Gianni di Benedetto Movies
- 1969
- PG
In this comedy, a medical assistant and his strange childhood friend fall in love. Unfortunately, the girl is unable to make a permanent commitment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Based on a story by Joseph Conrad, this 18th-century set drama is set shortly after the French Revolution and chronicles the exploits of a former counterrevolutionary pirate who befriends a mentally ill, naive young woman. Eventually his feelings of friendship turn to love and this in turn leads to tragedy when she falls in love with a French naval officer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
The bulk of this amusing crime film consists of a plan to steal a fortune in gold from the supposedly impregnable vaults of Geneva's Credit Suisse Bank. A criminal genius (Philippe Leroy) watches from across the street as his six henchmen -- whose names all begin with the letter "A" -- carry out the caper. Among the burglars are such familiar actors as Gabriele Tinti and Gaston Moschin, while Rosanna Podesta appears as Leroy's mistress, the scheming Giorgia. After the heist itself, which consumes nearly an hour of screen time, the group becomes fraught with mistrust and suspicion, only to lose out on their wealth when the stolen gold ends up scattered in a public square. Leroy and the rest returned in director Marco Vicario's Il Grande Colpo dei Sette Uomini d'Oro the following year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossana Podestà, Philippe Leroy, (more)
- 1963
In this fantasy, Hercules and Ulysses end up marooned on an island when they lose a battle with a sea monster. On the island Hercules kills a lion with his hands and winds up being mistaken for Samson. To prove that he is really Hercules, he must battle with the real Samson. They grunt, groan, and draw some blood before the fight is called a draw. Later the three team up and defeat the Philistines. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Morris, Richard Lloyd, (more)
- 1962
Generally considered the first real giallo film, Mario Bava's stylish thriller stars Leticia Roman as Nora, who travels to Rome to visit her sick aunt. The aunt dies that night, and Nora ends up witnessing a murder. The police and kindly Dr. Bassi (John Saxon) don't believe her, since there is no body, so she goes to stay with her aunt's friends, the Cravens. Along the way, there are several more murders tied to a decade-long string of killings of victims chosen in alphabetical order by surname. The surprising ending is worth staying around for, as is an amusing supporting performance by Valentina Cortese. Bava would go on to further codify many of the giallo genre's conventions in Sei Donne per l'Assassino the following year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
This 1962 Biblical epic was adapted by Christopher Fry from the novel by Pär Lagerkvist. Anthony Quinn stars as Barabbas, the thief who was pardoned in place of Jesus. For the rest of his life, the guilt-ridden criminal tries to justify his existence and to determine his place in the scheme of things. Along the way he encounters the self-righteous pomposity of Pontius Pilate (Arthur Kennedy), the stoning of Sara (Katy Jurado), the gladiatorial sadism of Torvald (Jack Palance), and the burning of Rome. The film's unbilled Christ is played by Roy Magnano, the brother of Quinn's second-billed costar Silvia Mangano. Watch for the genuine solar eclipse during the Crucifixion sequence, an effect that director Richard Fleischer spent several days preparing for. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, (more)
- 1960
Previously filmed in 1932 as Vampyr, Sheridan LeFanu's classic psychological horror tale was given a second go round in 1961 as Blood & Roses (Et Mourir de Plaisir). While Carl Theodor Dreyer concentrated on mood and suspense in Vampyr, Blood & Roses director Roger Vadim goes directly to the jugular, so to speak, with generous doses of eerie eroticism. Annette Vadim plays Carmilla, who upon learning that she had a vampire ancestor becomes obsessed with finding out even more. Soon Carmilla has succumbed to the siren song of vampirism, and cannot quench her insatiable thirst for human blood. The lesbian subtext in the LeFanu original is played out con brio by Vadim-though not in the heavily bowderlized version made available to American audiences in 1962. Blood & Roses was subsequently remade as The Vampire Lovers and The Blood-Spattered Bride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Ferrer, Elsa Martinelli, (more)
