Silvano Tranquilli Movies

In this complex political thriller, a police inspector operating out of Geneva discovers that the death of a Swiss journalist in Italy has more to do with Swiss international banking and high finance than is entirely comfortable. Indeed, as his investigation proceeds, he encounters car bombs and murders galore and challenges the prevailing system, briefly. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this Italian action film, a suspended police officer risks his badge in an attempt to bring a mob kingpin to justice. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The ever-reliable Claude Lelouch serves up another romance-and-adventure combination plate with Happy New Year. Simon (Lino Ventura) is doing prison time, due to a jewel-theft caper. The police still have not recovered the loot, so Simon gets an early release so that they can track him to it. He is wise to their intentions, however, and loses his tail early on. Nonetheless, his search for his old partner Charlot (Charles Gerard) leads him to reminisce about the robbery itself, and the events that led up to it. With the encouragement of his partner in crime, who honorably gives him his share, he looks up his old flame (Françoise Fabian) even though he knows she is now seeing someone else. The story of their current love's rekindling coincides with a retelling of how they became lovers in the first place. Originally released in 1973 as La Bonne Année, Happy New Year was remade in America in 1987 with Peter Falk, Charles Durning and Wendy Hughes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This Italian tragedy chronicles the sad love affair between a military inductee and a young woman. The story is set in Italy, during 1938 when Mussolini was having all Jews exiled from Italy. Donatello loves Vernier. Trouble ensues when Vernier refuses to disclose her religious beliefs to the government. She eventually deliberately dives into the Arno River and drowns. The distraught fellow then learns from his mother, that his father, an opposition leader, was executed in prison. Despite the terrible tragedies surrounding him, the brave boy goes into the military. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

In this remake of his own La Danza Macabra, director Antonio Margheriti casts Anthony Franciosa as writer Alan Foster, who accepts a bet from Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski) and his friend Thomas Blackwood (Enrico Osterman). No one has ever survived a night in Blackwood's castle, but the skeptical Foster gladly accepts the dare. The castle is striking and scary, which soon begins to affect Foster's mind. He meets Blackwood's sister Elisabeth (Michele Mercier) and the jealous Julia (Karin Field). Julia's portrait had intrigued him earlier, but it is Elisabeth whom Foster beds, only to see her stabbed by a stranger. The attacker's body vanishes after Foster kills him, and he quickly realizes that the castle is inhabited by vampiric ghosts. Foster must survive the horrors of the night and hold on to not only his life, but his sanity as well. This is an atmospheric film, full of crypts, skulls and mist, and Margheriti's direction is assured. The acting is solid all around, with a fine supporting cast including Peter Carsten, Raf Baldassare, and Silvano Tranquilli, though fans of the original might miss Barbara Steele just a little. Overall, this is a worthy remake with some spooky moments and a well-written script by Bruno Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi. The music was composed by the prolific Riz Ortolani. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Stefano (Ugo Tognazzi) and his wife Giovanna (Senta Berger) are tempted to shed their sexual inhibitions when they witness a couple making love atop the Eiffel Tower. He places an ad in a lonely hearts column, but the women he dreams about all seem to be hideous creatures. The swinging couple take on various bed partners in this sex satire about modern moral decay. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Stuck in a dream world of his own, Italian sculptor Albert Saporito (Marcello Mastroianni) sometimes has difficulty separating truth from fiction. When he dreams that his gangster neighbor has been murdered, he reports the crime to the police, only to involve himself in a complicated situation. This film is in Italian with English subtitles. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide