Manuel Zarzo Movies

Set near the end of the bloody Indo-Chinese War in which the Vietnamese struggled to shuck off the yoke of French colonialism, this taut, provocative French war drama chronicles the events leading up to the slaughter of the French Army's 317th Platoon, a unit comprised of 41 Laotians and a quartet of French officers that was ordered to make it back to the safety of camp Dien Bien Phu. It is an arduous journey and the soldiers must not only battle constant ambushes, but also the jungle itself. Many soldiers die along the way. When they finally make it to the camp, they find the enemy waiting. Not one member of the platoon survives the ensuing slaughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Gravel-voiced Aldo Ray stars as Sgt. Cloadec in the Italian-Spanish Suicide Commandos. As you've probably already guessed, the film takes place during World War 2. Cloadec is one of the many Allied guerilla fighters assigned to destroy an enemy airport deep within occupied territory. Pamela Tudor is on hand to do the Lili Palmer bit as a resistance fighter. Based on a novel by Piet Legay, Suicide Commandos was also released in the US as Man Without Mercy (and guess who that man is!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this spaghetti western, based on the Marvin H. Albert novel The Bounty Killer, a bounty hunter swears he will bring in a notorious Mexican outlaw. The outlaw is captured, but then, with the help of a pretty lady, escapes and goes to his hometown. There he enlists the aid of the locals and gets his old gang back together. The bounty hunter eventually catches up, but he is immediately captured and tortured by the outlaw who then robs and kills a few of the hapless townsfolk. This causes the woman to reconsider her actions. She frees the bounty hunter, and a violent shoot-out ensues. In the end, all of the bad-guys are slain, and the bounty hunter finds himself a rich man. There are no likeable or heroic characters in this film that is unfortunately marred by poor English-language dubbing. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Pizza Triangle is a freewheeling satire of Italian mores, hilarious despite its outwardly morbid plotline. The murder of flower girl Monica Vitti triggers a long flashback involving Vitti, middle-aged Communist bricklayer Marcello Mastrioanni, and young pizza chef Giancarlo Giannini. The married Mastrioanni falls in love with Vitti, but Giannini gets in the way. A fight results, after which the girl is hospitalized. Declaring a truce, the three lovers move in together, allowing Vitti tie to decide whom she loves best. The subsequent discord nearly results in the girl's suicide; she moves out and takes up with butcher Hercules Cortes, but returns to Gianinni when he attempts suicide. The now unemployed and unmarried Mastrioanni shows up, and when Vitti refuses again to commit herself to any one man, another fight results--this time ending in Vitti's death. Also released as A Drama of Jealousy and Jealousy Italian Style, The Pizza Triangle was originally shown in Italy as Dramma della Gelosia--Tutti i Particolari in Cronaca. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Italian director Tonino Valerii recreates a fistful of JFK conspiracy theories in Western settings with this bizarre look at the assassination of President James Garfield in 1890 Dallas. Granted, the assassination really occurred in Washington in 1881, but Valerii and screenwriter Massimo Patrizi don't let their allegory be ruined by facts. Anyway, it's a well-made film, with cinematography by Stelvio Massi and a suitably stentorian soundtrack by Luis Enrique Bacalov, but its appeal is probably limited to fans of Euro-oaters. Giuliano Gemma, Fernando Rey, and Van Johnson star, while genre enthusiasts will recognize veterans Frank Brana and Antonio Casas. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Robert Mitchum's son Christopher heads the cast of this Italian melodrama. Despite the horrific title, the film is actually a Mafia yarn. Arthur Kennedy shows up as a WASP-ish Godfather type, while Barbara Bouchet is the love interest. The presence of Hollywood names in the cast was supposed to create a market for Cauldron of Death in the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In Los Nuevos Espanoles, the slow-paced and happily inefficient lives of the "old" Spaniards is transformed as international corporations demand that they conform to more modern standards. In this spoof/satire, five "old Spaniard" insurance brokers suffer through the training techniques of the American company which has bought out the little company they worked for. Not only that, their wives come in for training too. Before long, they are "new Spaniards and are energetically selling insurance "the Bruster way." Though they win awards for being top salesmen, each meets with tragedy as a consequence of this radical change. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This Italian anthology uses the standard sex comedy format but lacks the subtle social commentary present in its predecessors. In the "Saturday" episode, a modest accountant is sent by his boss to entertain a visiting Japanese engineer who turns out to be a pretty woman (Edwige Fenech). In the "Sunday" episode, a truck driver (Michele Placido) has to help his suicidal neighbor (Barbara Bouchet) by posing as her husband when her Sicilian parents come visiting. In the "Friday" episode, a variety show owner (Adriano Celentano) tries to get back his star dancer who decided to marry a notorious gangster. ~ Yuri German, Rovi