Category Archives: Italian cinema

Pedalers: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Oct. 2021 Edition, Vol. 400.6

PEDALERS:  CLASSIC FILM IMAGES PHOTO QUIZ, OCT. 2021 EDITION, VOL. 400.6     In deference to the assertions of those who derive from great glee from splashing rain puddles onto the sidewalk strolling CSR editorial staff as they zoom by in … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, Boston, Drive-In Movies, Italian cinema, Movies, photography, Romance, war movies, women, writing | 2 Comments

‘Tis the Season of Excess: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2020 Edition, Vol. 3,000,000,000

‘Tis the Season of Excess: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2020 Edition, Vol. 3,000,000,000 If anything might be guaranteed to emanate on a continuous basis from the deeply humanist and selfless communal mindset that is at the core of … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, biography, books, History, Italian cinema, Movies, photography, Romance, Santa Claus, silent movies, westerns, women, writing | 3 Comments

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Battle Fatigue: “Le prigioniere dell’isola del diavolo” (1962)

       “Le prigioniere dell’isola del diavolo” (1962)         The mere mention of a film inclusive of the women in the spurious genre of prison films usually conjures salacious images of graciously exploitative shower scenes, jailhouse togs … Continue reading

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Howl: “La lupa mannara” (1976)

      “La lupa mannara”  (1976)      Lycanthropy becomes the subject of pathology rather than mythology in Rino Di Silvestro’s “La lupa mannara” (“Werewolf Woman”), a film that features an unsettling performance by Annik Borel as Daniela Neseri, … Continue reading

Posted in crime, erotica, giallo, horror, Italian cinema, Movies, psychiatry, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Spy Who Confused Me: “Superseven chiama Cairo” (1965)

      “Superseven chiama Cairo”  (1965)     If imitation were genuinely the sincerest form of flattery, then Ian Fleming’s most popular creation would have merited the author the Nobel Prize for Literature. As it stands, what is entertaining … Continue reading

Posted in books, crime, espionage, Eurospy movies, Italian cinema, Movies, Mystery, Romance, Rosalba Neri, writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Silent Revenge: “Oggi a me… domani a te!” (1968)

     “Oggi a me… domani a te!”  (1968)     “Oggi a me… domani a te!”, a.k.a. “Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!”, is a not an untypical example of the spaghetti western genre (or the western, period) in … Continue reading

Posted in Drive-In Movies, grindhouse, Italian cinema, movie reviews, Movies, Spaghetti Westerns, westerns, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Ho Ho Ho: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec 2018 Edition, Vol. $50hr

Ho Ho Ho: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2018 Edition, Vol. $50hr     If not the oldest profession, it certainly would counted high on the list of most depicted professions on the silver screen. We are, of course, … Continue reading

Posted in books, cinema, Eartha Kitt, History, Italian cinema, Movies, Musicals, sex, Sophia Loren, theater, westerns, women | 11 Comments

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, May 2018 Edition, Vol. K – 6

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, May 2018 Edition, Vol. K – 6      Why does it seem that the very idea of “good”children has been abandoned? The bawling spoiled moppets who pollute every … Continue reading

Posted in book reviews, books, British films, children, French cinema, History, humor, Italian cinema, Movies, parenting, Romance, westerns, writing | 7 Comments

Low Tide: “La Venere dei pirati” (1960)

                      “La Venere dei pirati”  (1960)     There is a great deal of bluster but very little genuine swashbuckling in Mario Costa’s “La Venere dei pirati” (aka, “Queen of … Continue reading

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Amore in a Gothic Vein: “La strage dei vampiri” (1962)

             “La strage dei vampiri”   (1962)    Italy’s Golden Age of Horror may seem to have begun as an imitative movement  following the successful rejuvenation of the Gothic horror film by Hammer Films in 1957, … Continue reading

Posted in books, Film, Hammer films, horror films, Italian cinema, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, Romance, vampires, women, writing | 4 Comments

Unbalanced: “La bestia uccide a sangue freddo” (1971)

            “La bestia uccide a sangue freddo”   (1971)     “What else have you done? You moved the body and took away the weapon. Then you called the police, asking me to come immediately … Continue reading

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Hanging by a Thread: “Il cappotto” / “The Overcoat” (1952)

             “Il cappotto” / “The Overcoat”  (1952) In “Il Cappotto”, director Alberto Lattuada transposes Nikolai Gogol’s  short story from 1800’s Russia to a contemporary Italy, and while the film is representative of an early fledgling move in … Continue reading

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La beauté du monde: Classic Film Images Quiz, August 2015 Edition, Vol. 36-24-36

La beauté du monde: Film Images Quiz, August 2015 Edition, Vol. 36-24-36      Welcome all purveyors of cinematic curiosity to yet another edition of America’s most pointless monthly game, and a source of possible future litigation by the National Organization … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, comedy, Culture, Film, French cinema, German cinema, horror, humor, Italian cinema, Movies, Mystery, Puzzles, sex, theater, women | 1 Comment

Darkest Heart: “Africa, Addio!” (1966)

   “Africa, Addio!” is a follow up offering by the “documentarians” Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prospere who produced the popular “Mondo Cane”.  The film is filled with gorgeous imagery; the kind of cinematography that normally enraptures the senses and … Continue reading

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You Can’t Go Homestead Again: Notes on Western Revisionism

     The dirty little secret about revisionism is that it rarely provides the intended setting for demythologizing without creating, not a revealing truth, but a substitute mythology.       The move toward revisionism in the western film genre is generally … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, Culture, Film, Film Reviews, History, Italian cinema, John Ford, movie reviews, Movies, westerns, writing | 2 Comments

MONTHLY PHOTO QUIZ VOL. 666

IS THAT A TARANTULA IN YOUR CORSET OR ARE YOU JUST SCARED TO SEE ME?: OCTOBER CLASSIC FILM IMAGES QUIZ     Greeting boys and ghouls, once again it is time for another exciting plunge into that pit of darkness, that … Continue reading

Posted in Drive-In Movies, Edgar Allan Poe, Film, giallo, grindhouse, Hammer films, horror, humor, Italian cinema, Movies, Poe in the Cinema, Puzzles, vampires, vincent price | Tagged | 4 Comments

MONTHLY PHOTO QUIZ VOL. 441

HISTORY IS OLD NEWS: SEPTEMBER CLASSIC FILM IMAGES Ah, the good old days. Plagues, extinction level meteors, worldwide armed conflicts, the career of Elizabeth Taylor. OK, so maybe the past was hideous, filled with horrific events that will disturb Mankind … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, cinema, Culture, Entertainment, Film, History, Italian cinema, Movies, Romance, science, war movies, women | 4 Comments

MONTHLY PHOTO QUIZ VOL. 433

Despite the best efforts of the Millennials (a.k.a., the Generation Y, as in “Y do they exist?” collective) to dismiss the very existence of anyone over the age of 30 (which puts the elder of their clique against the firing … Continue reading

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MONTHLY PHOTO QUIZ VOL. 432

A FACE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS:  JULY CLASSIC FILM IMAGES QUIZ During this month of mindless summer entertainment, it would be a good time to reflect on those glamorous images of yesteryear, those faces that filled the silver screen … Continue reading

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Suppose They Committed a Murder and Nobody Cared?: “Le foto proibite di una signora per bene” (1970)

           “Why on Earth should I love you less because of a sex fiend?”        A young woman takes a bubble bath, drinks to excess and pops unknown pharmaceuticals while mentally fantasizing about tormenting her … Continue reading

Posted in 1970's cinema, 1970's movies, cinema, Film, Film Reviews, giallo, grindhouse, Italian cinema, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Shadow of Her Smile: “La doppia ora” (2009)

   A guest at a hotel leaps from the balcony to her death. A woman attends a speed dating ritual. A pair of budding lovers is accosted during an art heist. A woman begins seeing the phantom images of a … Continue reading

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