Rada Rassimov Movies

Told entirely through flashbacks, this Italian film tells the story of a priest who, in the 1930s, believed he had a call to cure people through the laying on of hands. At the beginning of the movie, two old women meet at his gravesite, and reminisce. As word of his activities spreads, he is forbidden to continue them, and he suffers a shattering loss of faith. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this flawed mystery-thriller from flamboyant horror director Dario Argento, Karl Malden portrays a blind man who joins forces with a reporter (James Franciscus) to catch a killer with an extra chromosome. Much of the action occurs at a research hospital, where the killer seeks to conceal the original crime with still more murders. Easily the least interesting of Argento's early thrillers (which include the superior L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo and Quattro Mosche di Velluto Grigio), this film seems almost a parody of the genre at times, with preposterous coincidences and bogus Freudian analysis substituting for genuine mystery. Those familiar with the director's work may find it difficult to believe that Argento was responsible, but some undeniable stylistic touches -- such as one victim's wallpaper resembling a blood-splattered wall -- reveal that even a genius can make bad films. Ennio Morricone's soundtrack and a cast including Catherine Spaak and Pier Paolo Capponi offer little relief. The American version is missing approximately twenty minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, this Italian sci-fi thriller presents a dim view of humanity. Following the devastation of WW III, very few people are left and there is a big push to procreate. The dark tale begins on a decimated sea shore settlement were a young couple appears. The male wants his woman to have a child, but she, not wanting to bring life to such a terrible place, refuses to submit to his advances. When a different woman comes along and agrees to have his baby, the fellow promptly sleeps with her. The new woman, wanting to insure her status tries to kill the first woman. She ends up being killed and served for dinner by the first woman. Alone once more, the man continues his fruitless pleas to have babies with the recalcitrant woman until frustration forces him to take desperate measures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the last and the best installment of his so-called "Dollars" trilogy of Sergio Leone-directed "spaghetti westerns," Clint Eastwood reprised the role of a taciturn, enigmatic loner. Here he searches for a cache of stolen gold against rivals the Bad (Lee Van Cleef), a ruthless bounty hunter, and the Ugly (Eli Wallach), a Mexican bandit. Though dubbed "the Good," Eastwood's character is not much better than his opponents -- he is just smarter and shoots faster. The film's title reveals its ironic attitude toward the canonized heroes of the classical western. "The real West was the world of violence, fear, and brutal instincts," claimed Leone. "In pursuit of profit there is no such thing as good and evil, generosity or deviousness; everything depends on chance, and not the best wins but the luckiest." Immensely entertaining and beautifully shot in Techniscope by Tonino Delli Colli, the movie is a virtually definitive "spaghetti western," rivaled only by Leone's own Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). The main musical theme by Ennio Morricone hit #1 on the British pop charts. Originally released in Italy at 177 minutes, the movie was later cut for its international release. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide