Luciano Martino Movies

An up-and-coming prizefighter inadvertently entangles himself with the mob after he saves a young woman's life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Italian screen legends Edwige Fenech and Karin Schubert star in a slapstick sex comedy set in the Middle Ages and fashioned after Boccaccio's Decameron. As his unfaithful wife (Schubert) continues to strain their wedding vows, an inept knight falls under the charms of a bored miller's wife named Ubalda (Fenech) whose husband has gone to great lengths to ensure she remains faithful. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Marred by controversy at the time of its release, this horror fantasy from Italy's legendary horror director Mario Bava centers on the twisted desires of a nobleman's son (Christopher Lee). Lee is ostracized by his father for his dalliances with a servant girl (who later commits suicide), but is allowed to return to the fold by his brother, whose lovely wife (Dahlia Lavi) immediately becomes the object of Lee's mad lust. Lee is later found murdered, along with several other victims from the surrounding village, leading superstitious locals to believe that Lee's evil spirit has returned to destroy them; the twist ending reveals the real evil at work. The kinky, sadomasochistic relationship between Lee and Lavi raised more than a few censors' eyebrows, leading to some harsh cuts. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

One of William Shakespeare's most powerful comedies has been given a bold cinematic adaptation in this film version of The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes) is a young and vital member of the aristocratic classes in 16th century Italy; however, Bassanio's impulsive nature and lavish lifestyle have put him deeply in debt, and he will need at least the pretense of a fortune if he is to win the hand of the beautiful Portia (Lynn Collins). Bassanio turns to his close friend Antonio (Jeremy Irons), a successful businessman, for financial help, but with much of his fortune tied up in a sailing expedition, Antonio can do little to help him. To help Bassanio, Antonio turns to Shylock (Al Pacino), a Jewish money lender who lives in Venice's Semetic ghetto. Antonio has often expressed his contempt for Shylock, who charges high rates for his loans, and Shylock clearly seems pleased at the ironic prospect of having Antonio as a customer; however, instead of interest, Shylock demands an unusual security on his loan -- though Shylock demands no interest, if Antonio does not repay the three thousand ducats in three months, Shylock will be entitled to a pound of his flesh. This version of The Merchant of Venice was directed by Michael Radford, best known for the international hit Il Postino, and was shot on locations in Venice and Luxembourg. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Three aspiring moviemakers unexpectedly land a big break and their hometown comes out to celebrate in this warm comedy-drama. Gabriele (Paolo Briguglia), Nicola (Lele Nucera) and Marco (Lorenzo Di Ciaccia) are three young men growing up in Diamante, a small town in the Calabria region of Southern Italy where life moves at its own pace and not much happens. Gabriele, Nicola and Marco are serious film fans who have befriended the town's most famous citizen, Neri (Diego Abatantuono), a well known director waiting out a creative block who offers the boys advice on their dreams of working in the film industry. Gabriele has written a script based on the youthful experiences of his Aunt Caterina (Lucia Ragni), and he and his pals want to go to Rome in hopes of getting it made into a major motion picture. Neri is dubious, but introduces the boys to Francesco (Mimmo Calopresti), a friend and well-known actor who lives in the Eternal City. Francesco gets Gabriele, Nicola and Marco into a party thrown by an industry bigwig, and they're introduced to Amelie (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), Francesco's former wife who is currently Gerard Depardieu's significant other. In a remarkable stroke of luck, Amelie agrees to pass Gabriele's screenplay along to Depardieu, and the famed French actor agrees to appear in the film, guaranteeing the project a green light. Overjoyed, Gabriele, Nicola and Marco invite their new colleagues back to Diamante, where they want to shoot the picture, for a celebratory feast, and the stars get a close-up look at how the other half lives. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cult filmmaker Umberto Lenzi directed this bloody, gangster-oriented thriller starring Tomas Milian in a rare sympathetic role as Rambo, a principled biker who runs afoul of a blind crimelord (Joseph Cotten). The plot is standard Italian crime fare, but Milian's performance alone makes this gritty effort worth seeing for genre devotees. Shirley Corrigan, Ida Galli (as Evelyn Stewart), and Femi Benussi co-star, and Vincenzo Mannino wrote the hard-edged script. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

This Italian political thriller takes a look at a recent government scandal wherein everyone from politicos to chiefs of police to secret service people and financiers were involved in receiving kickbacks. Though the tale is fictionalized, many of its characters are based on real people, and as a result, co-producer Luciano Martino received several anonymous death threats before the film was released. The film centers on the efforts of a courageous cop, Carlo Tommasi, who works on the anti-Mafia squad. He is assigned to look into the bombing in downtown Milan that resulted in the deaths of five people. Although Ravida, the head of the secret service, quickly serves up a suspect, neither the state prosecutor Francesca Savona nor a straight-arrow minister believes that the suspect is guilty. While in prison, the suspect mysteriously dies. Soon more begin to die until Tommasi is able to find the perpetrator of it all, a former agent for Ravida. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Top-heavy with wild action scenes and female pulchritude, this routine Italian costume adventure is set in the 7th century B.C. on the island of Lesbos, where the immortal poetess Sappho (Tina Louise) is leading a revolt against the corrupt government of Mytilene. Aiding her in overthrowing the yoke of tyranny is the handsome Phaon (Kerwin Mathews). For some reason it is the temple of Aphrodite that is the focus of attention in this supposed battle for the rights of the ordinary people, and not the temple of Mars. Sappho's sexual orientation is a moot point. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Police Commissioner Tanzi (Marizio Merli) is sick and tired of criminals getting coddled by the Italian justice system and proceeds to do something about it. His co-workers and superior try to rein him in, but there's no stopping him; criminals are made to pay for their crimes by this one-man vigilante force. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this leisurely melodrama, a middle-aged man has resented his schoolteacher mother for decades because he imagines she had an affair with a colleague. In fact, he hasn't spoken to her in almost as long. This resentment has scarred his emotional life irreparably. Only when he hastens to his mother's deathbed and arrives too late does he get a letter from her via her supposed lover, which corrects his misconceptions and explains the scene we see at the beginning. In it, she is reading a poem to her son when he is a boy, which reads: "Footsteps echo in memory along the corridor we didn't take to the door we never opened." ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Director Luciano Martino takes viewers on an erotic and entertaining journey to visit some of the most sexually liberated cities around the world. No topic is too taboo as exotic beauties from every continent bare their bodies, and indulge in erotic pleasures that leave them quivering the throes of pure ecstasy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This wickedly funny Italian comedy centers upon a lascivious, fun-loving old uncle who hands out blood-test certificates to potential lovers to prove that he is "clean" and wreaks all sorts of havoc when he must temporarily stay with his wealthy but emotionally constipated nephew. At first the nephew is appalled by his uncle's lust for wild-living, but in time he becomes utterly fascinated by the old man. Soon the previously staid young man finds himself drawn into his uncle's crazy life-style and begins learning the value of living life to the fullest. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi