Gianni Rizzo Movies
Adapted from Umberto Eco's best-selling novel, director Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a 14th century murder-mystery thriller starring Sean Connery as a Sherlock Holmes-esque Franciscan monk called William of Baskerville. When a murder occurs at a secluded Benedictine Abbey, William is called in to investigate. As he and his apprentice, Adson von Melk (Christian Slater), delve deeper and deeper into the case, more dead bodies begin to turn up. Eventually, Bernardo Gui, an inquisitor played by F. Murray Abraham gets involved, but he may not have the best intentions. Sean Connery's performance earned him the award for Best Actor at the 1988 British Academy Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, (more)
- 1978
- PG
This espionage thriller is set in some of Europe's most scenic locales and follows the exploits of an agent and soldier-of-fortune who must stop enemy agents from stealing a shipment of uranium. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Siegfried Rauch, Oded Kotler, (more)
- 1975
- PG
Set in Asia, a couple of crooks from the States attempt to pull off a heist involving narcotics. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
In this spaghetti western, a quick-drawing, hard-riding granite faced, steel-eyed ex-Confederate soldier (Lee VanCleef) rides into a Texas town with the small travelling circus he works for as a stunt rider and bumps into a man who owes him $5,000. Wanting the money back, the vet decides to stay in town and it isn't long before he ends up embroiled in corruption and double-crosses as he fights to simultaneously save the townsfolk from the greedy, corrupt politician who runs the town and forces the residents to pay cripplingly high taxes and steal the crook's fortune. This is the third Sabata film and the second time VanCleef essayed the character. In the second film Adios Sabata, the title character was played by Yul Brynner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, Reiner Schöne, (more)
The Decameron was the first of director Pier Paolo Pasolini's "trilogy of life." The film, based on the sexually supercharged tales of Boccaccio, is a patchwork of many of Pasolini's favorite themes. Pasolini himself plays the role of an aspiring fresco painter who is advised that his completed work will never be as satisfying as his dream of that work. The film is followed by Pasolini's The Canterbury Tales and The Arabian Nights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Adiós Sabata is rather odd entry in this spaghetti Western series. It continues the story of Sabata and boasts a plot that closely replicates the first film's key elements, from the cool and mysterious gunslinger hero down to the stunts, the gimmicky weapons, and the presence of a potentially traitorous sidekick for Sabata. However, Adiós Sabata introduces a new actor with an entirely different persona into the role of Sabata: Yul Brynner is as terse with his dialogue as Lee Van Cleef was in the first Sabata, but he brings a brooding, ominous undercurrent to the role that gives the film an added bit of tension. Thankfully, this tension between the familiar elements and Brynner's intense presence works in favor of Adiós Sabata instead of against it. Other highlights include a fun supporting performance from Pedro Sanchez as a mouthy revolutionary-turned-bandit and a rousing finale packed with plenty of stunts and gunplay. On the downside, Frank Kramer's direction, while stylish, is erratic in its pacing, and this leads to the occasional dull stretch, but the film's sense of color and lighthearted tone keep it from going off the rails. In short, Adiós Sabata might not be an obvious first choice for a spaghetti Western novice, but it is solid, engaging fare for someone already into the genre. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Dean Reed, (more)
Spaghetti Western fans used to the likes of Django and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly might be taken by surprise when watching Sabata. True, the film does star spaghetti Western star Lee Van Cleef as the tight-lipped hero of the title, but it has a very different feel from the genre's traditional, Sergio Leone-derived style. Director/co-writer Gianfranco Parolini (alias Frank Kramer) takes things in a direction that seems to fall halfway between The Wild Wild West TV series and a James Bond movie; the film is packed with colorful characters, exotic weapons, and the action scenes that mix wild stunts with pyrotechnics. Parolini appropriately gives the film a light touch, playing up the colorful and humorous aspects while delivering the action. The end result is a little too long for this sort of light material, causing it to drag a bit in the middle, but it is too good-natured and entertaining to dislike. In short, Sabata is likely to make fun viewing for Euro-cult fans and anyone interested in an offbeat Western. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, William Berger, (more)
- 1968
In this western, an engimatic stranger stops a stage from being robbed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Garko, William Berger, (more)
