Carlo Lizzani Movies

In 1945, filmmaker Roberto Rossellini released the daring Rome, Open City, a film that sharply criticized the Nazis and became a cornerstone of the Italian Neorealist movement. This Italian drama tells the fascinating true story of the film's genesis. Originally Rossellini and his screenwriter wanted the film to chronicle and comment upon the Nazi occupation of Rome. After finding a suitable cast they began making the film and then showed a few rushes to outspoken producer Pepino Amato who was so upset by the radical message that he walked out, taking his financial backing with him. Fortunately, the director manages to find backing from an enigmatic countess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This 1991 Italian period drama is not to be confused with the 1990 Australian vampire film with the same English-language title, Wicked. The entire story, a genuine psychological detective tale, concerns the attempt by a young doctor (Julian Sands) working early in the 20th century in a Swiss clinic to uncover the root cause for the persistent mental breakdown of a young woman (Giuliana De Sio) who has recently suffered the death of her daughter. Despite the resistance of the clinic's administration to his use of Freudian methods, the doctor begins his analysis at the clinic but finds that he must travel to Italy to interview the woman's family and friends in order to get at the ultimate cause. A version of this film capably dubbed into English was released at the same time as its Italian-language version. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Harvey Keitel plays Nikolai Bukharin, one of the leaders of the October Revolution that toppled the Czarist government in 1917. A member of the Politburo and editor of Pravda, he was removed by Stalin because of his opposition to Stalin's collectivization policy. Arrested in the Great Purge of 1937, he was executed the following year. Fifty years after his death, he was officially reinstated to the Communist Party under the more liberal policies implemented by Gorbachev. Bukharin's wife Anna (Flaminia Lizzani) was also arrested and spent decades in exile, always trying to clear her late husband's name. The film culminates when Bukharin dictates a letter for future generations to Anna about the future of the Communist Party. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Spread too thin, with a neutral stance on its many protagonists, this political drama about terrorists active in Italy delivers too mild a message to make much of an effect. Based on a book by Luce D'Eramo, the three-hour story is about leftists who renounce guerrilla tactics and turn to common robberies instead while maintaining bourgeois and/or mainstream lifestyles as doctors, secretaries, and other workers. Their objective is to raise money for future guerrilla activities. The central group manages to pull off three big robberies in the same neighborhood within 30 minutes of each other -- and the chase is on. Most viewers will be rooting for the terrorists disguised as criminals at this point. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is more of a pedantic exercise on the effects of their actions, and includes courtroom proceedings that are not as interesting as the crime sequences. The end result makes law and order look boring. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Fontamara is a tiny Italian village during the Mussolini years. The deprivations of the War are hardly anything new to the citizens of Fontamara, since they've been in a state of poverty ever since the city was founded. Nonetheless, the townsfolk are supremely resourceful, and as such they tend to laugh off the progressive rantings of town "character" Michele Placido. When he tries to rally his neighbors against the fascist city officials, he is arrested on a trumped-up charge and is tortured to death in prison. A friend of Placido's, at last realizing the sagacity and sincerity of his buffoonish companion, takes it upon himself to carry on his fallen comrade's anti-fascist activities, making certain that the citizens of Fontamara are given all the facts concerning Placido's "accidental" demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A co-production between Italy and Monaco, this steamy study of sexual obsession was directed by Carlo Lizzani (Crazy Joe). It takes place in a Berlin hotel where Penthouse pet Corinne Clery is an architect's wife who becomes overwhelmed by her attraction to a leftist guerrilla (Bruce Robinson), a fugitive from the government because of his terrorist activities. Clery begins her obsession with mere voyeurism, but grows emboldened enough to practically fling herself at Robinson, leading to the expected tragic consequences. Michele Placido co-stars with Katja Rupe and Werner Pochath, and the film features several familiar names behind the camera, including composer Giorgio Gaslini and editor Franco Fraticelli, both frequent collaborators of genre luminary Dario Argento. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This graphically violent crime drama follows the relatively brief career of the notorious racketeer Crazy Joe Gallo, who formed an alliance with all of New York City's African-American gangs while serving time in Attica. Once he got out, he used that alliance to try and take over the Mafia, an act that resulted in his brutal murder in a restaurant in Little Italy, 1972. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This obscure film is directed by five well-known cinematographers. "Apathy" is directed by Carlo Lizzani and concerns a New York rape victim whose cries for help fall on deaf ears. Bernardo Bertolucci directs "Agony." Members of the Living Theater mime death scenes. In "The Paper Flower Sequence," directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, a man carries a paper flower through Rome. Part four is directed by Jean-Luc Godard, a tedious segment where two people watch some actors give a boring performance. The last story is directed by Marcello Bellochio. Students at a Roman university engage in dialogue with members of the Establishment. While the stories averages 20 minutes each, this gang-directed effort quickly fell into cinematic oblivion. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This gripping crime thriller from director Carlo Lizzani was based on a true story. A daring gang of bandits pull off a series of risky heists in Milan, murdering several innocent bystanders in the film's exciting opening getaway scene. Lizzani then moves the story backwards in time, painting a portrait of Milan as a seething hotbed of vice. Gian Maria Volonte gives an increasingly flamboyant performance as the gang's egomaniacal leader, whose Nazi-like belief in his own superiority proves to be the flaw which foils his plans. Tomas Milian, in a rare nonvillainous turn, shines as the dedicated young police inspector who brings Volonte down, and gun moll Carla Gravina has an amusing (if stereotypical) scene in which Volonte teaches her to drive. The thrilling car chase is among the best in the Italian crime genre, and even Riz Ortolani's typically annoying musical score does not detract from the film's appeal. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

A father and son are offered a good price for their land by a wealthy land baron. they agree to the sale, but are tricked into giving up their property through a bureaucratic maneuver for next to nothing. The son grows up to become a young man and fueled by his hatred for the evil baron, he seeks revenge on all who drove his family from the land. He becomes an outlaw but manages to escape capture while he kills off those responsible for uprooting his family by underhanded means. One by one, the victims fall to the vengeful son as he becomes a legendary hero to the peasants and the oppressed. The color process for the film is not credited. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide