RIP Giacomo Dell’Orso

 

RIP Giacomo Dell’Orso. Composer, producer, arranger, conductor, keyboardist, singer Giacomo Dell’Orso died in Rome on September 9^th. He was 92. He was the older brother of producer, composer and conductor Gianni Dell'Orso [1941- ]. Husband of vocalist Edda dell'Orso [1935- ]. Giacomo was born in Ofena, L'Aquila, Italy on December 2, 1931. He worked on over 50 film scores in various capacities and is best known for his 1980 score for “Zombie Holocaust”. Giacomo was the conductor on the scores of two Spaghetti westerns: “Those Dirty Dogs” (1973) and “Macho Killers” in 1977.

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Renato Capanna

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Renato Capanna was an Italian film actor. I cannot find any information on him other than he appeared in one film and that was his only Euro-western appearance as the sheriff in 1942’s “Il fanciullo del West” (The Kid of the West).

Whether he was directly related to the more famous Otello Capanna [1911-1983], Omero Capanna [1942-2003] and Piero Capanna [1919-2001] is unknown.

CAPANNA, Renato [Italian] – film actor.

The Kid of the West – 1942 (sheriff)

RIP Mirko Ivanković

 

Croatian stutnman and actor Mirko Ivanković died from heart complications on September 6th he was 86. Mirko Ivanković, who starred in four films of Karl May ("Treasure of the Silver Lake" and the "Winnetou" trilogy). Mirko had been very ill for the past few months. 10 days ago, he had surgery and seemed to be on the road to recovery, but it soon became worse, and his heart stopped. Mirko was the younger brother of Mat Ivanković [1937-2006], was born on March 1, 1939, in Široki Brijeg, Yugoslavia the youngest of ten children. From 1965 to 1969 he lived in Italy. After returning to Yugoslavia, he worked as a television driver, later as a taxi driver. He was a widower and left two daughters. Ivanković appeared in four Euro-westerns: "The Treasure of Silver Lake" in 1962 as a Brinkley henchman and performed stunts; "Apache Gold" in 1963 [stunts]; "Last of the Renegades" in 1964 [stunts] and "Desperado Trail" in 1965 [stunts].

 

New British 4K Blu-ray release of “Red Sun”

 

Red Sun

(1971)

 

Director: Terence Young

Starring: Charles Bronson, Alain Delon, Toshiro Mifune, Ursula Andress

 

Country: U.K.

Label: StudioCanal

4K-UltraHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray

Also separately released on BluRay and on DVD

Discs: 2

Regions: A, B, C

Resolution: 2160p/HEVC / H.265

Language: English

Subtitles: ?

Running time: 112 minutes

Extras: On the set of Red Sun - Extract from Pour le cinéma (Director: Pierre Mignot); new Interview with Steven Okazaki; Original Trailer; four postcards

ASIN: ‎B0D362S6BH

Available: September 9, 2024

Spaghetti Western locations Then & Now – “Hannie Caulder”

 

Hannie and Price arrive in town and immediately spot the Clemens brothers. Hannie approaches the hotel/saloon to confront Frank Clemens who’s in bed with a whore.

This scene was filmed at Texas Hollywood/Fort Bravo in Tabernas, Almeria, Spain. Since this is a movie set the buildings change from time to time depending on the film and what the director wants to depict for his audience.

European Western Comic Books – Billy London – Lo sceriffo senza pistola

 

Billy London – Lo sceriffo senza pistola

This comic book of 24 issues was published in three years. Non-sequential numbering. From 1961 the format increases and the magazine becomes  Lo sceriffo senza pistola.

Year I #1 (August 1, 1960) #4 (September 15, 1960)

Year II #1 (August 10, 1961) #8 (December 10, 1961)

Year III #1 (January 10, 1962) #12 (June 25, 1962)

Anno I: pubblica BILLY LONDON western di Augusto Pedrazza e le storie in costume “Le Avventure di Polignac” di Domenico Mirabella e “Le avventure di Matteo Trevisan” di A. Lombardi e S. Stizza.

Anno II e III: pubblica JIM LASSO, Lo Sceriffo senza Pistola, western di Carlo Cedroni, e IL CAVALIERE NERO o CAVALIERE DELLA CHIMERA, serie epica di Lamberto Lombardi. In IV di copertine figurine di indiani disegnate da Guido Buzzelli. Segnalato, ma non reperito, il n. 9 del 1961.

Year I is published Billy London a western by Augusto Pedrazza and the costume stories The Adventures of Polignac by Domenico Mirabella and The Adventures of Matteo Trevisan by A. Lombardi and S. Stizza.

Year II and III: is published Jim Lasso, lo sceriffo senz pistola, a western by Carlo Cedroni, and Il cavaliere nero and Cavaliere della chimera, an epic series by Lamberto Lombardi.

Year IV covered figures of Indians drawn by Guido Buzzelli. Reported, but not found, the #9 of 1961.

Titles

Anno I

01 (01.08.60) - “Al galoppo verso la morte” (Galloping to Death)

02 (15.08.60) - “Al galoppo verso la morte” II episodio (Galloping to Death Episode II)

03 (01.09.60) - “Prigionieri degli Apaches” (Prisoners of the Apaches)

04 (15.09.60) - "Billy London impara a sparare" (Billy London Learns to Shoot)

Anno II

01 (10.08.61) - "Il pugnale cinese" (The Chinese Dagger)

02 (25.08.61) - “Assalto al campo indiano” (The Indian Camp Assault)

03 (10.09.61) -

04 (25.09.61) - “Le vacanze dello sceriffo” (The Sheriff’s Holiday)

05 (25.10.61) - “L’infallibile Lazo” (The Infallible Lasso)

06 (10.11.61) - “Fuga in mare” (Escape to the Sea)

07 (25.11.61) - “Corsa verso l’oro” (Race to Gold)

08 (10.12.61) - “Regina bianca” (White Queen)

Anno III

01 (10.01.62) - “Il ragazzo dallo scoiattolo” (The Boy With the Squirrel)

02 (25.01.62) - “Il ragazzo dallo scoiattolo” II episodio (The Boy With the Squirrel Episode II

03 (10.02.62) - “Un giovane amico” (A Young Friend)

04 (25.02.62) - “Un giovane amico” II episodio (A Young Friemd Episode II)

05 (10.03.62) - “Freccia Rossa” (Red Arrow)

06 (25.03.62) - “Freccia Rossa” II episodio (Red Arrow Episode II)

07 (10.04.62) - “Fiamme nella notte” (Flames in the Night)

08 (25.04.62) - “Fiamme nella notte” II episodio (Flames in the Night Episode II)

09 (10.05.62) - “Il figlio degli Apaches” (The Son of the Apaches

10 (25.05.62) - “Il figlio degli Apaches” II episodio (The Son of the Apaches Episode II

11 (10.06.62) - “Il figlio degli Apaches” III episodio (The Son of the Apaches Episode III

12 (25.06.62) - “Il figlio degli Apaches” IV episodio (The Son of the Apaches Episode

From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Piero Capanna

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Pietro ‘Piero’ Capanna was born in Rome, Italy on July 21, 1919.  He was the brother of stuntman and actor Otello Capanna and the uncle of actor, stunt coordinator, stuntman Omero Capanna. He was active in Italian films beginning with an appearance in “O.K. Nero” starring Walter Chiarri. He the appeared in a number of Peplum films. His last credited appearance was in an episode of the Italian TV show “I racconti del maresciallo”. Several of his appearances were not credited so the number of films he worked in must total over two dozen.

When the Spaghetti westerns replaced the Sword and Sandal films Piero continued to work appearing in five of them starting with  “Il sogno di Zorro” (The Dream of Zorro) in 1951 as Manuel, “Buffalo Bill, l'eroe del far west” (Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West) in 1964 as a henchman, “Un dollaro bucato” (Blood for a Silver Dollar) in 1965 again as a henchman, in “Per pochi dollari ancora” (Fort Yuma Gold) in 1966 as Joe where he was billed as Peter Cabot and in 1967’s “Wanted” once again as a henchman.

Pietro died in Rome on June 23, 2001, at the age of 82.

CAPANNA, Piero (aka Peter Cabot) (Pietro Capanna) [7/21/1919, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 6/23/2001, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – film, TV actor, brother of stuntman and actor Otello Capanna [1911-1983] and the uncle of actor, stunt coordinator, stuntman Omero Capanna [1942-2003].

The Dream of Zorro – 1951 (Manuel)

Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West – 1964 (Monroe henchman)

Blood for a Silver Dollar – 1965 (henchman)

Fort Yuma Gold – 1966 (Joe) [as Peter Cabot]

Wanted – 1967 (Diaz henchman)

‘Zorro’ French TV min-series revue

 SPOT

By Michael Müller

September 6, 2024

The potentially biggest highlight of this year's Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre awaited buyers and press representatives on the last day: a "Zorro" series starring Oscar winner Jean Dujardin from Paramount+ and France Télévisions.

[Jean Dujardin (r.) is "Zorro"] 

CREDITS:

Production: Paramount+, France Télévisions, Le Collectif 64 – Marc Dujardin, Bien Sûr Productions – Julien Seul, Panache Productions – André Logie, Gaëtan David, RTL-TVI, Wallimage; Screenplay: Benjamin Charbit, Noé Debré, Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud; Director: Jean-Baptiste Saurel, Emilie Noblet; Cast: Jean Dujardin, Audrey Dana, Salvatore Ficarra, André Dussolier, Eric Elmosnino, Grégory Gadebois; Episodes: 8; German Paramount+ launch: probably December 2024

REVIEW:

Almost every person on this globe knows the "Zorro" myth about the black-clad masked man, the fight for justice, the sword skills and the iconic "Z" carved on his opponents. But the last pop-cultural impact with this character probably goes back to the 1990s, when "The Mask of Zorro" with Antonio Banderas was released in cinemas and at least recouped its budget.

The idea of turning this world-famous myth into an elaborate cloak-and-dagger series with the 52-year-old French Oscar winner Jean Dujardin ("The Artist") in the lead role seems obvious, because as a super-agent in the "OSS 117" films, which are unfortunately still criminally neglected in Germany, he has already shown how he can play such a larger-than-life genre role with action moments in a self-deprecating but charming way.

While most may associate something with the Zorro myth, few know that Johnston McCulley's original story takes place in 19th-century California during Spanish colonial rule. In real life without a mask, Zorro is the wealthy country nobleman Don Diego de la Vega, which is also the beginning of the French series from Paramount+ and France Télévisions. Dujardin plays Don Diego as an aged avenger of the poor, who has hung his mask and sword in the closet for more than 20 years.

[Zorro in normal life when he is not wearing a mask]

Don Diego is also under the thumb of his all-powerful mayoral father of Los Angeles, which is even more like a cow village than a big city. Dujardin thus plays a grown-up son who has not inherited his father's talents as a political successor, shows insecurities in speeches, is a great thinker but not a real pragmatist. However, the father dies in the first of the two episodes shown as a world premiere in Le Havre at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous and Dujardin's Don Diego has to take the mayor's business into his own hands from then on.

The French creators Benjamin Charbit ("The Beast") and the fresh Deadline TV Disruptor Award winner Noé Debré ("Parliament") try a balancing act: On the one hand, they tell the "Zorro" story with a wink, when the black, tight-fitting clothing pinches the somewhat aging hero or soldiers literally beg for the slit "Z" on their chest with their eyes, because it is simply part of the myth.

[Villain (l.) and hero united]

On the other hand, the relationship between Zorro and his wife Gabriella de la Vega (Audrey Dana) takes up a lot of space in the first two episodes. As a couple, they are still childless, which makes Gabriella the laughingstock of the city in women's circles. There is not really much fire between the two in the bedroom anymore. But by reviving the Zorro myth and having Dujardin's character take up the blade again to raze new villains to the ground, husband and wife help in the aforementioned love life. She doesn't know that her husband and Zorro are one and the same person but is saved in a dicey situation by the masked avenger and from then on develops a certain fetish for masks. Somewhat clumsily symbolized and told with a mallet is also the woman's desire to have children when she takes in a poor boy.

