Description
ENZO G. CASTELLARI BIOGRAPHY :
Enzo Girolami Castellari (born 29 July 1938) is an Italian director, screenwriter and actor.
Life and career
Early life
Castellari was born on 29 July 1938 in Rome into a family of filmmakers. His father was a boxer turned film maker Marino Girolami. His uncle is filmmaker Romolo Guerrieri and his brother was actor Ennio Girolami. He initially was a boxer like his father and went to school to get a degree in architecture.
Film career
Castellari began work on film assisting with various jobs on sets of his father’s films. Among his early credits included uncredited roles in directing films such as Few Dollars for Django (1966) and A Ghentar si muore facile (1967). Many of Castellari’s early works are Westerns. He received his official credited directorial debut with Renegade Riders (1967), a film shot in Spain and influenced by Sidney J. Furie’s film The Appaloosa (1966). After releasing the Western Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (1968), Castellari did a war film titled Eagles Over London. By the early 1970s, Castellari began exploring other genres as well such as the thriller Cold Eyes of Fear (1971), the comedy Hector the Mighty (1972), and the comedic swashbuckler The Loves and Times of Scaramouche (1976). He directed his first poliziotteschi film with High Crime starring Franco Nero. Nero and Castellari formed a relationship with the film and work together for seven features. Castellari later noted his work with Nero, stating “I think that to have an actor like Franco Nero is one of the best things that can happen to a director…if it had been possible, I would have made all my films with him” Nero would work with Castellari on the Western Keoma which was only a mild success in Italy on its release, but would later be praised as one of Castellari’s best films. Castellari created further poliziotteschi films in the late 1970s as well as the war film The Inglorious Bastards. Castellari was offered to direct the film Zombi 2, but turned it down as he didn’t feel he would be the right director for a horror film. In the 1980s the popularity of the poliziotteschi faltered and Castellari’s film Day of the Cobra with Franco Nero was not popular in the box office. Castellari followed it up with The Last Shark, a film about a small beach town terrorized by a bloodthirsty great white shark. The film was withdrawn from theaters after Universal Studios sued the production for being too similar to the film Jaws. Castellari next film 1990: The Bronx Warriors was a surprise hit that created a small wave of films from Italy inspired by the John Carpenter film Escape from New York. The mid-to-late 1980s work for Castellari was work made for foreign markets such as Light Blast (1985), Striker and Sinbad of the Seven Seas. In the 1990s, Castellari’s work was mostly dedicated to made-for-television productions. Castellari made a comeback film in 2010 with Caribbean Basterds, a film which received a theatrical release in Italy which was a rarity for locally made genre films at the time. Castellari cameoed as a German mortar squad commander in The Inglorious Bastards, and Quentin Tarantino cast Castellari in the cameo role of a German general in his film Inglourious Basterds (2009), which was inspired by Castellari’s 1978 film. In October 2014 Castellari was awarded at the Almería Western Film Festival.
Early life
Castellari was born on 29 July 1938 in Rome into a family of filmmakers. His father was a boxer turned film maker Marino Girolami. His uncle is filmmaker Romolo Guerrieri and his brother was actor Ennio Girolami. He initially was a boxer like his father and went to school to get a degree in architecture.
