Vittorio Cottafavi

Director

January 30, 1914 (84 years)

† December 14, 1998

Modena, Italy

Biography

Vittorio Cottafavi (30 January 1914 – 14 December 1998) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 70 films between 1943 and 1985. His film Il diavolo sulle colline was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography

5.6

Messalina

Messalina was the Roman noblewoman who inveigled ageing emperor Claudio into marriage. Once ensconced on the throne, Messalina launched a reign of terror that shook the empire to its very foundations. The subject of countless film treatments, Rome's most villified empress is herein played by British actress Belinda Lee.

9.0

Christopher Colombus

Vittorio Cottafavi's four part series on the life of Christopher Colombus

4.3

Hercules and the Captive Women

King Androcles of Thebes commands a ship in search of a threat to Greece, predicted by an atmospheric oracle. Hercules is part of the crew, but the strongman falls overboard in a thick fog. Washed ashore, he saves a young Ismene from Proteus, an evil, shape-shifting creature. Ismene takes Hercules to Atlantis, where he discovers that her mother, Queen Antinea, has captured Androcles. Hercules schemes to rescue him and thwart Antinea's dream of world conquest.

4.8

Amazons of Rome

Marching down the Italian peninsula to sack ancient Rome, Etruscan warrior Drusco instead offers to hold back his onslaught if the Romans hand over hostages, including Clelia, the sexy leader of a clan of woman warriors. But before long, intrigue and betrayal unravel the fragile peace. Directors Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and Vittorio Cottafavi helm this vintage sword-and-sandal epic.

6.4

A come Andromeda

Set in 1973, a team of scientists decipher a mysterious signal from space and discover that it provides instructions to build a powerful super-computer. Once built, this computer provokes argument between two of leading team members, Fleming and Dawnay, over the machine's real intentions as it provides further instructions to create a living organism, which Dawnay starts to develop. Later it appears to compel lab assistant Christine to commit suicide, and when the organism is fully developed, it appears in the exact form of Christine, and named Andromeda. But what is the purpose of this "creature"?

5.3

The Revenge of Hercules

A warrior returning home to his country must battle giant bats, three-headed dogs and a vicious dragon to save his wife, and his people, from the machinations of an evil ruler.

N/A

Napoleone a Sant'Elena

No description available

9.0

Vita di Dante

Part of a trilogy of “Famous Lives” conceived by Angelo Guglielmi, Vittorio Cottafavi's television series is a rigorous reconstruction of the biography of the great poet, alternating between fiction and documentary sequences.

N/A

Napoleone a Sant'Elena

A reconstruction of Napoleon Bonaparte's years after Waterloo, from his exile to St. Helena until his death under mysterious circumstances: between hopes of escape and illness, the former emperor dictates his memoirs. Directed by Vittorio Cottafavi, the film is based on a story by Roberto Mazzucco, with a screenplay by Cottafavi and Giovanni Bormioli.

N/A

I racconti di padre Brown

Renato Rascel dons the priest-detective's cassock and, with irony and wit, embodies the character of Father Brown in the six episodes that make up the series. Endowed with a great humanity that allows him to “read” hearts, the protagonist, assisted by the repentant thief Flambeau, solves the cases that arise by resorting to psychological insights that are every bit as good as those of Agatha Christie or Georges Simenon. The series, produced by Rai and broadcast on Rai Uno in prime time, was a huge success with critics and audiences alike and also marked Renato Rascel's personal breakthrough as a comedy actor. He also wrote the theme song, which topped the charts for many weeks.

5.3

Legions of the Nile

Octavio secretly sent his consul Curridio to Alexandria in a final attempt to reach peace. In the city, he meets Berenice, a mysterious and beautiful dancer who falls in love. Actually, the dancer is the queen Cleopatra who leads a double life using this name.

6.8

100 Horsemen

Don Fernando rallies peasants and townspeople to overthrow Moorish occupiers in medieval Spain.

10.0

Almayer's Folly

An adaptation of Joseph Conrad's first novel, taking us to the Malaysian mangrove forests against a backdrop of colonial decadence.

6.7

The Warrior and the Slave Girl

Marcus Numidius, a Roman tribune sent to Armenia to put down a gladiators' revolt, captures the rebels' popular leader, Aselepius. Princess Amira, with ambitions of being Queen and jealous of Asclepius' popularity, plans his death in the arena by substituting a lion for his human opponent

10.0

L'avaro

An adaptation of Molière's play.

7.0

I Piombi di Venezia

A young Venetian officer falls in love with a slave girl.

5.8

In amore si pecca in due

Luisa Galli moves to Rome in search of a respectable job, but instead just finds a job as a waitress for the lawyer Giorgi.

N/A

The Trojan Women

In 1967 the director Vittorio Cottafavi produces the TV movie Le Troiane from Euripides. He uses the classical Italian translation by Enzio Cetrangolo, but creates an original way of film adaptation, inspired by the Brechtian conception of staging the ancient theater. He does not use costume or set design, but is based only on the simple performance of the actors, highlighted by the shooting technique. The absolute sense of tragedy is perceived by the public through emotional engagement and imagination. So, the Trojan war is all the wars and the pain of the Trojan women is the pain of all the victims of any war.

7.0

The Felling of the Forest

In the forested slopes surrounding the rural Tuscan village of Tirli, a group of lumberjacks work long hours felling trees in the hopes of making an ample profit. Amongst them, a recently widowed father struggles to overcome the pain of his wife’s death, whilst juggling the fresh financial pressures of raising two motherless children.

5.5

Our Dreams

Leo is a young man trying to make a living without any success. Through fortuitous circumstances, he is assigned by the director of a big firm to accompany for one night the daughter of the firm's accountant, Titi. Leo pretends then to be the son of a tycoon and takes her to a luxurious restaurant.