Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director – Jean Bastia

Jean Charles Paul Fortunio Simoni was born February 21 1919, in Bastia, Corsica to the playwright and novelist Jean Bastia from a Corsican family. He was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, and assistant director active primarily in mid-20th-century French cinema.

He began his career in the film industry as an assistant director on numerous productions during the 1940s and 1950s, contributing to over 40 films in roles including production manager and screenwriter before transitioning to directing.

Bastia directed a dozen feature films, often in adventure, comedy, and later erotic genres, with notable works including the Fernandel-starring western comedy “Dynamite Jack” (1961), the war drama “Réseau secret” (1967), and the erotic thriller “...et mourir de désir” (1974), which highlighted his versatility in blending narrative storytelling with period-specific themes.

Details on Bastia's personal relationships, marriage, or children remain scarce in public records, with no documented marriages or offspring noted in available biographical sources, reflecting a private life largely shielded from media attention. His enduring connection to Corsica, through family heritage, suggests a cultural affinity that persisted beyond his professional pursuits in mainland France. No specific interests outside cinema, such as hobbies or philanthropy, are well-documented.

In his later years, Bastia resided in the Dordogne region, marking a quieter phase following his active career. He died on October 16, 2005, in Bergerac, Dordogne, France, at the age of 86, from natural causes

BASTIA, Jean (aka J. Bastia) (Jean Charles Paul Fortunio Simoni) [2/21/1925, Bastia, Corsica, France – 10/16/2005, Bergerac, Dordogne, France] – production manager, director, assistant director, writer, songwriter, son of songwriter, singer, actor, filmmaker Jean Bastia [1878-1940].

Dynamite Jack – 1960

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter – Giorgio Alorio

Italian director and screenwriter Giorgio Alorio was born in Turin on February 27, 1929. Arlorio began his career in 1951 as an assistant director for Pietro Germi, Mario Soldati and Michelangelo Antonioni, while between the 1960s and the 1970s became a regular collaborator of Gillo Pontecorvo and Carlo Lizzani, with whom he co-wrote some of their films. He also directed some political documentaries.

Alorio wrote screenplays for twenty-two films between 1959 and 2011. He was also an assistant director on four films and directed six.

He was married to screenwriter Ludmila Blat and the father of daughter Sasha Arlorio. For many years, Arlorio taught Screenwriting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.

Giorgio Arlorio died in his home in Rome on 25 July 2019, at the age of 90

Arlorio wrote the screenplay for Alain Delon’s 1975 Euro-western “Zorro”.

ARLORIO, Giorgio [2/27/1929, Turin, Piedmont, Italy – 7/25/2019, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, writer, actor, married to writer Ludmila Blat (19??-2019), father of Sasha Arlorio.

Zorro – 1975

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer – Mario Bava

Mario Bava was born in Sanremo, Liguria, Italy on July 31, 1914. He was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish technical ingenuity, feature recurring themes and imagery concerning the conflict between illusion and reality, as well as the destructive capacity of human nature. Widely regarded as a pioneer of Italian genre cinema and one of the most influential auteurs of the horror film genre, he is popularly referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Macabre".

Bava was a cinematographer until 1960. He developed a reputation as a special effects genius and was able to use optical trickery to great success. Among the directors for whom Bava photographed films were Paolo Heusch, Riccardo Freda, Jacques Tourneur and Raoul Walsh. While working with Freda on “Lust of the Vampire” (1957) in 1956, the director left the project after an argument with the producers and the film mostly unfinished. Bava stepped in and directed the majority of the movie, finishing it on schedule. This film, also known as "The Devil's Commandment", inspired a wave of gothic Italian horror films. After a similar incident occurred on Freda's “Caltiki, the Immortal Monster” (1959), and Bava's having been credited with "saving" Tourneur's “The Giant of Marathon” (1959), Galatea urged Bava to direct any film he wanted with their financing.

Bava was a cinematographer and cameraman on seventy-eight films between 1839 and 1977. He also was an assistant director on seven films and directed thirty-nine films and wrote stories and screenplays for twenty-one films.  

Mario was a cinematographer on four Spaghetti westerns "Minnesota Clay" and "Arizona Bill" (The Road to Fort Alamo) both tin 1964, "Il pisotlero segnato de Dio" (Two Pistols and a Coward) in 1968 and "Roy Colt e Winchester Jack" (Roy Colt and Winchester Jack) with Antonio Rinaldi which Bava also directed in 1970

Mario Bava was the son of cinematographer, SFX Eugenio Bava [1886–1966] and was married to Iole Sergio and the father of producer, director, assistant director, writer, film editor, actor Lamberto Bava.

Mario died in Rome of a heart attack on April 27, 1980. He was 65 years old.

BAVA, Mario (aka Mario Baja, Marie Foam, John Hold, Mickey Lion, Mario, John Old, John M. Old) [7/31/1914, Sanremo, Liguria, Italy – 4/27/1980, Rome, Lazio, Italy (heart attack)] – director, writer, cinematographer, cameraman, film editor, SFX, actor, son of cinematographer, SFX Eugenio Bava [1886–1966], married to Iole Sergio (1938-1980) father of producer, director, assistant director, writer, film editor, actor Lamberto Bava.

Minnesota Clay – 1964 (co)

The Road to Fort Alamo – 1964 (co)

Two Pistols and a Coward - 1968 (co)

Roy Colt and Winchester Jack – 1970 (co)