Duccio Tessari Movies
Italian director Duccio Tessari is best-remembered for directing average quality "spaghetti Westerns" and action-adventure films during the '60s. His credits include Una Pistola per Ringo (1968), Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang! (1966), Zorro (1974), and Beyond Justice (1991). Tessari started out as a director of documentaries. In addition to directing, he also worked on screenplays, notably Sergio Leone's classic Per un Pugno di Dollari (1964). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In Beyond Justice-- an Italian-made action film directed by Tessari Duccio with an unusually fine cast -- Christine Sanders (Carol Alt), American millionairess and mother of the grandson of a fanatic Emir (Omar Sharif), hires mercenary Tom Burton (Rutger Hauer) to return her son after the Emir has him kidnapped. Against the advice of her lawyer (Elliott Gould) and her friend Sal (Brett Halsey), Christine accompanies Tom and endures a series of hardships such as a surprise attack and a sandstorm. This rather old fashioned, slow film is entirely predictable and tedious. Nothing can keep the audience interested despite the beautiful color photography of the desert or the excellent musical score by Ennio Morricone. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Carol Alt, (more)
- 1985
The endearing efforts of a divorced, simple baker to capture the attentions of a bourgeois society woman fuel the action in this comedy by Pupi Avati. It is 1950 and the coastal town of Rimini is about to experience another influx of the monied elite who come to wile away their time in elegant beach houses. Among them is the wealthy Gaia (Aurore Clement), her philandering husband, and her daughter Sandra (Lidia Broccolino). Vanni the baker (Carlo Delle Piane) is excited because he has been infatuated with the beautiful Gaia for 10 years now. When Gaia asks him to prepare a graduation party for her daughter Sandra, Vanni pulls out all the stops and sinks into debt to do a good job. Meanwhile, his son Nicola (Nik Novecento) is chasing after Sandra. Without any way of knowing beforehand, Vanni is heading toward total disaster -- and an education on the morals of the worst of the Italian bourgeoisie. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aurore Clément, Lidia Broccolino, (more)
- 1985
Based on a Texas Ranger comic-book hero who first rode into sight in 1948, this routine western is an Italian version of the adventures of Tex Willer (Giuliano Gemma), his sidekick Kit Carson (William Berger), and his Native American buddy Tiger Jack (Carlo Mucari). Predictably, Tiger Jack is nearly mute, and Tex wears a white cowboy hat, just to make clear which side he is on. A series of adventures take the trio into a confrontation with the Yaqui nation, intent on (finally) avenging the near-annihilation of their ancestors. To that end, the Yaquis rob a train, join forces with other Native Americans, and manage to concoct a secret weapon that is capable of immediately transforming their enemies into mummies. The "Lord of the Deep" is an alchemist parked at the bottom of a volcano, who creates a glowing green mummification rock (shades of kryptonite!).
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Carlo Mucari, (more)
Declared "my most personal film" by Italy's premier horror director Dario Argento, this production marked the director's return to the eerie thematic territory he pioneered in 1977 with the horror classic Suspiria. Much like that film, Phenomena conforms to the logic of nightmares. Jennifer Connelly stars as Jennifer Corvino, the daughter of an American film star, who enrolls in a prestigious Swiss boarding school under the tutelage of the prudish Mrs. Bruckner (played by frequent Argento collaborator and former beau Daria Nicolodi). Possessing a unique telepathic gift, Jennifer is capable of communicating with insects on an instinctive level, often while sleepwalking. This trait soon brands her a "freak" among her snooty classmates but makes her a valuable asset to entomologist Dr. MacGregor (Donald Pleasence), who is currently employing the innate forensic skills of insects to aid police in tracking a serial killer targeting the boarders at Jennifer's school. As Jennifer's tiny friends (including the corpse-hunting Sarcophagus Fly) guide her closer to the murderer's lair, everything from MacGregor's revenge-driven pet chimpanzee to Bruckner's monstrously disfigured son figure into the mix, providing not one but three shocking endings. Shot in English and re-dubbed for various European markets, this graphic thriller was released in drastically edited form as Creepers in the U.S. and England; Argento's original cut runs 110 minutes. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, (more)
- 1979
"Thou shalt not kill" is the fifth of the ten commandments handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai. In this movie, Bernhard and Leo Redder (Helmut Berger and Peter Hooten), who have grown up in an abusive family, escape into the streets at the earliest opportunity. In the Germany of the 1920s, especially in the Ruhr valley, the people they wind up hanging out with are members of radical political groups, especially the Nazi Stahlhelm and Freikorps organizations. They become involved in Nazi excursions and become wanted men for their involvement in robberies and murder. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Berger, Peter Hooten, (more)
- 1975
- R
In this African adventure, a greedy fortune hunter endeavors to get his hands on the untold riches lying buried in Central Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- PG
This Italian film was made for the blaxploitation action niche, but sloppy dubbing and unintentionally funny dialogue kept it from packing the kind of action punch needed for box-office success. Father Charlie (Lino Venturi) is an ex-con who has been granted an exemption from canon law to become a priest. When a friend of his gets into trouble which looks suspiciously like a frame-up, Father Charlie decides to investigate, with or without the blessing of his bishop. His friend Lee Stevens (Isaac Hayes) is looking for the real culprit as well, and Father Charlie and Lee soon join forces. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Isaac Hayes, (more)
- 1974
