Danilo Mattei Movies

A refugee from a street gang gets into trouble when he swipes a precious gem. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In 1978, Italian politics were thrown into turmoil when the Christian Democratic president Aldo Moro was executed. This gripping political drama is based on American journalist Robert Katz's non-fiction book Days of Wrath and documents the convoluted chain of events that lead to Moro's death. Moro was the first politico to bring his country's political factions together in 40 years. His ordeal begins shortly after he is elected. He is en route to church with his five body guards when they are ambushed by radical communist terrorists, the Red Brigade. They quickly execute the body guards and spirit Moro to a hidden "people's prison' where he is interrogated. Neither Moro's Christian Democrats nor the newly reinstated Communists will deal or in any way acknowledge the Red Brigade. They do however engage in a massive search for the missing Moro. But the search is poorly organized and ineffectual. Meanwhile Moro is allowed to send letters to the government. He suggests that the Vatican be called in to negotiate a prisoner exchange with the terrorists, but the Vatican refuses. Instead, they make a formal plea for Moro's unconditional freedom. The government does little or nothing to help the president and Moro realizes that the organization he helped create has abandoned him. In desperation, he becomes sharply critical of the government that continues to stall while the Red Brigade becomes increasingly frustrated and impatient. Eventually they decide to kill Moro and later stuff his body in a red Renault which they parked between the Christian Democrat and the Communist headquarters. The Moro Affair or Il Caso Moro as it was known in Italy, was extremely popular in it's native country, but it also sparked considerable controversy for as the case unfolds, nagging doubts and holes arise that infer that perhaps the government had more of a hand in the assassination than the Red Brigade. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Primarily a showcase for the gory special-effects artistry of Gianetto de Rossi, this revolting horror film stars Giovanni Lombardo Radice (also known as "John Morghen") as a drug-dealer who comes to the Amazon jungle from New York looking for a cache of stolen emeralds. He joins some American college students and soon introduces them to his special lifestyle, raping a native girl, then beating a young Indio senseless before gouging out his eyeball with a knife. Naturally, the local cannibals don't take too well to this treatment, so they cut off Radice's penis with a machete, gouge out his eye, then scalp him and eat his brain. Deciding that his companions are also to blame, the natives hang a young woman by impaling her breasts on meat hooks while her sorrowful companion sings "Red River Valley." Eventually, one woman gets back to New York, where she reads a dissertation on cannibalism to earn her PhD. Cult filmmaker Umberto Lenzi really outdid himself with this bloody spectacle, which maintains a consistent air of cruelty with a non-stop procession of beatings, rapes, real-life animal slaughter, larva-chewing, genital-chopping, cannibalism and the infamous meathook scene. Definitely for acquired tastes only, this nauseatingly effective shocker features a brief appearance by adult-film star Richard Bolla as a New York policeman. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

When the young would-be artist Tino arrives in Venice to live at the house of his uncle while he studies art, he soon discovers that his Austrian/Venetian uncle's house is packed with mystery -- there are abandoned rooms from which strange sounds emanate. Eventually, he is told that his uncle's insane brother is being kept in rooms on the top floor, and only Uncle Fabio (who is seldom home) is permitted to visit them. However, youth and curiosity impel him onward to even more discoveries. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide