.Westerns...All'Italiana!: October 2018

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Cache Red Stones

Тайник красных камней – Russian title

Cache Red Stones – English title

A 2015 Russian film production [Unkas Film (Moscow)]

Producers: Valery Bulatov, Oleg Novikov

Director: Valery Bulatov

Story: Evgeny Bulatov

Screenplay: Evgeny Bulatov

Cinematography: Anatoly Plyaskin, Valery Bulatov [color]

Music: Dmitry Shevtsov, Dmitry Pronin, Igor Kolokolov, Oleg Zaporozhets, Sergey Faletenok

Running time: 115 minutes

Cast: Valery Koshelev, Sinilga Vanchugova, Oleg Novikov, Tim Ulanov, Sergey Novikov, Sergey Kadeev, Elena Togonova, Roman Mogilevsky, Nikolai Togonov, Andrei Pegov

Apocalyptic times. The South-East of Siberia. The movie consists of two stories. The action of the first one takes place on the territory of Gurania, where, according to the legend, there is a mysterious cave hidden in Red Stones. There one can find everything necessary to survive in the new world. Destiny brings together three very different people. Besides them them the hiding place is hunted for by the secret service of Manchurian Emirates and a Bacmach gang. They will all join the deadly battle for the possession of the hiding place.. The second story takes place on the territory of Ara Khalkhi in the village populated by peaceful herdsmen. An armed gang is trying to take control of the village, it is opposed by the leader of the nomads who guard the territory. The object of the attack is a huge resource of fresh water in the land of the herdsmen. Unexpectedly the two stories intersect.

Trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWs2k4UBxqQ

50th Anniversary of “I Quattro dell’Ave Maria” (Ace High)

Today marks the 50^th anniversary of the premier of “Ace High” in Rome, Italy. This is the second in a three part series of westerns directed by Giuseppe Colizzi and starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. After beating Bill San Antonio and "rescuing" the stolen gold (“Dio perdona... Io no!” God Forgives… I Don’t), Cat (Terence Hill) and Hutch (Bud Spencer) try to collect from the partner, a banker who gave tips about gold deliveries. The banker makes a deal with Cacopoulos (Eli Wallach) for his escape and Caco will kill Cat and Hutch. Caco, of course double-crosses the banker, steals Cat and Hutch's money and sets out for Mexico on an agenda of revenge, with Cat and Hutch in pursuit.

"Ace High" is a neo-Sergio Leone, revenge western which stars Eli Wallach as a comic badman of notable antecedents. "My grandfather," he says, "was Greek, like Sophocles and Plato." Wallach often looks like Buddy Hackett, but other characters describe him as a modern Jesus, so it's difficult to know when Colizzi is kidding. The Clint Eastwood role is played by Terence Hill who, according to a helpful program note, "changed his name from Mario Girotti to avoid confusion with another Italian actor, Massimo Girotti (no relation)." Wallach and Hill have very blue eyes and fine teeth. There is hardly one full set of teeth among all the other people in the cast, which was one way of stimulating authentic Western atmosphere.

I Quattro dell’Ave Maria – Italian title

Asso piglia tutto – Italian title

Ace High – U.S.A. title

Os 4 da Ave Maria – Brazilian title

Os Quatro da Ave Maria – Brazilian title

Четиримата от Аве Мария – Bulgarian title

Trumfove eso - Czechoslovakian title

Hævneren fra El Paso – Danish title

Ace High – Dutch title

Tappava hymy – Finnish title

Luojan lähettiläät – Finnish title

Les quattre de l’Ave Maria – French title

Deux honnetes crapules – French title

Vier für ein Ave Maria- German title

Oi 4 tou Ave Maria – Greek title

Bosszu El Pasoban – Hungarian title

Ess pa top – Norwegian title

O ás vale mais – Portuguese title

Cei patru de Ave Maria – Romanian title

Козырной туз – Russian title

Stirje v igri – Slovenian title

Eis quatre bergants - Spanish title

Los cuatro truhanes – Spanish title

Ess i topp – Swedish title

Bize Trinita Derler – Turkish title

Revenge at El Paso – U.K. title

Have Gun Will Travel – U.K. title

The Four of the Ave Maria – English title

Gunmen of the Ave Maria – English title

Four Gunmen of the Ave Maria – English title

Revenge in El Paso – English title

Aces High – English title

Ace High – English title

A 1967 Italian, U.S.A. film co-production [Crono Cinematografica, Finanzia San Marco (Rome)]

Producers: Bino Cicogna, Giuseppe Colizzi

Director: Giuseppe Colizzi

Story: Giuseppe Colizzi

Screenplay: Giuseppe Colizzi

Cinematography: Marcello Masciocchi [Technicolor, Techniscope]

Music: Carlo Rustichelli

Running time: 137 minutes

Cast:

Cacopoulos - Eli Wallach

Cat Stevens - Terence Hill (Mario Girotti)

Hutch Bessy - Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli)

Thomas - Brock Peters (George Fisher)

Drake - Kevin McCarthy

Mr. Harold - Stephan Zacharias (Steffan Zacharias)

