Umberto Lenzi
Encyclopedia
Umberto Lenzi is an Italian
film director
who was very active in low budget crime films
, peplums, spaghetti western
s, war movies, cannibal films and giallo
murder mysteries (in addition to writing many of the screenplays himself).
, Grosseto
, southern Tuscany
. He is the writer/director of two highly controversial exploitation film
s: Eaten Alive!
(1980) and Cannibal Ferox
(1981) as well as the director of the film adaptation of the Italian comic book
Kriminal
(1966). He was one of the first Italian directors to get involved in the Giallo film craze (along with Mario Bava
and Dario Argento
), and his Man From Deep River is credited as being the film that started the Italian "cannibal film" genre later popularized by Ruggero Deodato
, Jess Franco and others. Lenzi has claimed in interviews however that he was never too enamored of the cannibal films he made, being much prouder of his war films, his police crime films and his westerns. Lenzi has said in interviews that Man From Deep River was his best cannibal film (he said he only did the other two to make a quick buck), and his favorite giallos were Orgasmo
and Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. He said Black Demons was another of his all-time favorites, a "potential masterpiece" marred only by the poor acting of the female lead he was forced to work with.
and Evil Dead 2 were released in Italy as La Casa and La Casa 2 respectively. Lenzi's film Ghosthouse was designed as a sort of sequel to these two high-grossing fan favorites, and thus was released in theatres there as La Casa 3. The same year, Fabrizio Laurenti directed Witchery (starring Linda Blair
) which was released in Italy as La Casa 4 and was followed several years later by Claudio Fragasso
's La Casa 5: Beyond Darkness (not to be confused with Joe D'Amato's "Beyond The Darkness").
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
who was very active in low budget crime films
Poliziotteschi
Poliziotteschi films constitute a sub-genre of crime and action film that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s...
, peplums, spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s, war movies, cannibal films and giallo
Giallo
Giallo is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism...
murder mysteries (in addition to writing many of the screenplays himself).
Life and career
Lenzi was born in Massa MarittimaMassa Marittima
Massa Marittima is a town and comune of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto.There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironworks and olive-oil mills...
, Grosseto
Grosseto
Grosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river....
, southern Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
. He is the writer/director of two highly controversial exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
s: Eaten Alive!
Eaten Alive!
Mangiati vivi!, also known by its English title Eaten Alive!, is an Italian cannibal-rape film, directed by Umberto Lenzi, released in 1980. Alternative titles for the movie, include "The Emerald Jungle" and "Eaten Alive by Cannibals". It stars Robert Kerman, Janet Agren and Me Me Lai. In secondary...
(1980) and Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly, is a 1981 Italian exploitation film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film made claims to being "The most violent film ever made"...
(1981) as well as the director of the film adaptation of the Italian comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
Kriminal
Kriminal
Kriminal is an Italian comics series featuring an eponymous fictional character, created in 1964 by Magnus and Max Bunker, the authors of Alan Ford, Maxmagnus and Satanik.-Characters:...
(1966). He was one of the first Italian directors to get involved in the Giallo film craze (along with Mario Bava
Mario Bava
Mario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy...
and Dario Argento
Dario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
), and his Man From Deep River is credited as being the film that started the Italian "cannibal film" genre later popularized by Ruggero Deodato
Ruggero Deodato
Ruggero Deodato is an Italian film director and screen writer, best known for directing violent and gory horror films. Deodato is infamous for his 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.- Biography :...
, Jess Franco and others. Lenzi has claimed in interviews however that he was never too enamored of the cannibal films he made, being much prouder of his war films, his police crime films and his westerns. Lenzi has said in interviews that Man From Deep River was his best cannibal film (he said he only did the other two to make a quick buck), and his favorite giallos were Orgasmo
Orgasmo
Orgasmo is a 1969 movie starring Carroll Baker and Lou Castel, and directed by Umberto Lenzi. The movie casts Baker as an American heiress who moves to Italy and befriends a young man and his girlfriend, only to discover that they are not what they seem....
and Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. He said Black Demons was another of his all-time favorites, a "potential masterpiece" marred only by the poor acting of the female lead he was forced to work with.
Two films called Paranoia
Umberto Lenzi's Orgasmo (1969) was retitled Paranoia when it was released in the USA, and it was so successful under that title, the Italian producers asked Lenzi to make another giallo called Paranoia to be distributed in Italy. So that same year, Lenzi made Paranoia which was later retitled A Quiet Place to Kill in the USA (since Orgasmo had already been shown there under the title Paranoia). That's why Lenzi has 2 films called "PARANOIA" in his filmography.The Italian La Casa horror film series
Umberto Lenzi directed Ghosthouse in 1988 (La Casa 3 - Ghosthouse), but many of his fans do not know why it was released as La Casa 3 in Italy. The American films The Evil DeadThe Evil Dead
The Evil Dead is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Betsy Baker. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area...
and Evil Dead 2 were released in Italy as La Casa and La Casa 2 respectively. Lenzi's film Ghosthouse was designed as a sort of sequel to these two high-grossing fan favorites, and thus was released in theatres there as La Casa 3. The same year, Fabrizio Laurenti directed Witchery (starring Linda Blair
Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
) which was released in Italy as La Casa 4 and was followed several years later by Claudio Fragasso
Claudio Fragasso
Claudio Fragasso is an Italian screenwriter and film director of mostly low-budget exploitation films.- Filmmaking history :...
's La Casa 5: Beyond Darkness (not to be confused with Joe D'Amato's "Beyond The Darkness").
Filmography
- Queen of the Seas (1961) aka The Adventure of the Mary Reade
- Catherine of RussiaCatherine of RussiaCatherine of Russia can refer to:* Catherine I of Russia , second wife of Peter the Great* Catherine II of Russia , Catherine the Great...
(1962) - The Triumph of Robin Hood (1962)
- Duel of Fire (1962) aka Duello nella Sila
- Terror of the Black Mask (1962) aka The Invincible Masked Rider/ L'invincibile cavaliere mascherato
- Sandokan the Great (1963) aka Sandokan, The Tiger of Mompracem, starring Steve ReevesSteve ReevesStephen L. Reeves was an American bodybuilder and actor. At the peak of his career, he was the highest-paid actor in Europe.-Childhood:...
- Samson and the Slave Queen (1963) aka Zorro Vs Maciste
- Temple of the White Elephants (1964) aka Sandok, the Maciste of the Jungle
- The Pirates of The Seven Seas (1964) aka The Pirates of Malaysia, starring Steve Reeves once again portraying Sandokan the Great
- Messalina Against the Son of Hercules (1964) aka The Last Gladiator
- Super Seven Calling Cairo (1965)
- 008 Operation Exterminate (1965)
- The Mountain of Light (1965) aka Jungle Adventurer, aka Sandok, aka Temple of a Thousand Lights, starring Richard Harrison
- The Spy Loves Flowers (1966)
- A Million Dollars For Seven Killers (1966)
- Kriminal (19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) based on the famous Italian comic strip - Desert Commandos (1967) aka Attentato ai tre grandi
- Copperface (1967)
- A Pistol for a Hundred Coffins (1968)
- Legion of the Damned (1969) aka Battle of the Commandos, written by Dario Argento, starring Jack PalanceJack PalanceJack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
- OrgasmoOrgasmoOrgasmo is a 1969 movie starring Carroll Baker and Lou Castel, and directed by Umberto Lenzi. The movie casts Baker as an American heiress who moves to Italy and befriends a young man and his girlfriend, only to discover that they are not what they seem....
(1969) (released in USA as Paranoia) - So Sweet, So Perverse (1969)
- An Ideal Place To Kill (1969) aka Dirty Pictures, aka Oasis of Fear
- Paranoia (1970) (released in USA as A Quiet Place To Kill, since Orgasmo had already been released there as Pananoia)
- The Man From Deep River (1972) aka Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio, aka The Country of Savage Sex, aka Sacrifice, aka Deep River Savages
- Seven Bloodstained Orchids (1972) aka Puzzle of the Silver Half Moons
- The Knife of Ice (1972) aka Silent Horror
- Gang War in Milan (1973)
- Spasmo (1974)
- Almost HumanAlmost Human (film)Almost Human, also known as The Death Dealer, The Kidnap of Mary Lou and The Executioner is a 1974 poliziotteschi film...
(1974) aka Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare, aka The Kidnapping of Mary Lou - Eyeball (1975) aka Wide-Eyed in the Dark, aka Red Cats in a Glass Maze
- Syndicate SadistsSyndicate SadistsSyndicate Sadists, also known as Rambo's Revenge and One Just Man is a 1975 poliziotteschi film. This film by Umberto Lenzi was one of the director's many work in the crime thriller genre...