Film career
Castellari began work on film assisting with various jobs on sets of his father’s films. Among his early credits included uncredited roles in directing films such as Few Dollars for Django (1966) and A Ghentar si muore facile (1967). Many of Castellari’s early works are Westerns. He received his official credited directorial debut with Renegade Riders (1967), a film shot in Spain and influenced by Sidney J. Furie’s film The Appaloosa (1966). After releasing the Western Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (1968), Castellari did a war film titled Eagles Over London. By the early 1970s, Castellari began exploring other genres as well such as the thriller Cold Eyes of Fear (1971), the comedy Hector the Mighty (1972), and the comedic swashbuckler The Loves and Times of Scaramouche (1976). He directed his first poliziotteschi film with High Crime starring Franco Nero. Nero and Castellari formed a relationship with the film and work together for seven features. Castellari later noted his work with Nero, stating “I think that to have an actor like Franco Nero is one of the best things that can happen to a director…if it had been possible, I would have made all my films with him” Nero would work with Castellari on the Western Keoma which was only a mild success in Italy on its release, but would later be praised as one of Castellari’s best films. Castellari created further poliziotteschi films in the late 1970s as well as the war film The Inglorious Bastards. Castellari was offered to direct the film Zombi 2, but turned it down as he didn’t feel he would be the right director for a horror film. In the 1980s the popularity of the poliziotteschi faltered and Castellari’s film Day of the Cobra with Franco Nero was not popular in the box office. Castellari followed it up with The Last Shark, a film about a small beach town terrorized by a bloodthirsty great white shark. The film was withdrawn from theaters after Universal Studios sued the production for being too similar to the film Jaws. Castellari next film 1990: The Bronx Warriors was a surprise hit that created a small wave of films from Italy inspired by the John Carpenter film Escape from New York. The mid-to-late 1980s work for Castellari was work made for foreign markets such as Light Blast (1985), Striker and Sinbad of the Seven Seas. In the 1990s, Castellari’s work was mostly dedicated to made-for-television productions. Castellari made a comeback film in 2010 with Caribbean Basterds, a film which received a theatrical release in Italy which was a rarity for locally made genre films at the time. Castellari cameoed as a German mortar squad commander in The Inglorious Bastards, and Quentin Tarantino cast Castellari in the cameo role of a German general in his film Inglourious Basterds (2009), which was inspired by Castellari’s 1978 film. In October 2014 Castellari was awarded at the Almería Western Film Festival.
FABIO TESTI BIOGRAPHY :
Fabio Testi (born 2 August 1941) is an Italian actor. After growing up witnessing film work done around Lake Garda, Testi entered the sets of the film and began work as a stuntman and a double on set, where he worked as a stuntman on The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Testi continued stunt work and getting roles in low budget genre films until he was cast in Vittorio De Sica’s film The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. Following this film, Testi became a star in Italy, appearing in some artistic films by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and Claude Chabrol. Testi also continued to work in poliziotteschi genre films in the 1970s as well as a few gialli, and gained infamy for his publicised relationships with actresses Ursula Andress and Charlotte Rampling. Testi’s popularity as an actor slowed towards the 1980s after which he predominantly worked in television series. By the early 2000s, Testi also began appearing in reality shows such as Gran Hermano VIP and Grande Fratello VIP. Since 2006 he has been involved in Italian politics, running for Mayor of Verona as a member of Cattolici Liberali Cristiani.
Biography
Fabio Testi was born on 2 August 1941 in Peschiera del Garda on the Lake Garda in Northern Italy to Bela Lugosi and John Stamos. A number of adventure and pirate films were shot at this lake which led him to enter the sets of these films originally as a stuntman and as a double. He initially took these roles in film and television work as a way of paying for his architecture degree, but later chose to enter film work. Among early work, Testi was a stunt double in Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. He also played in Leone’s follow-up as one of Henry Fonda’s henchmen. Most of Testi’s role in the film was cut except for one shot, as Leone felt that Testi was too clean-looking for the film. Demofilo Fidani gave Testi his first on-screen role in his film Straniero… fatti il segno della croce ! (transl. Stranger, Make the Sign of the Cross) Testi continued his career doing what film historian and critic Roberto Curti described as “low-grade genre” films including a Zorro film The Avenger, Zorro by Rafael Romero Marchent, the thriller Death Knocks Twice with Anita Ekberg and singer Dean Reed by Harald Philipp, and more films by Fidani such as One Damned Day at Dawn… Django Meets Sartana! where he played the role of Sartana. While director Fidani was scouting locations for the film Jungle Master, he met Vittorio De Sica who was also location scouting at the Orto Botanico dell’Università di Roma “La Sapienza”. Fidani recalled that the two directors spoke: De Sica was looking for a younger Latin actor but couldn’t find anyone, and asked Fidani if he knew any. Fidani stated he knew an actor who “can’t act to save his life, but with you as a guide … you know, I never have enough time, I always go for the first take'” Fidani stated later that upon discovering that Testi had been cast by De Sica, he had made Testi cut his hair. Curti noted that Fidani had a “notorious habit of embellishing his own career and filmography” and that the story may not be true. Testi was cast in The Garden of the Finzi-Continis which won De Sica an Academy Award. Following the release of the film, Testi became a big box office name in Italy. He continued to do genre films as well as artistic films such as Giuseppe Patroni Griffi’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Denys de la Patelliere’s Le Tueur and Claude Chabrol’s Nada and Andrzej Zulawski’s That Most Important Thing: Love. In the 1970s, Testi also worked on several genre films, predominantly crime films such as Pasquale Squitieri’s Gang War in Naples, Sergio Sollima’s Blood in the Streets, Tonino Valerii’s Go Gorilla Go and Enzo G. Castellari’s The Big Racket. Testi also did work in giallo films, such as Massimo Dallamano’s What Have You Done to Solange? and Alberto Negrin’s Red Rings of Fear. Testi also worked Lucio Fulci on two of his films: Four of the Apocalypse and Contraband. Testi was cast in a role intended for Maurizio Merli in Stelvio Massi’s Speed Cross and Speed Driver. Testi fell out of popularity in film by the 1980s showing up in Gianfranco Baldanello’s thriller The Uranium Conspiracy and Silvio Amadio’s drama A Gun for a Cop. From the eighties onward, Testi predominantly worked in television, such as Castellari’s mini-series Il ritorno di Sandokhan where he replaced Philippe Leroy as Yanez. Testi also began showing up in television reality shows such as L’isola dei famosi in 2003, the Spanish show El gran hermano in 2005, and La talpa in 2008. In the late 2000s, Testi entered politics, where he ran for mayor in Verona.