The "Zorro" series from Paramount+ and France Télévisions, which, by the way, was co-produced by Jean's brother Marc Dujardin (Le Collectif 64), thus lacks the pure lightness of a parodic comedy as in the "OSS 117" films, for example. But the more dramatic relationship moments aren't that completely convincing either. But maybe this will happen in the other six forty-minute episodes. The format is actually always best when it comes to the aged, out-of-shape avenger with a mask in action, who swings the sword, the action is implemented with humor in a fun way and the myth is also played with with a wink.

The potential foundations are laid with a silent but inventive assistant and a villain built up in the first episodes, who builds a casino in Los Angeles with slave powers. The best sequence is an action scene in which Zorro frees a boy from prison, beats up a handful of guards and then returns in time for the end of the letter read out by another guard, who has written down all the problems and unprocessed Zorror moments from the old days in the best Freud manner. The music is harmoniously western-like, there is a whistling theme and Dujardin even picks up the guitar himself.

The character Zorro is actually an American invention but is considered a Mexican hero and was realized here by a French film team in French in a very different Los Angeles than we are used to. In Germany, the format is to come to Paramount+ this year, although that sounded like the month of December. In France, the series will launch this week on the same streamer and will later come to France Télévisions.

“Sweet Dollars”

 

Sweet Dollars – International title

 

A 2022 Swedish film production [Tellway Pictures (Stockholm)]

Producer:

Directors: Samuel Bäckman, Eddie Sarenhag

Story: Samuel Bäckman, Eddie Sarenhag

Screenplay: Samuel Bäckman, Eddie Sarenhag

Cinematography: Karl-Anton Svensson [color]

Music: Gerard Alís Raurich

Running time: 8 minutes

 

Cast:

Amy Mariah Catheryn Lewis - Amina Schlich

O’Malley - Jacob Alpteg

Billy the Kid - Oskar Tullsten

Jackdaw – Kim Nilsson

Guard - Rasmus Hagberg

Compansions - Matilda Dagman, Björn Paulsson

Outlaws - Embla Ingelman-Sundberg, Julia Atterheim, Hans Svensson, William

     Doverholm, Kevin Björkman, Naima Schlich, Magdalena Grundén, Malte Schlich

Corpse - David Björklund

Stunt Coordinator: Kevin Björkman

A lone bounty hunter rides into a town overtaken by outlaws with her price. But things are not as they seem.

 

Film link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vzj-tP2-uk

Spaghetti Western Locations for “The Forgotten Pistolero”

 

We begin a new search for locations for 1969s “The Forgotten Pistolero” directed by Ferdinando Baldi and starring Leonard Mann, Peter Martell, Luciana Paluzzi, Alberto de Mendoza and Pilar Velázquez. The film opens with a lone rider travelling through a desolate canyon. We see riders following him along the ridges above on both sides. Suddenly a shot from one of the riders rings out and the rider falls off his horse apparently dead. As the riders from the ridge ride down to inspect their dead prey, one of the kicks the body over and suddenly it comes alive and he shoots the gunman and the other two who are riding towards him. The remaining gunman, the leader of the pact is named Miguel. He’s told to ride back to his mistress and tell her to stop having men follow him or they will end up the same way as these unfortunate souls. Miguel mounts his horse and rides off.

This scene was filmed in the Rambla de Lanujar in Almeria, Spain. Other Spaghetti westerns filmed at this location include “Cemetery Without Crosses”, “Death Rides a Horse”, “Day of Anger”, “$10,000 for a Massacre”, “A Pistol for Ringo”, “Sabata”, “The Bounty Killer”, and  “California”.

For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi Yasuda’s location site: http://y-yasuda.net/film-location.htm and Captain Douglas Film Locations http://www.western-locations-spain.com/

Special Birthdays

Wolf C. Hartwig would have been 105 today but died in 2017.

Jose Riesgo (actor) would have been 105 today but died in 2002.

Bernard Bonnin (actor) would have been 85 today but died in 2009.

Nicoletta Machiavelli (actress) would have been 80 today but died in 2015.