The internationally produced Zorro is set in South America instead of the California locales of the series. Alain Delon stars as the newly appointed governor who immediately butts heads with corrupt Colonel Huerta (Stanley Baker). To rescue the peasants from Huerta's despotry, the governor becomes the caped-and-masked do-gooder Zorro. The film never really takes itself seriously, not even during the final, well-staged duel between Zorro and Huerta. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Baker, Alain Delon, (more)
- 1974
- PG
An Irish journalist (Lynn Redgrave) will do anything she can to support a peasant revolution in Mexico. The rogues played by Franco Nero and Eli Wallach will do almost anything for money, but they will also do a lot for a charming lady: particularly when she has saved one of them from certain death in front of a prison firing squad. After arranging Wallach's prison escape, the trio heads for Mexico, where incredible things happen. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Redgrave, Eli Wallach, (more)
- 1972
A Mafia hitman's decision to leave his profession results in bloodshed and tragedy. The violence begins when his bosses, to help him change his mind, have the assassin's wife and child brutally murdered, causing the hitman to launch a vendetta against his bosses. The film is also titled Big Guns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
A group attempts to embezzle and hide a fortune of 2,000,000 pounds while outwitting the British Intelligence during World War II in this action movie. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Brasseur, Rod Steiger, (more)
- 1971
Prolific Italian filmmaker Duccio Tessari (La Morte Risale a Ieri Sera) returned to the giallo field with this first-rate detective thriller which begins with a French co-ed (Carole Andre) repeatedly stabbed in a park during a thunderstorm. The suspicion falls on sportscaster Alessandro Marchi (Giancarlo Sbargia), who is being framed (or so it seems) by his trysting wife (Ida Galli, aka Evelyn Stewart) and lawyer (Gunther M. Stoll). Unfortunately, while Marchi is being railroaded into prison, the murders begin anew, and Marchi is released to face the dead girl's grieving lover (Helmut Berger), whose motives would later be echoed in even better Italian thrillers such as Tenebre. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Manrino (Pino Caruso) is the virile male with a wife, a mistress and a mini-skirted girlfriend. The Professor (Carlo Hintermann) breaks the new to the disbelieving Manrino that he is changing into a woman. In three days time, the man indeed becomes a woman, leading to comedy situations and many plays on words. He is confused by a transvestite go-go dancer in a night club and begins to experience things for the first time as a woman. He hopes some pills prescribed by the doctor will change him back to the male gender so he may continue his macho fantasies. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pino Caruso, Juliette Mayniel, (more)
- 1970
Though not a giallo film in the strictest sense, this crime/revenge film merits attention by fans for its genre cast and an unusual approach to familiar themes. Raf Vallone plays anguished father Avanzio Berzaghi, whose 25-year old daughter Donatella has been kidnapped. Donatella has the mind of a toddler, and her beauty and agreeable naivete make her a perfect choice for Milan's seedy prostitution racket. Frank Wolff is a dedicated Inspector with bad sinuses who shakes down a sleazy pimp and a desperate black prostitute (Beryl Cunningham of The Snake God), as well as visiting scores of local brothels for clues. Tragically, he is too late, and Donatella's corpse is found in a field, still smoking from having been burned alive. Wolff redoubles his efforts, but it is Vallone, using nothing more than his daughter's teddy-bear and a father's lust for justice, who finally tracks down the killers. His laundromat vengeance is brutal, but unsatisfying, leaving him a broken man. Director Duccio Tessari, best known for westerns and a memorable giallo called The Blood-Stained Butterfly, imbues this story with a great deal more humanity than is typical for the genre. The plot, adapted from G. Scerbanenco's novel The Milanese Kill on Saturday, has its problems, but Tessari's focus on character minimizes the inconsistencies, presenting a gritty, powerful portrait of a dehumanizing urban Hell. This neglected gem suffers only from Gianni Ferrio's inexplicably bouncy music, but is otherwise a winner all the way. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raf Vallone, Frank Wolff, (more)
- 1969
This Italian-Spanish Western-comedy deals with two bickering brothers (Giuliano Gemma, Nino Benvenuti) who will gain a big inheritance if they can stand living together for six months. Not surprisingly, they fall in love with the same girl (Sydne Rome) and complications ensue. Director Duccio Tessari co-wrote the screenplay with Giorgio Salivioni, and the impressive photography is by Manuel Rojas. The music is by Gianni Ferrio, who dropped out of medical school to compose film scores, the high quality of which constantly thwarted critics itching to sneak in a "malpractice" jab. Genre enthusiasts will recognize supporting turns by Antonio Casas, Cris Huerta, and Jorge Rigaud. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Unable to cope with life after stardom a former headliner with the Ziegfeld Follies becomes an alcoholic. Meanwhile her horrifying sons run off to commit a terrible crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
A British engineer tries to convince the Mafia to allow an oil refinery on some prime waterfront real estate in Sicily. Proby (Peter McEnery) talks to the mob bosses about the project, but disagreements in the Mafia soon surface. One faction wants the refinery, the other a beachfront resort. Comedy ensues when Proby falls for the beautiful daughter of a mafioso, leading to a family argument. Rosa (Virna Lisi) is engaged to a mobster and causes a stir when she professes her love for the persistent Proby. The mob fights over which direction to choose for the property, as Proby and Rosa fall in love in this romantic comedy adventure. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virna Lisi, Peter McEnery, (more)
- 1966
In this spaghettiesque western, a supposedly dead man returns to his village and finds his family being held captive by an evil desperado and his gang. The frightened man does all he can to save them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Fernando Sancho, (more)