(1975) aka The Avenger Challenges the City - Rome Armed to the TeethRome Armed to the TeethRoma a mano armata, also known as Rome Armed To The Teeth , is one of the many Italian police crime films known as poliziotteschi made by Umberto Lenzi in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
(1976) aka Brutal Justice, aka Roma a Mano Armata - Violent Naples (1976) aka Napoli Violenta
- Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1976) aka Il Trucido E Lo Sbirro
- Brothers Till We Die (1977)
- The Cynic, the Rat and the FistThe Cynic, the Rat and the FistThe Cynic, the Rat and the Fist is an Italian crime action thriller directed in 1977 by Umberto Lenzi. The movie is the sequel of Rome Armed to the Teeth, with Maurizio Merli reprising the role of Commissioner Leonardo Tanzi....
(1977) written by Ernesto GastaldiErnesto GastaldiErnesto Gastaldi is an Italian screen writer.Born in Graglia, province of Biella, he has written under the pseudonyms Julian Berry, Julyan Perry and Ernst Gasthaus.... - The Greatest BattleThe Greatest Battle- Cast :* Helmut Berger: Lt. Kurt Zimmer* Samantha Eggar: Annelise Hackermann* Giuliano Gemma: Captain Malcolm Scott* Henry Fonda: General Foster* John Huston: Professor O'Hara* Stacy Keach: Lt...
(1978) aka Il Grande Attacco - From Hell to Victory (1979)
- From Corleone to BrooklynFrom Corleone to BrooklynFrom Corleone to Brooklyn is an Italian crime thriller directed by Umberto Lenzi. The film was released in Italy on April 13, 1979 and stars Maurizio Merli, Mario Merola and Van Johnson....
(1979) - The Sicilian Boss (1979)
- Nightmare CityNightmare CityIncubo Sulla Cittá Contaminata or City of the Walking Dead or Zombie 8 and Nightmare City, is a 1980 Italian zombie film directed by Umberto Lenzi.-Plot:...
(1980) aka City of the Walking Dead, aka Nightmare in the Contaminated City/ Incubo Sulla Cittá Contaminata - Eaten Alive!Eaten Alive!Mangiati vivi!, also known by its English title Eaten Alive!, is an Italian cannibal-rape film, directed by Umberto Lenzi, released in 1980. Alternative titles for the movie, include "The Emerald Jungle" and "Eaten Alive by Cannibals". It stars Robert Kerman, Janet Agren and Me Me Lai. In secondary...
(1980) aka Mangiati vivi, aka The Emerald Jungle, aka Doomed To Die - Cannibal FeroxCannibal FeroxCannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly, is a 1981 Italian exploitation film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film made claims to being "The most violent film ever made"...
(1981) aka Make Them Die Slowly - Daughter of the Jungle (1982) aka Incontro nell'ultimo paradiso/ Encounter in the Last Paradise
- Ironmaster (1982) aka The War of Iron/ La Guerra di Ferro
- Tempi di guerra (1987) aka Times of War
- Nightmare BeachNightmare BeachNightmare Beach, released in the United States as Welcome to Spring Break, is an Italian-American horror released in 1988 film directed by Umberto Lenzi, using the pseudonym Harry Kirkpatrick, and starring Nicolas de Toth, Sarah Buxton, John Saxon, and Michael Parks.-Plot:Diablo, the leader of the...
(1988) aka Welcome to Spring Break - Black CobraBlack Cobra (film series)Black Cobra is an Italian Blaxploitation series of four action films. All of its films are centered around Robert 'Bob' Malone , a maverick police detective who deals out his own brand of justice....
(Lenzi was a co-director) (1987-1990) - Ghosthouse (1988) known in Italy as La Casa 3
- Hell's Gate (1989)
- Hitcher in the Dark (1989) aka Fear in the Dark
- The House of Witchcraft (1989) Made for Italian TV, aka Ghosthouse 4
- The House of Lost Souls (1989) Made for Italian TV
- Black Demons (1991) erroneously distributed in some countries as Demons 3
- The Hunt for the Golden Scorpion (1991)
- Mean Tricks (1993)
- Sarayevo inferno di fuoco (1996)
See also
- Cannibal boomCannibal boomThe cannibal boom is a period in the history of exploitation film, lasting roughly from 1977 to 1981, where cannibal films were at the peak of their popularity in Grindhouse theaters and cinema...
- Centro Sperimentale di CinematografiaCentro Sperimentale di CinematografiaThe Centro sperimentale di cinematografia was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film....
- PoliziotteschiPoliziotteschiPoliziotteschi films constitute a sub-genre of crime and action film that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s...
- Spaghetti NightmaresSpaghetti NightmaresSpaghetti Nightmares is a reference book on Italian horror films by Luca M. Palmerini and Gaetano Mistretta. The book consists mainly of interviews with major genre icons...