 30 years, and she's afraid the spark has gone out of their relationship. Barbara is convinced the problem is her appearance -- the years have taken a heavy toll on her, and her haggard, saggy appearance is a far cry from the beauty she possessed in her youth. Determined to save her marriage, Barbara checks into a clinic in Switzerland for extensive plastic surgery, and arranges to meet Mark at a nearby ski lodge once she's recovered. After having her face, breasts, and bottom lifted, Barbara leaves the hospital looking as beautiful as Elizabeth Taylor, and as she waits for Mark to arrive in Switzerland, she allows herself to be seduced by Erich (Helmut Berger), a handsome young playboy, to prove to herself she has regained her allure. However, her new face and figure isn't enough to save her marriage when Mark informs her he's decided to leave her for another woman. Ash Wednesday features detailed footage of actual plastic surgical procedures, some of which were far too bloody for the comfort of most audiences. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1972
This kinky thriller stars Barbara Bouchet as a secretary who comes to the swampland home of writer Richard Stewart (Farley Granger) and his wife Eleonor (Rosalba Neri). Her predecessor was murdered by a local fisherman-rapist (Dino Mele), but there's more to the story than meets the eye, and Bouchet soon finds herself in mortal danger. Typical of the genre, the film is full of nudity and violence, as well as some deftly-handled red herrings. Umberto Raho shows up as the butler, who gets a gaffing hook rammed through his neck for good measure. Director Silvio Amadio has crafted a sick, scary, entertaining little film which will please most Euro-thriller fans. Amadio went on to make the even better Il Sorriso Della Iena, also with Neri. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
In Sergio Leone's epic Western, shot partly in Monument Valley, a revenge story becomes an epic contemplation of the Western past. To get his hands on prime railroad land in Sweetwater, crippled railroad baron Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) hires killers, led by blue-eyed sadist Frank (Henry Fonda), who wipe out property owner Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) and his family. McBain's newly arrived bride, Jill (Claudia Cardinale), however, inherits it instead. Both outlaw Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and lethally mysterious Harmonica (Charles Bronson) take it upon themselves to look after Jill and thwart Frank's plans to seize her land. As alliances and betrayals mutate, it soon becomes clear that Harmonica wants to get Frank for another reason -- it has "something to do with death." As in his "Dollars" trilogy, Leone transforms the standard Western plot through the visual impact of widescreen landscapes and the figures therein. At its full length, Once Upon a Time in the West is Leone's operatic masterwork, worthy of its legend-making title. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1966
This Dino De Laurentiis production from 1965 is actually an anthology of five different directors' work, each telling their own stories about witches. The five stories are "The Witch Burned Alive," "Civic Sense," "The Earth As Seen From The Moon," "The Girl From Sicily," and "A Night Like Any Other." Silvia Mangano appears in all five, with Clint Eastwood starring in the last featured vignette. Like many gang-directed projects, this film is also plagued by a lack of continuity and by the pretentiousness of the individual directors. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Silvana Mangano, Annie Girardot, (more)
- 1965
This film has two segments exploring relationships subjected to sudden trauma. In the first, "Violence," a young wife is gang-raped while her husband is forced to watch. Afterwards, neither one even acknowledges what happened. In "Love," a wife is hospitalized after attempting suicide, and her husband flirts innocently with a pretty young nurse. When the wife dies, the husband is consumed with guilt over his perceived unfaithfulness. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
- 1962
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi's haunting meditation on loneliness is as cold as its wintry Capri setting, and a powerful experience. Umberto Orsini is an actor who visits the island and meets a brooding alcoholic teen (Dino Mele) and a woman (Françoise Prévost) trying to sell her house. All three are insecure and try to reach out to each other, but don't really know how to give or receive emotionally. Griffi's choice to not give his characters names suggests a desire to speak to universal themes of isolation and rejection. The film is more ambition than achievement, but is strikingly photographed by Ennio Guarnieri and evokes its landscape -- both physical and emotional -- quite well. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Umberto Orsini, Françoise Prevost, (more)
