89% (2) The Great Silence 105 min, Not Rated, [Western] [Sergio Corbucci] [27 Jan 1969]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 78%, Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, External Reviews
Actors: Frank Wolff, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Luigi Pistilli
Writer: Sergio Corbucci (story), Vittoriano Petrilli (screenplay), Mario Amendola (screenplay), Bruno Corbucci (screenplay), Sergio Corbucci (screenplay), John Davis Hart (dialogue: English version), Lewis E. Ciannelli (dialogue: English version)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Italian, English Country: Italy, France
Plot: Bounty killers led by Loco prey on outlaws hiding out in the snowbound Utahn mountains. After Pauline's husband becomes Loco's latest victim, she hires a gunman for revenge; Silence, mute since his throat was cut when he was a boy.
Rotten Tomatoes: Italian filmmaker Sergio Corbucci directed this serious-minded populist spin on the spaghetti western, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant as Silence, whose vocal cords have been slashed by sadistic bounty-hunters. Silence joins with local hillfolk in fighting the corrupt and tyrannical authorities in the town of Snow Mill. Corbucci's sympathies are clearly with his bandit heroes, who are only doing what they must to survive, while the law is represented by a corrupt sheriff, who lets his wealthy patrons run wild, and sadistic scum like Klaus Kinski, who kills the poor because he enjoys it. Politically charged in a way that only a film of its time could be, Il Grande Silenzio's themes of class struggle and violent revolution were a bit too hot for an American release in 1968. Vonetta McGee co-starred with genre regulars Frank Wolff, Luigi Pistilli, and Raf Baldassare.
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87% (2) Salvatore Giuliano 125 min, Not Rated, [Crime, Drama, History, Mystery] [Francesco Rosi] [01 Mar 1962]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 74%, Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, External Reviews
Awards: 6 wins & 3 nominations.
Actors: Frank Wolff, Frederico Zardi, Salvo Randone
Writer: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Enzo Provenzale, Francesco Rosi, Franco Solinas
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Italian Country: Italy
Plot: In 1950, 28-year-old outlaw Salvatore Giuliano is found gunned down in a Sicilian courtyard. Little is as it seems. The film moves back and forth between the late 1940s, when Giuliano and other reprobates were recruited by separatist politicians to do their fighting, and the days leading up to and following Giuliano's death. After Sicily's self-rule is declared, will the outlaws be pardoned as promised? And why does Giuliano order his gang to fire on a peaceful May Day rally? Police, Carabinieri, and Mafia have their uses for him. There's a trial after his death: will the truth come out or does the code of silence help protect those in power?
Rotten Tomatoes: This crime drama is based on the factual account of Sicilian Mafia don, Salvatore Giuliano. The story begins on July 5, 1950, as Giuliano's bullet-riddled corpse is found in a bright courtyard. During his wake and funeral, the gangster's life is chronicled in flashback. He is seen participating in gangster-related guerrilla activities in Sicily after the war. Later he is seen slaughtering a group of peasants at a communist rally. This precipitates a bloody confrontation between his group and the law. In the end, Giuliano is so violent and cruel that his own men desert him. Even his own assistant leaves, but soon the hapless second-in- command is captured and sent to prison where he ends up poisoned by the Mafia, a group he joined after leaving Giuliano. The film was shot entirely in Sicily and utilized local non-professional actors as well as professional actors.
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74% (2) America America 174 min, Not Rated, [Drama] [Elia Kazan] [17 Jun 1964]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 78%, Rotten Tomatoes: 71%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 11 nominations.
Actors: Elena Karam, Frank Wolff, Harry Davis, Stathis Giallelis
Writer: Elia Kazan
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Elia Kazan, ethnic Greek but Turkish by birth, tells the story of the struggles of his uncle - in this account named Stavros Topouzoglou - in emigrating to America. In the 1890's, the young, kind-hearted but naive Stavros lived in Anatolia, where the Greek and Armenian minorities were repressed by the majority Turks, this repression which often led to violence. Even Stavros being friends with an Armenian was frowned upon. As such, Stavros dreamed of a better life - specifically in America - where, as a result, he could make his parents proud by his grand accomplishments. Instead, his parents, with most of their money, sent Stavros to Constantinople to help fund the carpet shop owned by his first cousin once removed. What Stavros encountered on his journey, made on foot with a small donkey, made him question life in Anatolia even further. Once in Constantinople, his resolve to earn the 110 Turkish pound third class fare to the United States became stronger than ever. But try after try, his efforts were thwarted. But as he seemed close to achieving his dream, it seemed certain that it would snatched away from him. But an earlier good deed may have helped him ultimately achieve his goal of reaching the United States and a better life.
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69% (1) Metello 107 min, [Drama] [Mauro Bolognini] [16 Apr 1970]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 69%, External Reviews
Awards: 8 wins & 5 nominations.
Actors: Frank Wolff, Massimo Ranieri, Ottavia Piccolo, Tina Aumont
Writer: Luigi Bazzoni, Mauro Bolognini, Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Ugo Pirro, Vasco Pratolini (novel)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Italian Country: Italy
Plot: Metello struggles to escape from the poverty that led to the premature death of his parents, and that is the lot of the working class in northern Italy during the second half of the 19th century. Metello fights his way out from his condition through hard work, a determined will to resist oppression inherited from his father, but also by taking advantage of his good looks when dealing with women. Metello progressively assumes an important role in the organization of an emerging workers movement, and attempts to conciliate his risky political activities with his private life.
Rotten Tomatoes: Metello (Messimo Ranieri) is the son of an anarchist who shares his father's passion for justice. After he is introduced to love by the young widow Viola (Lucia Bose), he falls in love and marries Ersilia (Ottavia Piccolo). Labor unrest leads to a strike by workers, and Metello is thrown in jail. Upon his release, he lies to officials when he says he will abandon political causes. He tries to balance his family life and remain true to his ideals in the changing political climate in Florence at the turn of the 20th century. Ennio Morricone provides the music for this feature that appeared at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
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64% (1) Kill Them All and Come Back Alone 100 min, R, [Western] [Enzo G. Castellari] [01 Jan 1968]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 64%, External Reviews
Actors: Chuck Connors, Franco Citti, Frank Wolff, Leo Anchóriz
Writer: Tito Carpi (story), Enzo G. Castellari (story), Tito Carpi (screenplay), Francesco Scardamaglia (screenplay), Joaquín Romero Hernández, Enzo G. Castellari (screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Italian Country: Italy, Spain
Plot: In 1864, mercenary Clyde MacKay leads a squad of hard-case cutthroats on a mission for the Confederate high command: infiltrate an enemy fortress and steal a million dollars in gold from the Union Army.
Rotten Tomatoes: In this spaghetti western, the head of a band of desperadoes steals the gold from a Union fort and hides it before the leader is captured by Yankee soldiers. In captivity, the outlaw is tortured by a sadistic Army officer, formerly the trader who conned him into the heist. The torture will not stop until the thief reveals the location of the gold. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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