From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Tap Canutt

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

 Edward Clay ‘Tap’ Canutt was born in Los Angeles, California on August 7, 1932. He was the son of legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt and the older brother of stuntman Joe Canutt. Tap worked on different Western Productions from “Only the Valiant” (1951) to the “Wild Bunch” (1969) and he was there when epic movie Stars got into trouble. “Ben-Hur”, “Spartacus” or “EI Cid” were just a few of his European co-productions.

Tap became part of Kit West’s stunt crew. Tap was the stunt double for Stephen Boyd in “Fall of the Roman Empire” and was the stunt coordinator and directed different stunt scenes as Second Unit Director on “El Condor” in 1969.

Tap died on June 6, 2014, in Santa Clarita, California. He was 82.

CANUTT, Tap (aka Edward 'Tap' Canutt) (Edward Clay Canutt) [8/7/1932, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. - 6/6/2014, Santa Clarita, California, U.S.A.] – assistant director, stunt coordinator, stuntman, film, TV actor, son of producer, director, assistant director, writer, stunt coordinator, stuntman, actor Yakima Canutt (Enos Edward Canutt) [1895-1986], brother of assistant director, stunt coordinator, stuntman, actor Joe Canutt (Harry Joe Canutt) [1937-    ], married to Bernice Ame Powell [1926-2012] (195?-2014) father of Faun Canutt [1952-1972], Fara Lois Canutt [1954-    ], Tina Ann Canutt [1958-2014], stepfather of Danile Fisher [1949-    ], Faith Fisher [1950-    ], Forrest Fisher [1951-    ].

El Condor – 1969 [stunt coordinator]

Who Are Those Singers & Musicians? Terez Montcalm

 

Térez Montcalm is a Canadian jazz singer and guitarist who broke through to international success in 2007. Born in Quebec, Canada, she grew up bilingually in a family where French and English were spoken interchangeably and where music was important. Her father, a native English speaker originally from Toronto, was a jazz fan who enjoyed Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Nat King Cole. The youngest of five children, she had brothers who were into Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa as well as sisters who were into the Beatles and Edith Piaf. In addition to these influences, Montcalm had favorites of her own, above all Eurythmics lead singer Annie Lennox. Exhibiting an extraordinarily strong voice from an early age, she attended music school as a teenager and ultimately made her full-length recording debut in 1994 with the album Risque on BMG. She sang primarily in French and comprised of original material as well as covers of Charles Aznavour, Tom Waits, and others, Risque was well received from a critical standpoint, and in the wake of its release, Montcalm was awarded a Prix Rapsat-Lelièvre in 1995. She released her follow-up album, Parle Pas Si Fort, on Universal in 1997 and subsequently retreated from the marketplace for a while, not releasing her third album, Térez Montcalm, until five years later in 2002. Montcalm changed direction on her fourth album, Voodoo, which arrived in 2006. Comprised almost entirely of cover songs, many of them well known (e.g., Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams"), and sung primarily in English rather than French, Voodoo was produced by former Uzeb jazz-rock guitarist Michel Cusson and released on the Universal subsidiary label GSI Musique. A year after its release, Voodoo broke into the French albums chart and remained there for a total of 30 weeks, going all the way to number 43.

MONTCALM, Térez (Thérèse Montcalm) [1963, Québec, Canada -     ] – musician (guitar), songwriter, singer.

Lucky Luke – 2008 [sings: “Mon Lonesome Cowboy”, “Si Toi Aussi Tu m'abandonnés”]

Special Birthdays

Enrico Pagani (actor) would have been 95 today but died in 1998.

Waldo de los Rios (composer) would have been 90 today but died in 1977.

Paul Fister (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 2017.

Volker Steinkopff (actor) is 80 today.

Spaghetti Western Trivia – Jack and the fly

 

You talk about shooting in detail, SergioLeone holds the all-time record there. In my opinion. And he covered—he really covered. {laughs}... This is where I caught the fly in the gun barrel, if you recall... well, the special-effects man originally had a wire, you know the little thin wire with a fly on it, a fake fly. You know—and it worked fine because, you know, you never see the wire and he could run the fly wherever he wanted and I could put—and he wanted to work, so Leone says, “No, no, no, get away from here.” He says Jack can catch me a fly. So, we took—I’ll bet I spent at least seven hours waiting for flies to crawl around my face for him to capture the perfect shot.... " Jack Elam".