Paco Rosa - Livio Lorenzon

Thomas’ wife - Tiffany Hoyveld (Maria Lorray)

Cangaciero - Remo Capitani

Bank cashier - Armando Bandini (Antonio Burlando)

Foster - Rick Boyd (Federico Boido)

Deputy Charlie - Bruno Corazzari

Al - Franco Gulà

Don Pedro Ramirez – Vicente Roca

Irish farm boy - Enzo Santaniello

Irish farm girl - Simonetta Santaniello

Drake henchman - Gino Marturano (Luigi Marturano), Mel Gaines

Joe - Frank Braña (Francisco Pérez)

Harold henchmen - Antonio Molina Rojo, Gildo di Marco, Riccardo Pizzuti

Banker - Dante Cleri

Casino employee - Aldo Sala

Casino cashiers - Luciano Telli, Giuseppe Terranova

Casino guest - Quinto Marziale

Roulette player – Angelo Casadei

Boxing promoter - Giancarlo Badessi

Croupier - Roger Beaumont

Roulette players - Edoardo Torricella, Carlo Landa

Gambler – Elio Angelucci (Aurelio Angelucci)

Joe – Frank Brana

Boxer – Leroy Haynes

Drunk - Fulvio Pellegrino

Saloon girl - Antoinetta Fiorito

Man on street - Corrado Olmi

With: Paolo Magalotti

Stunts: Ferdinando Poggi

Special Birthdays

Dermot Mulroney (actor) is 55 today.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

New Documentary: “Tina Pica”

Daniele Ceccarini: "Tina Pica was a rock"

Tina Pica was a rock, a milestone in our cinema, one of the few characters that managed to become a protagonist and more, turning the performer into a character. In 1955, at the age of 71, she played the lead actress in 13 films, for a total career, from 1916 to 1963, of over 60 titles. Today, 50 years after her death, comes the documentary Tina Pica directed by Daniele Ceccarini and written by Paola Settimini, presented at the Naples Film Festival.

How did the idea of telling the life story of an actress like Tina Pica come about?

The idea of making this documentary was born during a train journey one night. Last year Paola Settimini and I were returning from the Ischia festival, where we had been guests with another documentary. We had stopped in Naples, a city we love a lot and during one of our heated discussions about cinema and the importance that some Italian authors have had in the world cinema, Paola suddenly realized that 2018 would be the fiftieth anniversary of death of Tina Pica and so the discussion turned into a draft of a project that we wrote without stopping, during the return trip.

How did the realization work set up?

We started work of a long research on the life and career of Tina Pica, covering all the movies we have always loved, we were in Naples several times to make inspections and to discover the places where she lived and worked, knowing the family and after drawing a script we started filming and doing interviews. The greatest difficulty was to be able to find people who had really known her or who had worked with her, because unfortunately her being died 50 years ago many of the great people with whom she collaborated are now gone.

How was the collaboration with the family?

We met her nephews who are both called Franco Pica, they welcomed us with great warmth, telling with sympathy and enthusiasm numerous and friendly anecdotes of "Aunt Concetta", like her passion for cooking, her original way of praying and the relationship of love and hate with the great Eduardo. They showed us some of her items including the Silver Ribbon and gave us some of the photographic material that was then used in the documentary.

What are the particularities of this great actress of our cinema and theater?

She is a unique, unreplaceable actress, with an unmistakable voice and walk. She was able to turn those weak points into strengths that made it irreplaceable for all the great directors she worked with. One expression was enough to make a laugh, only the great actors have this talent. Her great theatrical school allowed her to be direct, immediate and to get to the viewer's heart then like today. It is one of those characters that give you joy, serenity.

What was the artistic career of this great actress?

Tina Pica started as a child, she can say she was born in the theater, from a family of actors: her father was Giuseppe Pica, who with her family and other actors, from Naples reached the most remote countries. They called them the "scavalcamontagna" and with them she learned a very strong technique that combined with natural talent made it a myth of Italian cinema and theater. She then appeared in the theater with Eduardo, with whom she had a relationship of love and hatred that was born and accompanied them throughout their lives. Also in the cinema she started very early, starting with the great Elvira Notari and then working in over seventy films, most of which marked an era. To quote some of the great people with whom she worked: De Sica, Totò, Alberto Sordi, Dino Risi, Steno, Mario Soldati and Monicelli.

What will be the path of the documentary?

We decided to embark on the path of the festival and we are very happy that the film has started its journey from the most appropriate setting, that of the Naples Film Festival where the national preview was held and from which we hope will continue its journey in many other festivals.

Tina Pica

A 2017 Italian production [Associazione Cinema & Cultura 2018 (Rome)]

Producers: Daniele Ceccarini, Paola Settimini

Directors: Daniele Ceccarini

Story: Paola Settimini

Photography: [color]

Music: Livio Bernardini, Egildo Simeone

Running time: 46 minutes

Story: A documentary dedicated to Concetta Annunziata Pica in art by Tina Pica, an unmistakable actress who worked with the greatest Italian directors. The documentary traces her career.