Mario Morales Movies
- 1994
This uplifting film, set in a 19th-century Spanish convent, quietly comments upon the limitations of leading the spiritual and isolated life of a nun. The peaceful routine of the nuns is interrupted by the sudden arrival of an abandoned baby girl. The girl, whom they named Teresa after the Mother Superior, is formally adopted by the town doctor, but is actually raised by the loving hands of the nuns. The film follows their experiences as they learn a more earthly form of love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fiorella Faltoyano, Alfredo Landa, (more)
- 1987
A 50-year-old playwright (Jesus Puente) bemoans his fate from his secluded home in Northern Spain in this depressing drama. Side plots include an actress and former acquaintance who comes to visit and his amorous diversions with a 20-year-old local woman. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesus Puente, Victoria Vera, (more)
- 1987
The great Barcelonan tenor Jose Carreras stars in this film biography of one of Spain's first male international opera stars, Julian Gayarre (1845-1890). The singer was the son of a peasant and had trained to be a blacksmith. One day, while working (and singing) at his forge, he was overheard by a visiting priest, who appreciated the young man's talent. After being persuaded to study to be a singer, the blacksmith received scholarships and eventually emerged as a polished performer. His career was slow to get going, and during his years in obscurity he carried on a romance with the wife of an aristocrat, a woman who eventually bore his child. Fans of the handsome (and uncharacteristically thin) opera singer Carreras will be particularly pleased to encounter this film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Carreras, Sydne Rome, (more)
- 1969
- PG
This epic Spanish biopic chronicles the life of Cervantes, Spain's great novelist, playwright and poet, during the 16th-century, when as a young man he goes to Italy to become a soldier for the Pope. Later he helps the Pope's emissary wage war against the Spanish Moors. His exploits win him great favor. He falls in love with a famous Italian courtesan and she with him. Unfortunately, the Pope splits them apart with his newest decree which demands that all prostitutes leave the city. Upset, Cervantes goes to fight in the famed sea battle of Lepanto and comes back a hero. Later he is captured by Barbary pirates and ransomed by Trinitarian friars. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This classic blend of science-fiction and horror belies its extremely low budget with buckets of atmosphere and some genuinely creepy setpieces. The story concerns the crews of two spaceships, who land on a foggy, seemingly deserted planet. What they don't know is that the planet was home to a race of vampiric aliens, who possess their minds, eventually rising from their strange, misty graves to seek human blood. Legendary director Mario Bava once again proves himself a master at atmospheric composition, using color, sound, and minimalistic sets in original and unnerving ways. Barry Sullivan stars with Angel Aranda and Brazilian actress Norma Bengell. The American version, running several minutes shorter than the original, was put together by Ib Melchior (The Angry Red Planet). ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, (more)
- 1960
This was ironically the last film made by director Mario Bonnard, and it follows the pattern of the classic Italian costume dramas about macho or mythic heroes, in this case, a certain Glaucus (Steve Reeves, the glorious Greco-Roman past could not occur without him). Taking the cue from its larger-than-life hero, the story, set in 79 A.D., bounds from one spectacle to another without undue concern for nuanced dialogue or subtleties of character. Glaucus has to single-handedly tackle the brutal thugs that are taking over Pompeii and is forced to fight off a lion and a crocodile -- though not all at the same time. He overcomes wounds and enemies in preparation for his toughest fight, that of rescue and survival when Mt. Vesuvius blows its top, the biggest and final spectacle in a series of battleground fireworks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Reeves, Christine Kaufmann, (more)
