Gian Carlo Prete Movies

In this routine sci-fi sequel, Trash (Mark Gregory) is back in action again after his introduction in 1990: The Bronx Warriors, to defend that much-maligned New York burrough from total extinction at the hands of a vicious corporate giant. The General Construction Corporation plans on building luxury high-rises in the Bronx, but since the current Bronxonians are in the way, they have to be exterminated, obviously. Meanwhile, the media are to be spoon-fed the story that the good Bronx citizens have been relocated to New Mexico, apparently quite willingly. The only obstacle to the evil corporation's designs is a brave journalist, Moon (Valeria D'Obici) who is inspired to suggest that if the corporation's CEO could be kidnapped and held for ransom, they just might save the Bronx from all those luxury apartments. The man the fate offers to carry out this project is Strike (Timothy Brent), a king among thieves. The remainder of the story lurches from one gunfight to the next. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this run-of-the-mill, derivative film about vulgar road warriors in the year 2019 -- after a nuclear holocaust -- the two macho heroes (Giancarlo Prete and Fred Williamson) have to single-handedly save a band of religious nomads plagued by the evil Templars. Between scenes and characters lifted from several preceding successes, flat acting, and a general lack of originality, I Nuovi Barbari has nothing new about it. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This slapstick Italian sex comedy actually looks far more expensive than it really is, as it used the sets left over from the 1980 spectacular Caligula. It can't quite make up its mind, though, if it's a comedy (the emperor Claudius is a doddering, stuttering, impotent old fool), a sex film (with much nudity and several orgy scenes), or a slasher/gore picture (in a scene where soldiers invade an orgy and starting dismembering and decapitating everyone in sight -- which, incredibly, is treated as a slapstick scene!), and winds up being not much of anything. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

In this comedy, Scaramouche (Michael Sarrazin) and his friend Whistle (Giancarlo Prete) are members of Napoleon's army, and through a series of adventures, become embroiled in the intrigues surrounding Napoleon (Aldo Maccione) and his Empress, Josephine (Ursula Andress). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

On March 24, 1944, in the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome, one of the most infamous atrocities of World War II occurred -- the mass execution of 330 Italians in retaliation for the deaths of 33 Germans. The book Death in Rome contends that Pope Pius XII knew of the German plan but did nothing to stop it. In this film adaptation, Richard Burton plays Col. Herbert Kappler, a Nazi officer torn between his devotion to Hitler's cause and his love for Italy when he is ordered by his superior officer, Gen. Kurt Maelzer (Leo McKern), to see that this execution is carried out. Opposing the Germans and reacting against the silence of the Pope is Vatican priest Don Antonelli (Marcello Mastroianni), who chooses to die with the Italians rather than continue to act as a middleman between the German army and the Romans. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This frightening horror-thriller stars Giancarlo Giannini as Inspector Tellini, chasing a killer whose victims are paralyzed with a poisoned acupuncture needle, forcing them to watch helplessly as their stomachs are ripped open with a sharp knife. This method duplicates the habits of the black wasp in slaying tarantulas, explaining the title. Much of the film is spent on a wild goose chase involving Silvano Tranquilli, the husband of the first victim (Barbara Bouchet). All of the suspects soon turn up dead and Giannini turns his attention to an upscale health spa, frequented by each victim, which is a front for blackmail and cocaine smuggling. The mystery itself is fairly obvious, but director Paolo Cavara includes a good deal of action and Ennio Morricone's score is effectively chilling. Among the cast are such genre favorites as Annabella Incontrera, Stefania Sandrelli, Claudine Auger, Rossella Falk, and Giancarlo Priete, and --as in many Italian thrillers of the period -- voyeurism is the primary motif. Barbara Bach and Carla Mancini appear briefly. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Two lawmen play a game of cat and mouse when one suspects the other of being implicated in a murder in this Italian crime drama. Lomunno (Luciano Lorcas, aka Luciano Catenacci) is a notorious underworld kingpin who, along with several of his bodyguards, is killed by LiPuma (Adolfo Lastretti), who then turns his gun on himself. An investigation reveals that LiPuma was a dangerous mental patient with a grudge against the mobster who had very recently been released from a state institution. District Attorney Traini (Franco Nero) is convinced something's not right, and he suspects that police detective Captain Buonavilla (Martin Balsam), who for years had been obsessed with taking Dubrosio off the streets, might have been responsible for LiPuma's release. Buonavilla, however, believes that sometimes justice is more important than strictly following the rules -- and he thinks Traini might have his own hidden agenda. Confessione di un Commissario di Polizia al Procuratore della Repubblica (aka Confessions Of A Police Captain) was one of four Italian features Martin Balsam would star in during the year of 1972. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Captain Turner (Rock Hudson) is the American paratrooper who employs Italian children to blow up a strategic dam controlled by the Nazis. He is the only survivor of his unit gunned down during the jump. Rescued by the moppets, he slaps and rapes German medico Bianca (Sylva Koscina), which implausibly leads her to trust Turner and help in the clandestine mission. Aldo (Mark Colleano) is the youthful leader who helps Turner carry out the bombing in exchange for an attack on his village. When the Nazis control the small town, their allegiance quickly changes as they fight the Germans they once considered allies. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi