Sylva Koscina Movies
Yugoslav-born actress Sylva Koscina was an Italian resident from the age of 12. In films from 1955, Koscina gained international attention for her leading-lady stints in Steve Reeves' first two Hercules films. She went on to appear in so many films in so many roles that it's difficult to "type"her: she was an adventurous acrobat in Judex (1960), a socially conscious nun in The Little Nuns (1962), "herself" in Fellini's Juliet and the Spirits (1965), a lesbian assassin in Deadlier Than the Male (1967) and so on. Retiring from films in 1987, Sylva Koscina returned before the cameras in the year just prior to her death: her last appearance was in the tantalizingly titled Kim Novak is on the Phone (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1994
This poignant Italian drama tells the tale of a producer who would do just about anything to have actress Kim Novak appear in his next film. Enrico, a producer, needs $250,000 so he can hire Kim Novak for his film. The problem is that he is almost broke. He wants to sell his palatial family home but cannot unless his wife Emilia consents to it. Unfortunately, they are separated and she is involved with a new man. She has tried to convince her son Luca, that his father is a rat. Enrico's passion for Kim Novak is revealed through his memories of his youth which included a series of orgies with a sexy barmaid who was the spitting image of Novak. Eventually Luca, returns to his father determined to help him out and the two share many wonderful times. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Perrin, Joanna Pacula, (more)
- 1993
Ricky (Renato Pozzetto) has been a prosperous businessman, but lately things haven't been going so well, and he isn't sure why. Whatever the reason, he attempts suicide and is saved by Barabbas (Christian De Sica), a very peculiar man with the hereditary vocation of being a hobo (he's the seventh generation). Not only is Barabbas a hobo, but he's got a real talent for living elegantly and well. As Barabbas restores his new friend's spirits, he also investigates the causes for his business reversals and discovers that the culprit is his adulterous wife (Francesca Reggiani), who has been sharing her bed and important business secrets with a business rival. Together, they concoct a scheme to put things right. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Gildo (Paolo Villaggio) is a moralistic magistrate who shuts down red light districts in this sex comedy. His enemies conspire to photograph him in a compromising position with sex goddess Lola (Serena Grandi). Laura Antonelli plays a wealthy woman who believes her husband has drowned. A priest is forced to put his mouth on a topless nun as the battle of morality verses misbehavior unfolds. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Villaggio, Serena Grandi, (more)
- 1983
In a revealing documentary about one slice of film history, directors Francesco Bortolini and Claudio Masenza interview eight Italian actresses who attained fame in the U.S. through films they made in Hollywood. Most of the eight agree that performers are treated better in Hollywood than in Italy, and that U.S. efficiency and organization impressed them -- but that in Italy, they had more challenging roles than was allowed in the U.S. Virna Lisi was made over to look like another Marilyn Monroe, Gina Lollobrigida was employed like the others for her sex appeal -- and left after a few films --, and Claudia Cardinale, for inscrutable reasons, was meant to be another Doris Day. Unfortunately, even though great stars are included among the eight, the most obvious and inexplicable omission is Sophia Loren, well-known to American audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Sylva Koscina, (more)
- 1983
In this musical adaptation of the Cinderella story geared toward teen audiences, Cindy (Bonnie Bianco) lives with her father, stepmother, and two half-sisters in Brooklyn. The shrewish stepmom hates Cindy and is taking off for Rome to get her daughters trained in classical music. Completely against her wishes, she has to take Cindy along because her husband insists. Once in Rome, Cindy's great voice comes into its own when she sings for a band run by a prince (who has kept his true identity to himself). Everyone is invited to the prince's family mansion for a party, and when Cindy goes -- thanks to being outfitted by a friendly astrologer -- she is furious when she discovers the prince's real identity and throws her shoe at him in a fit of temper. The rest is history. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bonnie Bianco, Pierre Cosso, (more)
- 1981
On his wedding night, of all times, a husband appropriately named "Ace" (Adriano Celentano) gambles away the night at a local bar -- and wins a handy amount of money. As Ace heads home to his waiting bride Bocconcino (Edwige Fenech), he is killed by a hired gun. When he reappears to see his wife, he has a hard time convincing her that only she can see him -- he is definitely invisible to everyone else, and definitely quite dead. Aghast at his wife's determination to go to work as a dancer on the stage, he undermines her rehearsal and then connives to get her married off to an appropriately aged and wealthy banker. So the next question arises: Is there divorce after death? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adriano Celentano, Edwige Fenech, (more)
In a way, the title of Some Like It Cool was a piquant comment on the career of star Tony Curtis, whose stardom had chilled since his 1959 appearance in Some Like It Hot. This time around, Curtis plays famed 18th-century lover Giacomo Casanova. The plot would have us believe that Casanova has suddenly turned impotent, and is deploying all manner of subterfuge to hide the fact. One of Casanova's stratagems is to hire a look-alike (also Curtis) to uphold his reputation between the sheets. The stellar supporting cast -- Marisa Berenson, Hugh Griffith, Britt Ekland et. al. -- seem far more embarrassed by their tawdry, topless surroundings than Curtis, who steamrolls his way through the film with the same dogged determination that he'd demonstrated in his "Yonda lies the castle of my fadduh" formative years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Marisa Berenson, (more)
