Mario Feliciani Movies

The time is the mid-14th century --- the Pope is now residing at Avignon, the Black Death is killing millions across Europe, and civil wars are adding to the turmoil and chaos. In this story adapted from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, a young teenage couple is sent to live in a nearby town by the man's uncle, in an attempt to keep them safe from harm. She is from the lower classes, and he comes from a noble family -- a family that opposes his choice of a future bride. While en route to the town, the couple's horses are stolen and they are forced to continue through the forest on foot -- at a pace that introduces them to a kaleidoscope of Boccaccio's characters, from masters of mysticism, to soldiers of the warring Papal armies. Somehow, the couple manage to get through this gauntlet of sorts, and they do marry. Just as they are ready to go back to Rome (where they came from), they hear that there is an insurrection in the offing, and suddenly, their brief spate of stability is threatened again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Italian army regulars resist the orders of a cruel general whose rigid interpretations of the rules call for a man to be shot. Leone (Alain Cuny) orders the execution of an army regular who halted the troops while under enemy fire. A sympathetic lieutenant substitutes a dead body for that of the doomed soldier because he believes the general has been wrong and the man acted normally. Another lieutenant is shot when he refuses to shoot men who have exited quickly from a foxhole under bombardment. This anti-war film illustrates the enemy is not the only force of evil on the battlefield and that war is inherently wrong for everyone involved. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

For some reason, the elongated figures limned by the highly astigmatic painter El Greco (1541-1614) perfectly suited the grandees of Spain even though they were clearly anything but realistic, and they fascinate even today. The Greek (Cretan, actually) painter's life in Spain could have served as the basis for a fascinating biography, but the makers of this film chose to concentrate on the bad ol' Inquisition and portray the painter as being warned by his girlfriend that he is being watched; as a foreigner, he is suspected of heresy. Mel Ferrer plays the painter in this historical melodrama which is not nearly as bad as it could have been. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Roland Carey plays a desperate consul of Rome in Revolt of the Barbarians. Threatened with invasion on both land and sea, the Eternal City sends Carey to seek aid from the Gauls. Resentment of the Empire runs high, so our hero has quite a lot of damage control on his hands. Bogging down in the dialogue sequences, the film pays its way with its high-octane action scenes. Grazia Maria Spina and Mario Feliciani also star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pirates are essentially the good guys in the Italian swashbuckler Black Buccaneer. Ricardo Montalban, tongue firmly in handsome cheek, plays an ex-slave who turns slave-trader himself. It's all for the purpose of abolishing slavery, of course, but Montalban doesn't let head-villain Vincent Price know that. Along the way, Montalban falls in love with Guilia Rubini, daughter of the governor of San Salvador, where most of the action takes place. Originally titled Gordon Il Pirata Nero, Black Buccaneer is better known under its alternate title Rage of the Buccaneers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Italian swashbucklers have high seas adventures in this pirate outing that tells the tale of a handsome former slave who returns to San Salvador to eradicate anyone who makes money at the expense of another's freedom. Unfortunately, the pirate's schemes go awry and he ends up in prisoner by a treacherous secretary of the nation's governor. Fortunately, a love affair with the governor's daughter sets things to rights, but not without a lot of exciting hijinks in the interim. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Maciste, here played by Kirk Morris, is instead a legendary Italian superhero of long standing. In this one, the mighty Mr. M journeys to seventeenth-century Scotland (this is Hell?) His foe is a fearsome Scottish witch who holds awesome power over the local wildlife, and for a while it looks like our hero will get killed. As with many other Maciste films, this Technicolor opus was bundled into the "Sons of Hercules" package syndicated to local TV stations in the mid-1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this historical drama, a Viking prince returns to his homeland only to learn that his father has been murdered by King Sven of Norway. He then discovers that Sven is forcing his sister to marry in order to create an alliance with the Danes. The prince rallies his loyal fighters to storm the king's fortress in an attempt to rescue his sister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This very expensive Italian-made adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" stars Kirk Douglas as seafaring hero Ulysses. The story begins, as ever, with Ulysses leaving his faithful wife Penelope (Silvano Magnano) behind as he goes off to fight in the Trojan Wars. Having the poor taste to set himself above the gods after a stunning military victory, Ulysses is doomed to journey aimlessly across the sea until he can make amends. Along the way, our hero battles a cyclops, resists the fatal singing of the Sirens, and enjoys a brief interlude with pig-fancying enchantress Circe (also played by Silvano Magnano). Years and years later, Ulysses returns to Penelope, where he must meet and master a final challenge. Acceptable enough when first released in 1954, Ulysses pales in comparison to the high-tech, all-star 1997 TV miniseries version of The Odyssey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide