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Mario Bava’s The Whip and the Body is a Technicolor fever dream of violent, unquenchable desire that extends beyond the grave. It’s also a gothic tale steeped in murder and revenge, with added elements of sadomasochistic eroticism and just a whiff of necrophilia. Wedged between Black Sabbath and Blood and Black Lace in Bava’s canon, The Whip and the Body shares those films’ consummate use of color cinematography to refine mood and convey disturbing shades of atmosphere. Acting as his own cinematographer, with credited Dp Ubaldo Terzano working as de facto camera operator, Bava revels in a riotous palette of sickly greens, otherworldly purples, and sanguine reds.

The opening of The Whip and the Body brings to mind Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, an equally disturbing tale of mad love that was celebrated by the surrealists. Heathcliffe stand-in Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) returns to his seaside castle...

Italian star author Robert Saviano, whose mob exposé “Gomorrah” spawned both Matteo Garrone’s eponymous prizewinning movie and the groundbreaking crime series that plays stateside on HBO, is making his directorial debut.

Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published.

Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”

“I’m Still Alive” is being mounted as an international co-production between Naples-based Mad Entertainment and Lucky Red in Italy, GapBusters for Belgium,...

Exclusive: In October, Breaking Glass Pictures acquired Mario Martone’s Nostalgia, Italy’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar for North America, and today we have a first look at the official trailer (check it out above).

The drama kicked off its festival run in the Cannes competition last May, and will next play at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Breaking Glass will release in U.S. cinemas on January 20, 2023.

Based on the novel by Ermanno Rea, Nostalgia stars Pierfrancesco Favino (The Traitor), who received a Best European Actor nomination at the recent European Film Awards for his performance as Felice Lasco, a middle-aged Neapolitan who returns to his bustling hometown after having lived in Egypt for 40 years. Once back in the city, Felice is caught up in a lifetime of loose ends as his criminal youth slowly catches up with him.

Martone directed and co-wrote the film...

Exclusive: In a deal with True Colours, Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to Mario Martone’s Nostalgia, Italy’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar. The drama debuted in the Cannes competition last May, and Breaking Glass will continue its festival run in the U.S. through the end of the year with theatrical rollout set for early 2023.

Based on the novel by Ermanno Rea, Nostalgia stars Pierfrancesco Favino (The Traitor) as the middle-aged Felice Lasco, who returns to a bustling Naples after having lived in Egypt for 40 years. Once back, he is caught up in memories of a distant life spent in his hometown, as his criminal youth slowly catches up with him. Alongside Favino, the film stars Francesco Di Leva, Tommaso Ragno, Aurora Quattrocchi and Sofia Essaidi.

In his review, Deadline’s Todd McCarthy wrote the film “has the fantastic advantage of a densely...

Based on Kommisar X, a popular series of crime novels from Germany, 1965’s Kiss Kiss… Kill Kill is the first of seven lightly satirical adventures starring a suave pair of crime-busting spies played by Tony Kendall and Brad Harris. Kiss Kiss is notable for its proto-Our Man Flint plot featuring a criminal mastermind, his private island and the bevy of hypnotized playmates who guard it. A brassy, Shirley Bassey-esque theme song, “I Love You Joe Walker”, kicks off the proceedings in style.

Industry Days Alliance For Development (Afd) strand to host eight European projects.

Update: Project addition: Ffa – MiBACT: The Guard by Giulio Ricciarelli (Labyrinth Of Lies). Producer: Oliver Schütte, tellfilm Deutschland Ug.

New projects from the co-producers of The Nun and Becoming Zlatan and War writer-director Simon Jaquemet are among eight feature projects selected for Locarno’s Industry Days development and co-production strand Alliance For Development (Afd).

The platform is designed to foster co-developments between France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland by facilitating cooperation between existing co-development funds, including France’s Cnc, Italy’s MiBACT, and Germany’s Ffa.

Among selected projects this year are new films from Belle Epoque Films, the German co-producer of Guillaume Nicloux’s 2013 drama The Nun, and Italian outfit Indyca, which co-produced 2015 documentary Becoming Zlatan.

