Luigi Cozzi Movies
An assistant to renowned horror/thriller director Dario Argento during the latter's early career, Luigi Cozzi aspired to be a director in his own right from the late '60s onward -- in contrast to Argento, however, Cozzi has always shown a preference for material rooted in science fiction. Indeed, his first effort before the cameras came about when he was 22 years old and was able to get the permission of noted sci-fi author Frederick Pohl to adapt one of his stories to the screen as an experimental film -- the resulting movie, Il Tunnel Sotto Il Mondo (aka Tunnel Under the World), received only a limited release in Italy but was good enough to establish Cozzi's potential. He earned his first major screen credit two years after that as a writer on Argento's 1971 thriller Four Flies on Grey Velvet. He and Argento collaborated on the screenplay for Eyewitness and the Argento-directed The Five Days of Milan (both 1973), and Cozzi moved into the director's chair that same year for Il Vicino di Casa (aka The Neighbor), produced by Argento for Italian television. In 1975, Cozzi finally got to shoot one of his own screenplays with The Killer Must Strike Again, a critically praised thriller that has since developed a cult following. Since then, he has worked on a mix of horror and suspense vehicles, as well as science fiction pieces such as Starcrash (1979) and Alien Contamination (1980), neither of which was well received by reviewers. His career continued apace, however, between theatrical films and made-for-television works, and remained closely linked to that of Argento until 1990 when -- according to author Louis Paul in his book Italian Horror Film Directors (McFarland, 2005) -- they had a brief falling out over Cozzi's choice of source and subject materials in Il Gatto Nero. Since that time, the two filmmakers have repaired their friendship, and by the end of the 20th century a big chunk of Cozzi's output and activities included documentary films about the work and career of Argento. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1990
Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash) was a long-time collaborator of acclaimed director Dario Argento, and this amusing horror film was his homage to his mentor. It's about a director who plans to complete Argento's "Three Mothers" trilogy, which began with Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980). Unfortunately for the cast and crew, the third witch is real and begins killing people off. The film is full of thunder and lightning, gore effects, and a familiar cast including Brett Halsey, Florence Guerin, Caroline Munro, and fellow Argento protégé Michele Soavi (Cemetery Man). ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caroline Munro
- 1984
In this moronic genre hybrid, at least seven credited writers -- including Luigi Cozzi, Sergio Martino, and Dardano Sacchetti -- throw Jaws, Piranha, and anything else they can find into a hopeless amalgam of hackneyed story, dull subplots, and terrible effects. Michael Sopkiw and Valentine Monnier are the typically dedicated scientists who try to avert ecological disaster while pawing each other like overheated teenagers. The monster, which is supposed to be a genetically-created hybrid of an octopus and a prehistoric proto-shark (instead resembling a toothy starfish with leprosy), spends most of its time just floating through the water. To compensate for this lack of movement, the victims flail about frantically while pulling the creature's inert tentacles over their bodies. Dr. Davis, the mad scientist behind the "Seakiller Project," gets to babble endlessly while his henchmen run around killing everyone in sight, including a woman who is beaten, stripped naked, and thrown in a bathtub before being electrocuted with a hair dryer. The filmmakers seem to enjoy the sight of women getting beaten up, because all of the female cast members get pummeled at one point or another while wearing very little clothing. Most viewers will find that even the appearance of such Euro-film favorites as Gianni Garko, William Berger, and Dagmar Lassander aren't enough to make this awful mess worth enduring. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Sopkiw, Valentine Monnier, (more)
- 1984
- PG
Mighty Hercules (played by muscleman Lou Ferrigno) returns in this sequel. This papa Zeus sends Herc from Olympus to Earth to find seven stolen thunderbolts. Basically the film is Saturday afternoon kiddy matinee fodder, good for passing the time, but little else. The film is also known as Adventures of Hercules. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Ferrigno, Milly Carlucci, (more)
- 1983
- PG
The 12 labors of Hercules were not the objective of this film starring Lou Ferrigno as the semi-divine son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Hercules must rescue Princess Cassiopea from her kidnappers, fight off grotesque laser-breathing monsters and in one case, jettison a giant bear up into space where it becomes Ursa Major, the Big Dipper or "Great Bear" constellation. Off-color (many scenes are in dim, bluish stage sets) and low-budget, this incarnation of Hercules may find unconverted viewers a difficult, 13th challenge to conquer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Ferrigno, Mirella D'Angelo, (more)
