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)
