Lou Castel Movies
Lead actor Castel appeared on screen from the '60s. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1968
Somewhat overshadowed by Joseph Losey's 1975 film on the same subject, the 1968 Italian/Bulgarian biopic Galileo is a worthwhile picture in its own right. Irish stage and screen actor Cyril Cusack is well-cast as Galileo Galilei, famed astronomer and unintentional icon-buster. Stirring up controversy with his theory that the Earth is not the center of the Universe, Galileo is given a going-over by the Vatican legal system. The highlight: "Nevertheless, it does move!" A bit too verbose in its climactic courtroom scenes, Galileo nonetheless does full justice to its protagonist. The musical score is by Ennio Morricone, of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cyril Cusack, Lou Castel, (more)
- 1968
One of two thrillers starring Carroll Baker and directed by Umberto Lenzi, this one was released in the United States as Paranoia, the original title of the second one. Katherine West (Baker) is a wealthy alcoholic who travels to her late husband's Italian villa from New York. Soon, a slimy conman named Peter (Lou Castel) and his girlfriend Eva (Colette Descombes) move in on Katherine, taking advantage of her confused state with sex, drugs, and blackmail. One scene has the hapless Katherine served a toad for dinner, and there are some interesting moments, but this is clearly the lesser of the two films. The annoying score was composed by Piero Umiliani. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll Baker, Lou Castel, (more)
- 1967
Grazie Zia is better known by its English-language title Thank You, Aunt. As an act of defiance against a world he never fit into, 17-year-old Alvise (Lou Castel) has willed himself into a state of psychosomatic paralysis. From the vantage point of his wheelchair, Alvise cruelly manipulates all those around him. The only one who seems to resist his tyranny is his gorgeous aunt Lea (Lisa Gastoni). Hopelessly in love with Lea, Alvise determines to "conquer" her as well. Her response to his insidious mind games is hardly what Alvise expects, but it's certainly what the audience has been clamoring for since Reel One. To call Grazie Zia kinky would be putting it mildly. The film was also released as Come Play With Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Gastoni, Lou Castel, (more)
It is early in the 20th century, and an American traveler has come to Mexico at just the wrong time to continue living a peaceful life, for the Revolution has begun and he quickly finds himself in the thick of it. At first, he is right in the middle between government troops and the revolutionaries and bandidos as they attack a train. Later, he finds himself among the decidedly scruffy-looking revolutionaries and even finds some romantic interest in a hot-tempered girl who is among them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gian Maria Volontè, Lou Castel, (more)
Considered one of the great lost classics of Italian neo-realism, this bleak drama was the debut feature of filmmaker Marco Bellocchio. Lou Castel stars as Alessandro, an epileptic from a large family of similarly afflicted siblings, headed up by a blind matriarch (Liliana Gerace). The only healthy member of the family is Alessandro's brother Augusto (Marino Mase), who wants to marry his girlfriend but refuses to saddle a bride with the enormous burden of helping to care for his ailing relatives. Sympathetic to Augusto's plight, Alessandro decides to murder the rest of the family so as to set his brother free and assure him of an inheritance. After hurling his mother into a ravine and drowning his little brother, Alessandro returns home to suffer a seizure. Long hailed by critics and historians as an unjustly ignored film, I Pugni in Tasca (1965) was one of 15 titles selected by New York's Museum of Modern Art for its "Second Act" retrospective of post-war Italian cinema in the spring of 2000. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, (more)
