In 1970s Italy, after the decline of the Spaghetti Western, crime films became the most popular, profitable and controversial genre. In a country plagued with violence, political tensions and armed struggle, these films managed to capture the anxiety and anger of the times in their tales of tough cops, ruthless criminals and urban paranoia. Recent years have seen renewed critical interest in the genre, thanks in part to such illustrious fans as Quentin Tarantino. This book examines all of the 220+ crime films produced in Italy between 1968 and 1980, the period when the genre first appeared and grew to its peak. Entries include a complete cast and crew list, home video releases, a plot summary and the author's own analysis. Excerpts from a variety of sources are included: academic texts, contemporary reviews, and interviews with filmmakers, scriptwriters and actors. There are many onset stills and film posters.

In 1970s Italy, after the decline of the Spaghetti Western, crime films became the most popular, profitable and controversial genre. In a country plagued with violence, political tensions and armed struggle, these films managed to capture the anxiety and anger of the times in their tales of tough cops, ruthless criminals and urban paranoia. Recent years have seen renewed critical interest in the genre, thanks in part to such illustrious fans as Quentin Tarantino. This book examines all of the 220+ crime films produced in Italy between 1968 and 1980, the period when the genre first appeared and grew to its peak. Entries include a complete cast and crew list, home video releases, a plot summary and the author's own analysis. Excerpts from a variety of sources are included: academic texts, contemporary reviews, and interviews with filmmakers, scriptwriters and actors. There are many onset stills and film posters.

This book is the first monograph in English that comprehensively examines the ways in which Italian historical crime novels, TV series, and films have become a means to intervene in the social and political changes of the country. This study explores the ways in which fictional representations of the past mirror contemporaneous anxieties within Italian society in the work of writers such as Leonardo Sciascia, Andrea Camilleri, Carlo Lucarelli, Francesco Guccini, Loriano Macchiavelli, Marcello Fois, Maurizio De Giovanni, and Giancarlo De Cataldo; film directors such as Elio Petri, Pietro Germi, Michele Placido, and Damiano Damiani; and TV series such as the “Commissario De Luca” series, the “Commissario Nardone” series, and “Romanzo criminale–The series.” Providing the most wide-ranging examination of this sub-genre in Italy, Barbara Pezzotti places works set in the Risorgimento, WWII, and the Years of Lead in the larger social and political context of contemporary Italy.

The only comprehensive and up-to-date book on the subject of Italian cinema available anywhere, in any language.

Demonstrates how and why the transnational figure of the vampire was appropriated by Italian genre filmmakers between 1956 and 1975.

Italian Gothic horror films of the 1970s were influenced by the violent giallo movies and adults-only comics of the era, resulting in a graphic approach to the genre. Stories often featured over-the-top violence and nudity and pushed the limits of what could be shown on the screen. The decade marked the return of specialist directors like Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda and Antonio Margheriti, and the emergence of new talents such as Pupi Avati (The House with the Laughing Windows) and Francesco Barilli (The Perfume of the Lady in Black). The author examines the Italian Gothic horror of the period, providing previously unpublished details and production data taken from official papers, original scripts and interviews with filmmakers, scriptwriters and actors. Entries include complete cast and crew lists, plot summaries, production history and analysis. An appendix covers Italian made-for-TV films and mini-series.

For many people, the cinematic vigilante has been shaped by Charles Bronson's character in Death Wish and its sequels. But screen vigilantes have taken many guises, from Old West lynch mobs and rogue police officers to rape-avengers and military-trained equalizers. This book recounts the varied representations of such characters in films like The Birth of a Nation, which celebrated the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, and Taxi Driver, Falling Down and You Were Never Really Here, in which the vigilante impulse was symptomatic of mental instability. Also considered is the extent to which fictional vigilantism functions as social commentary and to what degree it is simply stoking popular fears.

With more than 180 films during a career spanning several decades, Jesus Franco (1930-2013) was an extraordinarily prolific and chameleon-like Spanish director, covering virtually every genre from horror to film noir, adventure and erotic, and adapting to all kinds of productions. A one-of-a-kind filmmaker, he was boldly original in the themes, style, and in his idea of cinema. This book examines his life and career between his first short film to the moment he cut his ties with his home country and became an "international" director, with a detailed production history and critical analysis of his films, placing his work within the social and political context of Spanish culture, politics, and cinema. Franco's most critically praised works are covered, namely such cult horror classics as The Awful Dr. Orlof and The Diabolical Dr. Z, as well as his working relationship with Orson Welles, whom he was to direct in a 1964 unfinished adaptation of Treasure Island. Detailed production history and critical analysis of his films are provided, placing his work within the context of Spanish culture, politics, and film industry. The book also includes plenty of never-before-seen bits of information and in-depth discussion of Franco's previously uncovered scripts, essays, and short films, as well as his unmade projects of the period.

Blood in the Streets investigates the various ways in which 1970s Italian crime films were embedded in their immediate cultural and political contexts. The book analyses the emergence, proliferation and distribution of a range of popular film cycles (or filoni) - from conspiracy thrillers and vigilante films, to mafia and serial killer narratives - and examines what these reveal about their time and place. With industrial conditions geared around rapid production schedules and concentrated release patterns, the engagement in these films with both the contemporary political turmoil of 1970s Italy and the traumas of the nation's recent past offers a range of fascinating insights into the wider anxieties of this decade concerning the Second World War and its ongoing political aftermath.

Dark-haired 60s cult pop icon Pamela Tiffin debuted in Summer and Smoke (1961) and was a scene-stealing comedienne opposite James Cagney in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961) before becoming the queen of teenage drive-in movies in State Fair (1963), Come Fly with Me (1963), For Those Who Think Young (1964), The Lively Set (1964) and The Pleasure Seekers (1964). After landing a sexy adult role opposite Paul Newman in Harper (1966), she went blonde and ran away to Italy to star in such films as Kiss the Other Sheik (1968), The Fifth Cord (1971) and Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears (1973). This thoroughly researched career retrospective pays tribute to the talented Tiffin, hailed by Cagney for her "remarkable flair for comedy," and addresses why she did not achieve superstardom. Interviews with co-stars, including Franco Nero, and film historians offer a behind-the-scenes look at her most popular films.