Following the surprising success of his cheapjack Star Wars knockoff, Star Crash, Italian director Luigi Cozzi was given the helm of this cheapjack Alien knockoff. An alien cyclops causes a man to cover the Earth with nasty eggs (sometimes made of silicone, sometimes close-ups of common olives). The eggs release gelatinous gunk which makes people explode, and it's all part of the alien's plan to take over the world. Cozzi, a less-talented protégé of Dario Argento, at least gets a good soundtrack by using his mentor's house band, Goblin, but delivers a bad film nonetheless. The director admits that the ludicrous monster was made of badly painted papier-mache, requiring 96 separate cuts to look convincing in its big scene. It didn't work. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian McCullough, Louise Monroe, (more)
- 1978
- R
In this melodrama, a tough, embittered pianist is angry because he never achieved the glory he felt he deserved. His life changes when he meets a young woman dying from leukemia. She helps him to feel more confident and then gets him a Paris booking. As his star begins to rise, she begins to die. She is on her deathbed the night before his big performance, and at first, the pianist refuses to leave her, but she pleads with him to go and so he does. Somehow, the woman musters the last of her strength and manages to make it backstage to hear him play. She happily dies listening to him play. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Johnson, Pamela Vincent, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Italian schlock-master Luigi Cozzi (billed as Lewis Coates here) directed this low-budget Star Wars rip-off in 1978, right when the sci-fi craze was hitting audiences on a world-wide scale. The story begins familiarly enough, with a huge spaceship tracking through an extremely colorful space scene while under attack by some kind of unknown and deadly force resembling a lava lamp. Being no match for the '60s acid-flashback rays, they manage to jettison a few escape pods just before being blown to kingdom come. Fast forward now to the other end of the galaxy, where we find the best smugglers in town -- gorgeous Stella Star (Caroline Munro) and space-pimp Akton (Marjoe Gortner) -- outrunning a band of cops on their tail. Eventually, they're caught, taken into custody, and sentenced to intense Labor Camps, where Stella is forced to wear a skimpy Barbarella-like outfit by the extreme, merciless guards. A break-out ensues, and in the intense laser shoot-out, Stella manages to escape, only to be captured again by the semi-green-skinned Thor (Robert Tessier) and his annoying southern-drawled robot, Elle (voiced by genre veteran Hamilton Camp). Brought in front of the Emperor of the Galaxy (Christopher Plummer) and reunited with Akton, the sexy duo find themselves suddenly in charge of finding Prince Simon (David Hasselhoff). Thus begins the heroes' amazing adventure through space and time as they search for Hasselhoff and end up fighting Amazons, Cavemen, and the Evil Count Zarth Arn (Joe Spinell) along the way. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, (more)
Belying his reputation as a hack (some say justly earned after Star Crash and Alien Contamination), Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi delivers a slick, absorbing giallo thriller clearly influenced by his mentor, Dario Argento. George Hilton stars as a greedy adulterer who makes a deal with a serial killer (Michel Antoine) to dispose of his wealthy wife, Nora (Teresa Velazquez). Unfortunately, a thrill-seeking young couple (Alessio Orano, Christina Galbo) steal the killer's car with Nora's corpse in the trunk, ending up at a run-down seaside villa. While Orano is making whoopie by a roadside with a stranded motorist (Femi Benussi), the killer rapes his girlfriend and then begins murdering people to cover his tracks. This is another one of those films in which all the men are sadistic louts, all the women are sexy victims, and only a somewhat daft police inspector (Eduardo Fajardo) can stop the madness. Still, it is quite well made, aided immeasurably by its cast and the photography of Riccardo Pallotini, and highly recommended for fans of the genre. Carla Mancini and Sydne Rome also appear. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1972
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After wrapping up a recording session with his garage band, drummer Roberto (Michael Brandon) follows and confronts a mysterious stranger who has been stalking him to an abandoned theater where Roberto impulsively stabs him. A grinning puppet-like figure takes photos of the attack from a mezzanine box, which arrive in an envelope at Roberto's home the following day. It appears that he is being blackmailed, but it's not clear from whom or why. Suspects include a club-footed neighbor and various friends. After Roberto confesses to the stabbing, his housekeeper discovers the killer's identity, is murdered, and an increasingly paranoid Roberto sends his wife, Nina (Mimsy Farmer), out of town. He eventually tracks down the man he stabbed with the help of a flamboyant detective (Jean-Pierre Marielle) and colorful transient friend Godrey (Bud Spencer), but both the man and the detective are killed. Roberto's cousin Dalia (Francine Racette) visits and, against their better judgment, they begin a passionate love affair. Elsewhere, the police use a special camera that can capture the final image a murder victim sees off their eyeball; this technique is used to track down the real killer. ~ Michael Buening, All Movie Guide
