Antonio Margheriti, also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies, was an Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different genres in the Italian film industry, and was known for his sometimes derivative but often stylish and entertaining science fiction, sword and sandal, horror/giallo, Eurospy, Spaghetti Western, Vietnam War and action movies that were released to a wide international audience. He died in 2002.
Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum, is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time, such as Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, Quo Vadis, The Robe, Spartacus, Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments. These films dominated the Italian film industry from 1958 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by spaghetti Western and Eurospy films.
James Gaines, birth name James Larry M. Gaines Jr., is a character actor, singer, musician, writer, director and producer born on May 18, in Maui, Hawaii. He was sometimes also credited as Jaimes Gaines, Jim Gaines, and James Gainers.
Carlo Rambaldi was an Italian special effects artist, winner of three Oscars: one Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1977 for the 1976 version of King Kong and two Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects in 1980 and 1983 for, respectively, Alien (1979) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). He is most famous for his work in those two last mentioned films, that is for the mechanical head-effects for the creature in Alien and the design of the title character of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Flesh for Frankenstein is a 1973 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey. It stars Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren and Arno Juerging. Interiors were filmed at Cinecittà in Rome by a crew of Italian filmmakers.
Yor, the Hunter from the Future is a 1983 science fiction fantasy film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Reb Brown, Corinne Cléry, Luciano Pigozzi, and John Steiner. The film was an Italian-French-Turkish co-production based on the Argentinian comic Yor the Hunter.
David Warbeck was a New Zealand actor and model best known for his roles in European exploitation and horror films.
Sopravvissuti della città morta or Ark of the Sun God is a 1984 Italian action film starring David Warbeck and directed by Antonio Margheriti. The film was partly filmed and produced in Turkey.
Hunters of the Golden Cobra is an Italian 1982 action film starring David Warbeck. It was directed by Antonio Margheriti, and is one of several Italian imitations of Raiders of the Lost Ark, shot in an exotic location involving the recovery of supernatural relics.
Cannibal Apocalypse is a 1980 action horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring John Saxon, Elizabeth Turner, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Cinzia De Carolis, Tony King and Ramiro Oliveros. The film combines the cannibal film genre with a forerunner of Margheriti's Vietnam War films.
Sabrina Siani is an Italian film actress. She also used pseudonyms such as Sabrina Sellers and Sabrina Syan. She starred in numerous films, mostly violent cannibal films and sexy barbarian "sword-and-sandal" movies, and most of her films were made in a three-year period between the ages of 17 and 20. Siani retired from acting in 1989, at age 26.
Euro War, also known as Macaroni Combat, Macaroni War, Spaghetti Combat, or Spaghetti War, is a broad subgenre of war film that emerged in the mid-1960s. The films were named Euro War because most were produced and directed by European co-productions, most notably and commonly by Italians, as indicated by the subgenre's other nicknames that draw parallels to those films within the mostly Italian Spaghetti Western genre.
The Last Hunter is a 1980 Italian "macaroni combat" directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring David Warbeck and Tony King. Initially made to capitalize on the success of The Deer Hunter, The Last Hunter marked the first Euro War set during the Vietnam War, as opposed to World War II like all previous entries in the subgenre.
Treasure Island in Outer Space is a 1987 science fiction Italian television miniseries directed by Antonio Margheriti.
Mean Tricks is a 1992 crime thriller film produced in Italy and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Released in 1992, it starred Charles Napier, David Warbeck and Stefano Sabelli. It was shot between Kinepolis Studios in Rome, Santo Domingo and Miami.
Hercules, Prisoner of Evil is a 1964 Italian peplum film directed by Anthony Dawson and an uncredited Ruggero Deodato. Deodato, the official assistant director, replaced Margheriti as he was busy with the completion of the film The Fall of Rome. Deodato actually directed most of the film in actuality but Margheriti was credited as the director. The film is filled with a variety of horrific themes and elements, featuring a killer werewolf, and is as much a horror film as it is a peplum.
The Golden Arrow is a 1962 Italian peplum film directed by Antonio Margheriti.
Malisa Longo is an Italian actress, model and writer.
Last Blood, also known as Tornado: The Last Blood is an Italian "macaroni combat" war film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Giancarlo Prete.
The Alcove, is a 1985 Italian erotic film directed by Joe D'Amato.