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Tinì Cansino

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Tinì Cansino, born Photina Lappa, in Volos, Magnisia, Greece, on September 23, 1959. She studied ballet in her home country, and, when she was 19, while on a holiday in Italy, she was noticed by film producer Alberto Tarallo who launched her into the world of entertainment. The young Cansino made her television debut on ‘Playgirl’ hosted by Minnie Minoprio but achieved success in 1983, when she was 24 years old, playing the role of the "fast food girl" in the famous ‘Drive In’ TV program (1983-1988). During these years she was also active in cinema, especially in comedies and erotic films. Since 2012, as a commentator, she has been alongside Tina Cipollari and Gianni Sperti on the Canale 5 dating show ‘Uomini e donne’ (Men and Women). Here, Tinì, although rarely exposing herself, unlike her colleague, stands out for her calm tones, so much so that she never superficially judges the protagonists of the program, but always tries to analyze them, and thus to justify them. In addition, her passion for astrology is well known.

From an early relationship she had a daughter: Voula. She later married Claudio Di Giulio, with whom she had two children: Tamara, who followed in her mother's footsteps as an actress, and Nicolas. In 1989, the woman left the stage to devote herself to her family.

Tinì appeared in one Spaghetti western as Ascella Pezzata in the 1984 film “Arrapaho”.

CANSINO, Tinì (aka Tiny Cansino) (Photina Lappa) [9/23/1959, Volos, Magnisia, Greece -     ] – film, TV actress, mother of Voula  Cansino [1980-    ] with ?, married to  Claudio Di Giulio (198?-    ] mother of actress Tamara Di Giulio [1990-    ], Nicola Di Giulio [1993-    ].

Arrapaho – 1984 (Ascella Pezzata)

Spaghetti Western, in Pietrastornina the great director Enzo G. Castellari

 Irpinia News

August 26, 2024

A face of passage between Lieutenant Aldo Raine and Sergeant Donnie Donowitz during the premiere of "Pride of the Nation" who will fall, like many other Nazi hierarchs, into the trap of Soshanna and the Bastards. Enzo G. Castellari owes Quentin Tarantino and the cameo offered to him in "Inglourious Basterds" a renewed notoriety among the younger generations. And all this thanks to his unmistakable style. Tarantino himself was in fact marked by the films of Maestro Castellari. The American was impressed by "That damned armored train" – which arrived overseas as "Inglourious Basterds" – that he wanted to make a remake of it, "Inglourious Basterds" precisely.

In reality, however, Enzo G. Castellari is much more and to fans of the Spaghetti Western genre his name can only bring to mind timeless scenes and titles. Castellari has linked his name to westerns since 1966, he is in fact co-director in the film "A Few Dollars for Django". His real debut, however, was the following year with the film "7 winchesters for a massacre" which consecrated him as one of the great directors of the Italian western epic. "I'm going... I'll kill him and I'll be back" (which has to all intents and purposes entered our daily vocabulary as a real saying), "Keoma", "Jonathan degli Orsi" are just some of his most famous masterpieces that have consecrated him in the national and world imagination as one of the greatest filmmakers of the Spaghetti Western genre.

The class of 1938 will be a guest on Sunday 8 September as part of the Film Festival of the third edition of Spaghetti Western Pietrastornina. An unmissable meeting with one of the most authoritative figures on the western film scene who will not fail to tell us secrets and anecdotes of his art and his work, from the relationship, on set and in life, with the great Franco Nero to the meeting with Tarantino, from the nuanced work with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill to the works with Vittorio Gassman, Claudia Cardinale and Virna Lisi, to name just a few, perhaps among the best known to the general public, of the actors that Maestro Castellari had the pleasure and honor of meeting and directing. Thanks to the union of intentions between the "Spaghetti Western Pietrastornina" association and the "Camposecco Far West" group, Enzo G. Castellari will bring his story and his experience to the attention of the enthusiasts who will crowd the streets of the Irpinian town (ed. Pietrastornina) for an evening and an unmissable and certainly historical story.