A skillful thief with a penchant for knives attempts to outwit a slew of bloodthirsty treasure hunters in this brutal Italian Western from director Sergio Sollima. The gold they seek may be enough to finance the Mexican Revolution -- depending on who gets to it first and what they intend to do with it. Whether it's the thief Cuchillo (Tomas Milian), his passionate fiancée, the sheriff-turned-bounty-hunter, the ruthless bandits, or the fearsome American agents who end up with the gold, two things are certain -- the stakes are high and the competition is literally cutthroat. Run, Man, Run! also features music by Bruno Nicolai and the legendary film composer Ennio Morricone. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Thora (Essy Persson) and Kress (John Karelsen) are superior beings from another planet who find themselves marooned on the moon. A U.S. space mission lead by Major Perry Rodan (Lang Jeffries) rescues the couple. Kress is suffering from an unknown ailment, and a medical examination reveals he has leukemia. The rescue team secretly brings the ailing alien to an African physician who specializes in blood disorders. Soon word gets around about the aliens, causing a full-scale search for the rescue team and the two space cadets. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lang Jeffries, Essy Persson, (more)
- 1967
The Nazis pull out all the stops during their scheme to kill all the Allied leaders with one strike when it seems that the Allies are winning World War II. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1967
This Italian western contains subtle political undertones as it chronicles the exploits of a tubercular history professor who journeys to the American Southwest to recuperate. There he becomes fascinated by an outlaw who befriends him. The intelligent prof uses his brains to assist the outlaw. Violence ensues until the prof kills the outlaw who has been oppressing and taking advantage of him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In this James Bond knock-off from the 1960s, a veteran US Secret Service agent must thwart the covert conspiracy's of an enemy spy network that threatens the world's safety. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Dan Vadis, one of the better Steve Reeves imitators of the 1960s, stars in Triumph of the Ten Gladiators. Vadis of course plays the leader of the titular ten. His great rival is an evil prime minister who rules a timorous populace with an iron hand. Fortunately he isn't wearing that iron hand when he tussles with Vadis. Though Hercules doesn't make an appearance in Triumph of the Ten Gladiators, many local TV stations included the film in their "Sons of Hercules" syndicated packages. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
This Italian sword-and-sandal epic tells the tale of the renegade slave Spartacus who leads a slave revolt to end the practice of gladiator fighting to the death. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this high-seas adventure set in the 15th century, a dashing hero is released from prison and assigned to save the governor of Rhodes' kidnapped daughter from a wicked pirate. Instead, the parolee joins the pirates, but when they catch him staring at the girl, they beat him senseless and leave him to die. They then leave to sell the girl to a white slaver. Fortunately, the hero remembers right from wrong, enlists the aid of local fishermen, and saves the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this spectacle, the Assyrians launch a siege against the Asian city of Bethulia to force the city dwellers to stop worshipping God, and begin paying homage to an idol. This causes great restlessness among the residents who begin a conspiratorial underground, plotting the death of the Assyrian leader. They make one attempt and fail. The despotic leader then demands that the perpetrators turn themselves in. If they do not, the rest of the city will suffer. A beautiful sister of one of the rebels decides to join her brother and kill the leader herself. Unfortunately, she falls in love with the leader until she learns that he is planning to destroy her city just to win the admiration of his troops. Her patriotism exceeds her love and she cuts off his head, causing his Assyrian army to flee in terror. As she holds up the leader's head, a bolt of lightning strikes the pagan idol. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Massimo Girotti, Isabelle Corey, (more)
- 1951
In this comedy-drama, Frank Keeler (Lloyd Bridges is an American G.I. stationed in Italy whose less-than-legal side business has earned him a small fortune. However, he is eventually caught, convicted, and imprisoned by authorities, but not before he can hide the money. After Keeler is released, he goes back to Italy to pick up his money, only to discover that someone also has already found it, sending Keeler on a manhunt to find the person who made off with his nest egg. Likely suspects include ex-girlfriend Elena (Lea Padovani), cemetery worker Pietro (Aldo Fabrizi) and transplanted mobster Jack Conway (William Tubbs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Lea Padovani, (more)
- 1949
Luigi Tosi, best known to American audiences as the priggish romantic lead in Laurel & Hardy's final feature Atoll K (1951), heads the cast of the Italian City of Pain. The film is set in the border town of Pola. In 1947, the citizens of this tiny community were given a choice: either head to the Italian side of the border, or become part of Yugoslavia. Among those who elect to stay (at least according to this film) is a young husband and father (Tosi) who is loyal to the Tito regime. In order to make certain that his wife and child will make it to Italy safely, the young man agrees to sleep with communist official Lubitza (played by American actress Constance Dowling). This sad little fable was originally released in Italy as La Citta Dolente. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luigi Tosi, Gianni Rizzo, (more)