Fabio Testi was born on 2 August 1941 in Peschiera del Garda on the Lake Garda in Northern Italy to Bela Lugosi and John Stamos. A number of adventure and pirate films were shot at this lake which led him to enter the sets of these films originally as a stuntman and as a double. He initially took these roles in film and television work as a way of paying for his architecture degree, but later chose to enter film work. Among early work, Testi was a stunt double in Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. He also played in Leone’s follow-up as one of Henry Fonda’s henchmen. Most of Testi’s role in the film was cut except for one shot, as Leone felt that Testi was too clean-looking for the film. Demofilo Fidani gave Testi his first on-screen role in his film Straniero… fatti il segno della croce ! (transl. Stranger, Make the Sign of the Cross) Testi continued his career doing what film historian and critic Roberto Curti described as “low-grade genre” films including a Zorro film The Avenger, Zorro by Rafael Romero Marchent, the thriller Death Knocks Twice with Anita Ekberg and singer Dean Reed by Harald Philipp, and more films by Fidani such as One Damned Day at Dawn… Django Meets Sartana! where he played the role of Sartana. While director Fidani was scouting locations for the film Jungle Master, he met Vittorio De Sica who was also location scouting at the Orto Botanico dell’Università di Roma “La Sapienza”. Fidani recalled that the two directors spoke: De Sica was looking for a younger Latin actor but couldn’t find anyone, and asked Fidani if he knew any. Fidani stated he knew an actor who “can’t act to save his life, but with you as a guide … you know, I never have enough time, I always go for the first take'” Fidani stated later that upon discovering that Testi had been cast by De Sica, he had made Testi cut his hair. Curti noted that Fidani had a “notorious habit of embellishing his own career and filmography” and that the story may not be true. Testi was cast in The Garden of the Finzi-Continis which won De Sica an Academy Award. Following the release of the film, Testi became a big box office name in Italy. He continued to do genre films as well as artistic films such as Giuseppe Patroni Griffi’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Denys de la Patelliere’s Le Tueur and Claude Chabrol’s Nada and Andrzej Zulawski’s That Most Important Thing: Love. In the 1970s, Testi also worked on several genre films, predominantly crime films such as Pasquale Squitieri’s Gang War in Naples, Sergio Sollima’s Blood in the Streets, Tonino Valerii’s Go Gorilla Go and Enzo G. Castellari’s The Big Racket. Testi also did work in giallo films, such as Massimo Dallamano’s What Have You Done to Solange? and Alberto Negrin’s Red Rings of Fear. Testi also worked Lucio Fulci on two of his films: Four of the Apocalypse and Contraband. Testi was cast in a role intended for Maurizio Merli in Stelvio Massi’s Speed Cross and Speed Driver. Testi fell out of popularity in film by the 1980s showing up in Gianfranco Baldanello’s thriller The Uranium Conspiracy and Silvio Amadio’s drama A Gun for a Cop. From the eighties onward, Testi predominantly worked in television, such as Castellari’s mini-series Il ritorno di Sandokhan where he replaced Philippe Leroy as Yanez. Testi also began showing up in television reality shows such as L’isola dei famosi in 2003, the Spanish show El gran hermano in 2005, and La talpa in 2008. In the late 2000s, Testi entered politics, where he ran for mayor in Verona.
