Vittorio Cottafavi

The ever intrepid world-trotting hunk of a man Herc (Hercules to those who are not his friends) saves a beautiful maiden from the hands of an evil creature. She takes him to her home, Atlantis. Herc kicks some butt and saves her from her mother who wants to kill her and from some scary looking blond guys but unfortunately the rest of the inhabitants are destroyed. Do not worry because Herc escapes along with his son, the maiden and an annoying midget. (imdb)

While strongman Goliath is busy battling a fire-spewing three-headed doggie and a giant bat-monster in the "Cave of Horrors," his brother, lllus, has made the mistake of falling in love with the bride-to-be of evil King Eurystheus.

Don Fernando, the son of El Cid, rallies peasants and townspeople to overthrow Moorish occupiers in medieval Spain. (imdb)

In 1951, two years after the "scandal" of the Fiamma che non si spegne, Cottafavi got the opportunity to work on a film with a small production company, Novissima Film. With little means, a number of technical and financial problems and working Sundays with the pieces of film given to him bit by bit, Cottafavi shot Una donna ha ucciso, a minor film that marked his comeback to directing. (Gianni Rondolino)

From the novel by Dumas "La Dames aux Camelias". In Milan, a prostitute sacrifices herself to prevent the ruin of the young man she loves.

Another of Cottafavi's woman-in-search-of emancipation pictures, vaguely Ophulsian or Antonioniesque in tone. They all seem to follow a similar pattern: a woman explores romantic and sexual possibilities, then opts for solitude in the last act. (European Film Review comments)

This French/Italian sword 'n' sandal effort is set in the Rome of 476 BC. The Eternal City is threatened with invasion from the Etruscans, with soldier-of-fortune Louis Jourdan in the vanguard. When offered a truce, Jourdan demands that the Romans offer hostages as a sign of good faith. He is especially interested in making the acquaintance of Sylvia Sims, the militaristic leader of a group of female warriors (the "Amazons" of the title). (allmovie.com)

Messalina gets the throne of the Roman Empire making her way to it using blood and murder. A young commander, who had fall in love for her long time ago, is the only one who can stop the bloodshed, but he is torn between the right thing to do and his long-fostered desire for her.

Inspired to the real story of the Carabiniere Salvo D'Acquisto. We see how, to save 22 hostages from dead sentence by Nazi, he decided to sacrifice himself. (imdb)

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

Leo (Vittorio De Sica) is 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 (María Mercader). Leo pretends then to be the son of a tycoon, and takes her in a luxurious restaurant. (Worlds Cinema)

Reconstitution of the trial of beatification of Françoise-Thérèse Martin.

The story of Anne de Breuil, the Milady de Winter, known as the enemy of the Three Musketeers.

The film chronicles the capture of nazi soldier Adolf Eichmann.

Man loses wife and tries to accept the loss while working.

A super computer named Gordon is bought as a solution for a company getting out of the crisis. The ability of memorisation and poetry of the machine creates serious complications among the workers of the company. (Rafael Queiroz)

Sci-fi film by Vittorio Cottafavi made for TV.

Roman Emperor Octavian rules the empire from Rome, and his rival Marc Antony has taken Egyptian queen Cleopatra as his lover and seized the eastern empire, ruling it from Alexandria. Octavian intends to regain his empire by landing his army at Alexandria, besieging the city and capturing and executing the pair. However, while Octavian's army is bigger than Marc Antony's forces, he and Cleopatra have allies who can come to their aid. Both sides prepare for a final showdown. (imdb)

A group of scientists decode a signal from space that indicates the plan for a supercomputer.

Cottafavi's adaptation of Aeschylus' tragedy.

Cottafavi's adaptation of Sophocles play.

After a long time, Alberto returns to his mother's house with his hife, and he has to face new difficulties concerning money, crime and family.

The story of a 15 year-old peasant, Maria, who decides to go down the mountain during the summer, where she lives with her mother and sister, in order to make some money to support her family during the harsh winter that will arrive. (Mubi)

A biographical film on Dante Alighieri that concern literary and political aspects on the life of Divine Comedy poet.

Between May 3 and June 4, 1944, in Rome, the young man of letters Guglielmo Petroni was arrested by the Nazi-Fascists and taken to prison, where he was interrogated and tortured

A scientist kills his rival with a perfect alibi and tries to get away with it.

In the year 2250 the universe is divided into two: on the one hand the world of the rectangle and on the other the world of the triangle. During a deportation on Saturn, the two give life to a last disastrous battle, which will lead to the destruction of the world. The "Fantarca" spaceship remains isolated in space and its surviving crew is faced with the difficult choice of whether to continue the journey towards Saturn, or return to Earth and build a new civilization there. (groups.google)

Three prisoners are discharged from jail: Stefano Luprandi, a surgeon accused of murdering a patient by doing an unauthorized surgery, Giuseppe Rasi, unjustly processed for robbery, and Franco Cesari, a thief.

A long-time captain, forced into inaction by the war, sets up a cooperative with some sailors, and begins work to recover and restore efficiency a cargo ship, submerged in the port. The work goes on beyond the expected, but the tenacity of the captain and the good will of his men overcome every obstacle: the ship is finally ready for the first voyage. (Cinematografo.it)

A man's encounter with his father.

The salient phases of the conquest of the trench called "dei rockazzi" by the Sassari Brigade are narrated in the context of the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo. In the trenches, among the Italian troops, we spend time remembering family affections and debating the best way to break down the enemy defenses. The order to attack the Austrians comes from the Italian command. The major who commands the Italian battalion prepares an attack plan; the soldiers are aware that most of them will not survive.

On Christmas morning the usual information arrives at the police station. A fight, an investment, a suicide attempt. In short, ordinary administration, were it not for a series of accidents in the same neighborhood and for a woman found dead. Is there anything that connects these crimes? (Giorgio Carbone - Leo Pasqua)

Adaptation of the greek tragedy.

Vittorio Cottafavi's 1973 television adaptation of Jean Anouih's play on Joan of Arc.

Televised performance of the Greek tragedy by Euripides

The film follows the journey of three inseparable friends: the narrator, a good city dweller; Pieretto, the most intellectual of the three, and Orestes, a simple and naive countryman. In their wanderings through the hills, they meet Poli, the drug-addicted son of the owners of the Greppo estate, under the influence of cocaine. Attracted by his unconventional and cordial manners, they will keep him company in his car rides (wikipedia.org)

Through the depiction of some famous pages of Russian literature, we travel inside the history of the tsars' rule, up to the October Revolution.

Evocation of a dramatic episode of the Second World War told by an old guard. Boarded as a non-commissioned officer on the battleship sailed from Pola and headed south. In time of danger, the man is forced to sacrifice the lives of seven sailors and the son of the Captain, his good friend, in order to save the rest of the crew.

An italian-spanish co-production directed by Vittorio Cottafavi.