- 1973
That's Ray Milland all right, making the best of a seedy situation in the Spanish-lensed Student Connection. He plays the headmaster of an exclusive boys' school, who is conducting an affair with a married woman. Driven by passion, Milland kills his paramour's husband. He then discovers that one of his students saw him commit the crime...and thus begins a chain of homicides which ends only moments before the film does. The Student Connection doesn't appear on Ray Milland's "official" resume, and we can't say that we blame him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
In this chiller from Italian director Mario Bava, Elke Sommer stars as Lisa, a young tourist who keeps running into a strange bald man who carries around a mannequin. The bald man is Leandre (Telly Savalas), the butler at the estate of a blind Countess (Alida Valli) and her slightly off-kilter son Max (Alessio Orano). In a bizarre turn of events, Lisa kills a man in self-defense and winds up hitching a ride with Frances Lehaf, his wife Sophia (Sylva Koscina), and her chauffeur/lover George. Car troubles land them at the Countess' estate where Lisa is plagued by strange dreams and visions of the man she killed. More troubling for Lisa is that both the dead man and Max appear to know her. Meanwhile, the other guests begin to die: George is murdered by an unseen assailant, Sophia runs over her husband with the car, and then is dispatched herself by a killer who is revealed to be Max. Lisa awakens in Leandre's room full of dummies and runs off through the house. She encounters Max, who shows her the skeletal remains of Eleanor, the lover he killed for having an affair with his stepfather. Max believes that Lisa is Eleanor reincarnated. After an odd sex scene, he is confronted by his mother whom he winds up stabbing to death. Moments later, she reappears and the shock sends Max falling to his own death. Lisa awakens in the house, which now appears to have been abandoned for decades. She boards an airplane to head home, but in a chilling climax, she discovers the plane devoid of all passengers...except for a few old friends including the diabolical Leandre. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This Italian melodrama, with a dubbed English soundtrack, is an anti-abortion platform wrapped in a drama. Throughout the film, but beginning with the title sequence, the lively and engaging baby whose life might have been cut short is featured in many short scenes. The story involves two students who neglect to practice birth control and find themselves faced with the girl's pregnancy. The girl is prepared to have the baby but is under orders from her mother to have an abortion. Her boyfriend, unwilling to face the consequences of parenthood, also suggests one. The girl makes her own decision, however. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
A serial killer is murdering beautiful models in this Italian slasher film. It turns out that he is using the poisoned claws of a black cat to do it. A blind composer whose girlfriend was one of the victims sets out to stop him. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Geremia is a smuggler who sneaks cigarettes and chocolate across the border between Switzerland and Italy. His brother-in-law Augusto, a municipal guard, draws him into a plot to smuggle a person across the border, but their efforts collapse when the illegal immigrant is caught and falls to his death in a ravine. Geremia and Augusto discover that the dead man was also transporting two billion lire in his suitcases, which he was supposed to deposit in a Swiss bank. The two men decide to keep the loot, and so its true owners in Switzerland must connive to get it back from them. They succeed in duping Augusto, but the clever Geremia is able to hold onto the money and safely escape with it into Switzerland. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Since the Italian Homo Eroticus was released to the US as Man of the Year, this video version is available under both titles. Lando Buzzanca plays the servant to dazzling socialite Rosanna Podesta. His duties go far beyond carrying tea on a silver tray. Fact is, Rosanna is what you might call insatiatable. Pretty soon, Buzzanca is wondering where his next reserve of energy will be coming from. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Turn-of-the-century Naples is the setting for this show-business comedy about a theatrical nobody who starts a popular dance craze based on the Can-Can. This film continues lead actress Monica Vitti's successful transition from doing critically acclaimed (but not awfully profitable) dramas to popular comedy. Her acting makes up for her minimal singing and dancing skills, and the film is assisted by a strong supporting cast, first-class production values and upbeat music. This film is also notable for its efforts to accurately show Neapolitan life of the period. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Marc (Marcel Bozzuffi) is a hood who is hunted down by his boss when he fails to execute a man who happens to be his friend. He is hidden by a woman (Sylvia Koscina) whose husband has murdered his business associate and wants Marc to take the rap for the crime. Michel Constantine is the friend targeted for murder, and Jean Lucciani and Daniel Moosman also appears in this suspenseful action feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcel Bozzuffi, Sylva Koscina, (more)
- 1970
A husband (Maurice Ronet) recalls his past experiences as he travels by train to Rome from Paris. He has just left his wife (Emmanuela Riva) for his mistress (Sylva Koscina), and flashbacks are employed to tell his story. He thinks of his future in Rome with the mistress as he fondly remembers the highpoints of his past relationship. Taken from the novel by Michel Butor, this marks the directorial debut for Michel Worms. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Ronet, Emmanuelle Riva, (more)
