Claudio Cassinelli Movies

Mighty Hercules (played by muscleman Lou Ferrigno) returns in this sequel. This papa Zeus sends Herc from Olympus to Earth to find seven stolen thunderbolts. Basically the film is Saturday afternoon kiddy matinee fodder, good for passing the time, but little else. The film is also known as Adventures of Hercules. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this futuristic Italian crime drama, 21st-century Romans devise an ingenious way to take care of criminals -- they make them fight each other gladiator-style on national television. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sergio Martino directed this strange mixed-genre horror film starring Elvire Audray as the young widow of an archaeologist (John Saxon), who was murdered while working on an Etruscan dig. Dreaming a premonition of his death, the widow leaves New York for Italy to investigate. Before long, she is attacked by bats and is involved in several murders. Her father (Van Johnson) is smuggling heroin in one of 12 crates of Etruscan artifacts, but gets killed in a cave-in. Other victims have their heads twisted around backwards by an unknown assassin as the woman's premonitions continue and people tell her that she may be an Etruscan immortal. The secrets lie in a hidden tomb, and are revealed in a bizarre climax involving undercover narcotics agents, Etruscan zombies, magic stones and a huge anti-gravity crystal. The mystery is a clever one, the supernatural touches are never overdone, and there are a few real jolts in the screenplay by Ernesto Gastaldi and Dardano Sacchetti. The film is relatively bloodless for the time, but features a large number of maggots. Some prints eliminate the score in favor of over-dubbed music from Lucio Fulci's Paura nella Citta dei Morti Viventi. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress) and her brother, Arthur (Antonio Marsina), travel to New Guinea in the hopes of finding her husband, who has gone missing for three months. The pair encounter anthropologist Dr. Edward Foster (Stacy Keach), who agrees to lead a jungle expedition in search of the missing man. As mantraps and other jungle dangers slowly whittle away the search party, Foster becomes convinced that Susan's husband is somewhere on the tiny coastal island of Roka, home to the sacred island of Ra Ra Me. En route to the mountain, the party is captured by the Puka, a Stone Age tribe long considered extinct. Foster reveals that the tribe is cannibalistic, having been captured and forced to consume human flesh years before. This gruesome news, however, pales before Susan's discovery of her husband's fate -- a fate that will surely befall the entire party if they are unable to escape. ~ Paul Gaita, Rovi

After seeing the high ideals of his family and friends subverted by the Italian fascist government, a young man idealistically plans to assassinate Mussolini. He confides his plans to a family friend, himself a fascist, who cynically encourages the boy. He is aware that the government has been looking for some pretext which would permit it to crack down on dissidents and diminish civil liberties. Based on a true incident, this historical drama is set in Bologna the year 1926. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A Frenchwoman vacationing with her daughter and a Viennese professor vacationing with his son meet in the Tyrolean Alps of Italy. Of a liberal persuasion, both parents actively encourage the two young people to get to know one another, and perhaps have their first sexual liaison; the two adults have long since gone to bed with one another. With many hesitations and missed opportunities, this is just what the daughter and son eventually do. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A young girl in the 13th century is sent to a nunnery in Portugal. There she is subjected to torture, rape and whippings, but she escapes with a Jewish man named Abraham. She soon takes on a Muslim lover, who leads an invading army that castrates rapists. Amazingly enough, some of this story is actually based on historical fact. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

In this Italian satire a poli sci professor from a large, wealthy family stirs up turmoil amongst his family and friends when he decides to run for office on the Socialist party ticket. His brother the Maoist tries to thwart his endeavors. Other family members get involved in the struggle for political power, sexual gratification, and money. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi