During the peak years of the Italian film industry in the 1960s and 70s, there were numerous films released which never received a theatrical release in the U.S. and are completely unknown to American audiences. Of course, some of these are forgettable but there are several that deserve a second chance at being re-discovered and Violenza al Sole (English title: Violence in the Sun aka Blow Hot, Blow Cold aka Hot Blood in the Veins, 1969), directed by Florestano Vancini, is a prime example. It is also a fascinating anomaly in the careers of the four main actors, Giuliano Gemma, Rosemary Dexter, and two stars who are most often associated with director Ingmar Bergman, Bibi Andersson and Gunnar Bjornstrand.
Continue readingTag Archives: Giuliano Gemma
Toxic Love

Giuliano Gemma and Stefania Sandrelli play factory workers in Milan who become lovers in the tragic love story, Delitto D’amore (aka Crime of Love, 1974), directed by Luigi Comencini.
Milan, Italy is world famous as a mecca for high fashion, design and the AC Milan football club but the statistics also reveal that it is still one of Europe’s most polluted cities due to smoke spewing factories and auto emissions. Against this gray, industrial backdrop, Luigi Comencini has set his rarely seen but moving 1974 drama, Delitto D’amore (aka Crime of Love). Continue reading
Vintage Peplum
Remember the Italian sword and sandal films (known as peplum in their native land) that enjoyed a brief period of popularity in the U.S. from around 1958 to 1964? There was never any question about the appeal. What’s not to like about muscle-bound super heroes, beautiful, curvaceous slave girls, princesses and evil queens, despicable, hiss-worthy villains, amazing feats of strength, epic battle scenes, exotic dance sequences, bizarre tortures and stylized sadism, picturesque locations, atmospheric set design, and disaster film calamities (earthquakes, volcanoes, storms)? Continue reading
Faded Delusions of Grandeur: The Desert of the Tartars
Each year hundreds of international films never get picked up for distribution in the U.S. and the select few that do are either high profile film festival prize winners like Michael Haneke’s Amour (2012) or popular commercial hits like March of the Penguins (2005) from France and Life is Beautiful (1997) from Italy. So when you come across an austere and haunting cinematic work like Valerio Zurlini’s The Desert of the Tartars (Il Deserto Dei Tartari), you have to wonder how many great films from other lands are out there that you are not going to see…and probably never will. Continue reading