New French “Zorro” TV series premier

 

Zorro, the event series starring Jean Dujardin, will be available exclusively on Paramount+ from September 6.

Sortir a Paris

by Julie de Sortiraparis

Paramount+ released it’s new TV series which is set to delight cloak-and-dagger fans with ‘Zorro’, starring the celebrated Jean Dujardin. This modern adaptation promises to captivate viewers with a fresh take on the masked vigilante. Joining Jean Dujardin are Audrey Dana, Salvatore Ficarra, André Dussollier, Eric Elmosnino and Grégory Gadebois. The series premiered in France on September 6, and later in 2024 will appear in other European countries and Latin America.

The Story

In 1821, Don Diego de la Vega (Dujardin), now mayor of Los Angeles, faces major challenges in making his city prosper. The greed of Don Emmanuel (Éric Elmosnino), a local businessman, plunges the municipality into financial difficulties. Faced with growing injustice, Diego's powers as mayor are no longer enough. After twenty years of retirement, he decides to pull out his mask and sword to defend the oppressed under the identity of Zorro. However, this double life jeopardizes his marriage to Gabriella (Audrey Dana), who is unaware of his secret, and Diego must juggle his responsibilities as mayor with his role as vigilante.

Zorro is aimed at a broad audience, appealing both to fans of historical tales and to fans of action and adventure. Viewers who have enjoyed series such as ‘Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or’ or films like “Le Masque de Zorro” should find this new series just as thrilling. The presence of Jean Dujardin in an iconic role and the dynamic direction promise to breathe new life into this legend. What's more, the complexity of Diego's character, torn between his public duty and his secret actions, adds a psychological depth rarely explored in previous adaptations.

‘Zorro’, is set to be one of the highlights of the fall season. With its prestigious cast, intriguing plot and meticulous direction, it's sure to appeal to a wide audience. Whether you're a long-time fan or a newcomer to the world of Zorro, this series promises to take you on an epic adventure.

 

Zorro – International title

 

A 2022 French television production [Paramount+, France Télévisions, Le Collectif 64,

     Bien Sûr Productions (Paris)]

Producers: Marc Dujardin, Julien Seul, André Logie, Gaëtan David, François Ivernel

Directors: Emilie Noblet, Jean-Baptiste Saurel

Story: Johnston McCulley

Teleplay: Benjamin Charbit, Noé Debré, Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud

Photography: Antony Diaz, Aurélien Marra [color]

Music: Julie Roué

Running time: 8 episodes x 40 minutes

 

Cast:

Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro – Jean Dujardin

Bernardo - François Damiens

Sergeant Garcia - Grégory Gadebois

Senor de la Vega - André Dussollier

Gabriella de la Vega/Zorro – Audrey Dana

Don Emanuel - Éric Elmosnino

Nakai - Baltasar Espinach

Nakai’s father - David Ayala

Soldiers - Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Julien Gaspar-Oliveri

With: Salvatore Ficarra, Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Toni Carré (José Fernández), Luca Fontaine

Stunt coordinator: Lorenzo Casares (Lorenzo Baturone)

Stunts: Domingo Beltrán (Domingo Sánchez), Jean Eudes Drouvin, Jules Frankel, Quentin Lebrun, Vincent Marot, José Antonio Oña Sánchez

 

In 1821, Don Diego de la Vega (Jean Dujardin) becomes mayor of Los Angeles to improve his city. However, the greed of a local businessman, Don Emmanuel (Éric Elmosnino), puts the well-being at risk and his powers as mayor are not enough to fight injustice. Although he hasn't used Zorro's identity in 20 years, it seems that Diego has no choice but to bring Zorro back for the greater good. While he tries to maintain his dual identity as Zorro and mayor, tensions grow in his marriage to Gabriella (Audrey Dana), who is unaware of his secret. Can Diego save his marriage and his sanity in the midst of chaos?

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHjCbOLKg4I

Special Birthdays

José Davert (actor) would have been 150 today but died in 1934.

Max Schreck (actor) would have been 145 today but died in 1936.

Oscar Ljung (actor) would have been 115 today but died in 1999.

Paul Naschy (actor) would have been 90 today but died in 2009.

Krystyna Mikolajewska (actor) is 85 today.