Lou Castel | |
|---|---|
 Castel in Fists in the Pocket (1965) | |
| Born | Ulv Quarzell 28 May 1943 |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–present |
Lou Castel (born Ulv Quarzell; 28 May 1943) is a Colombian-born Swedish actor who became internationally known through his work in Italian films, [1] in particular for his starring role in Carlo Lizzani's Requiescant (1967) and his co-starring role in Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1967).
The son of a Swedish father and an Irish mother, Castel was born Ulv Quarzell in Bogotá, Colombia, where his father was working as a diplomat. He and his twin brother grew up in Cartagena. [1]
When Castel was 6, his parents separated. He followed his mother to Europe and went to school in London, very briefly at Dartington Hall School with his sister Solveig, then in Stockholm. He subsequently went to live in Rome where his mother was working in the local film industry. A communist, Castel's mother also introduced her son to politics. [1]
Interested in acting from an early age, he attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, but was quickly kicked out. His first movie role was an uncredited extra in The Leopard (1963). Two years later, he gained international fame for his performance in Fists in the Pocket , in which he played the epileptic Alessandro, who murders his mother and his brother. His career in Italy included arthouse pictures, but also Spaghetti Westerns and also softcore erotica. [1] He enjoyed particular success with his starring roles in Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1967), Salvatore Samperi's Come Play with Me (1968) and Umberto Lenzi's Orgasmo (1969). He later played Jeff, the temperamental bisexual film director in the German production Beware of a Holy Whore (1971), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
While living in Italy, Castel became involved in a maoist organization, the Union of Italian Communists (Marxist–Leninist). As Italy was going through the Years of Lead period, he was eventually considered an undesirable alien. In 1972, he was deported to Sweden where he no longer had any acquaintances. For a time, he had to rely on subsidies sent to him from Italy by his organization. However, he quickly bounced back and appeared, mostly as a character actor, in various European films, directed by filmmakers such as Wim Wenders and Claude Chabrol. [1]
Castel settled in France in the early 1990s. [1] Though the quality of the films he acted in were quite disparate, ranging from arthouse films to cheap exploitation, Castel had a preference for roles that reflected his extreme leftist beliefs. He portrayed left-wing terrorists in Nada (1974), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Could It Happen Here? (1977) and Year of the Gun (1991).
He has a son from the actress Marcella Michelangeli. [1]
A polyglot, Castel speaks a number of languages but jokes that he has no real natural mother tongue and speaks every language with an accent, except for Swedish which he no longer has opportunities to use. [1]
Michele Placido is an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Bellocchio, winning the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Actor for his performance in the 1979 film Ernesto. He is known internationally for portraying police inspector Corrado Cattani on the crime drama television series La piovra (1984–2001). Placido's directorial debut, Pummarò, was screened Un Certain Regard at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Three of his films have competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He is a five-time Nastro d'Argento and four-time David di Donatello winner. In 2021, Placido was appointed President of the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara.
Amityville II: The Possession is a 1982 supernatural horror film directed by Damiano Damiani and starring James Olson, Burt Young, Rutanya Alda, Jack Magner, and Diane Franklin. It’s an international co-production between Mexico and the United States. The screenplay by Tommy Lee Wallace is based on the novel Murder in Amityville by the parapsychologist Hans Holzer. It is the second film in the Amityville Horror film series and a loose prequel to The Amityville Horror (1979), set at 112 Ocean Avenue and featuring the fictional Montelli family, loosely based on the DeFeo family. It follows the Montelli family's decline under apparent demonic forces present in their home.
Eddie Constantine was an American singer, actor and entertainer who spent most of his career in France. He became well-known to film audiences for his portrayal of secret agent Lemmy Caution and other, similar pulp heroes in French B-movies of the 1950s and 1960s.
Gian Maria Volonté was an Italian actor and activist. He is best known for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964), El Indio in Leone's For a Few Dollars More (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima's Face to Face (1967).
Fists in the Pocket is a 1965 Italian satirical drama film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio and starring Lou Castel. It was Bellocchio's first feature film and became one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year. The film centers on a young man suffering from epilepsy, who plots the murders of the members of his dysfunctional family.
A Bullet for the General, also known as El Chucho Quién Sabe?, is a 1966 Italian Zapata Western film directed by Damiano Damiani and starring Gian Maria Volonté, Lou Castel, Klaus Kinski and Martine Beswick. It tells the story of El Chuncho, a bandit and guerrilla leader during the Mexican Revolution, and Bill Tate/El Niño, a counter-revolutionary contract killer who infiltrates his gang and befriends Chuncho. The story centers on the way this relationship changes everything for Chuncho, who discovers the hard way that a social revolution is more important than mere money.
The Most Beautiful Wife is a 1970 Italian film directed by Damiano Damiani, based on the 1965 case of Franca Viola, who challenged the still frequent southern Italian custom of kidnapping and raping a prospective bride for refusing to marry her abductor. It was the debut film for the then 14-year-old Ornella Muti.
Damiano Damiani was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mereghetti said that his style made him "the most American of Italian directors".
A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe is a 1975 Spaghetti Western comedy film directed by Damiano Damiani. It was co-written and produced by Sergio Leone, who also directed the opening scene.
The Day of the Owl is a 1968 Italian–French crime drama film directed by Damiano Damiani, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Leonardo Sciascia, adapted for the screen by Damiani and Ugo Pirro. It stars Franco Nero, Claudia Cardinale, and Lee J. Cobb. Set in a small Sicilian town, the story follows a Carabinieri chief investigating a murder, hampered by the deep-seated presence of the Mafia that perpetuates a culture of silence.
The Empty Canvas is a 1963 Italian drama film directed by Damiano Damiani. The screenplay written by Damiani, Tonino Guerra and Ugo Liberatore is based on the eponymous best-selling novel by Alberto Moravia. The film stars Horst Buchholz, Catherine Spaak, Isa Miranda and Bette Davis.
Carmelo Pompilio Realino Antonio Bene, known as Carmelo Bene was an Italian actor, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was an important exponent of the Italian avant-garde theatre and cinema. In 1968, his movie Our Lady of the Turks won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. He died of a heart ailment in 2002.
Requiescant is a 1967 Spaghetti Western film directed by Carlo Lizzani and starring Lou Castel, Mark Damon, Barbara Frey and Pier Paolo Pasolini, in one of his few acting roles.
A Girl Called Jules is a 1970 Italian drama film directed by Tonino Valerii.
Frankenstein '80 is a 1972 Italian film directed by Mario Mancini.
The Big Racket is a 1976 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. Fabio Testi stars as a police inspector who takes on a gang of hoodlums who terrorise an Italian city by extorting cash from local shop and bar owners.
Execution Squad is a 1972 crime film directed by Steno and starring Enrico Maria Salerno. Set during Italy's tumultuous anni di piombo, the film obtained a great commercial success.
The Warning is a 1980 Italian crime-giallo film directed by Damiano Damiani.
The Playgirls and the Vampire is a 1960 Italian horror film directed and written by Piero Regnoli.
Blood Feud is a 1961 Italian film starring Belinda Lee.
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