As Switzerland does not share a similar development bilateral fund, three Swiss projects looking for German, French and Italian co-producers have also been selected to join the initiative as special...

Not only did the Amando de Ossorio-directed 1971 flick Tombs of the Blind Dead kickstart a boom of Spanish horror films, but it also served as the starting off point for an entire franchise, collectively known as the Blind Dead series.

Now, courtesy of Blue Undergound, the entire quadrilogy is coming home! Read on for plot crunches and full release details for the 'The Complete Blind Dead Saga,' which is a must-own for fans of zombie cinema. Look for it on July 29th!

Tombs of the Blind Dead Synopsis

In 1971, director Amando de Ossorio created what horror fans worldwide consider to be Spain’s Night Of The Living Dead. In Ossorio’s nightmare vision, a legion of Knights Templar – executed horsemen whose eyes had been pecked out by crows – rise rotting from their graves, hunting only by sound in a quest for human flesh. The Blind Dead saga begins here,...

Back in 2005, Blue Underground released a limited edition box set of The Blind Dead films, but they’ve just announced that they will be re-releasing the movies as a 4-disc DVD set on July 29th:

“They are called The Blind Dead, heretic horsemen whose eyes were burned out to prevent them from finding their way back from Hell. Over the course of 4 unforgettable films, writer/director Amando de Ossorio created what fright fans worldwide consider to be one of the most startling series in horror history. This unique quartet of shockers delivers a relentless onslaught of creepy atmosphere, shocking violence, forbidden sexuality, and the still-chilling icons of EuroHorror: The eyeless undead who hunt by sound in their quest for human flesh. Don’t move… don’t breathe… don’t let them hear your heart beating: The Blind Dead are back!

Blue Underground is proud to present the Definitive Editions of these four long-unseen classics,...

Anyone who knows me knows I’ve long been a fan of the fairly obscure late 70s King Kong-inspired giant monster epic Yeti, Giant of the 20th Century. Barely released on VHS, never before on DVD, finally - at long last - this delirious b-movie bonanza is finally getting its long overdue DVD release.

For the uninitiated, Yeti, Giant of the 20th Century is a 1977 Italian production shot in Canada and then badly dubbed into English that was designed to ride the coattails of the 1976 big budget King Kong remake. Long before The Asylum the Italians were the true kings of the mockbuster.

From Gianfranco Parolini Aka Frank Kramer, co-writer and director of the Lee Van Cleef/Yul Brenner spaghetti western trilogy Sabata, Adios, Sabata, and The Return of Sabata, and starring Antonella Interlenghi (Fulci’s City of the Living Dead), Tony Kendall (Ossorio’s Return of the Evil Dead...

Elle Driver has struck a deal in Venice for international rights to Venice Critics Week opener The Art of Happiness (L’Arte Della Felicita).

Rai Cinema and Istituto Luce Cinecitta produced the animated feature. Alessandro Rak directed the adult-oriented animated drama about a taxi driver in Naples.

Producer Luciano Stella of Mad Entertainment closed the deal with Elle Driver on Wednesday afternoon.

“I think passion for art, poetry and quality are a constant in common between Mad and Elle Driver,” said Stella. “We are very proud to debute in animation worldwide with such a great company.”...

Fiorella Di Santo

News Limited has appointed Fiorella Di Santo as its group sales director.

She has been promoted from deputy sales director after less than a year in the role, and replaces Tony Kendall, who quit the company last week.

A 17-year veteran of the company, Di Santo was part of the launch team for commuter paper mX. In 2007 she was promoted to national sales director of NewsNet – now known as News Australia – Sales – and four years later to the deputy director of sales role.

The announcement from News Limited:

The chief executive officer of News Limited, Kim Williams, today announced the appointment of Fiorella Di Santo as the company’s group director – sales.

Ms. Di Santo, who has been promoted from the role of deputy director of sales, reports to Mr. Williams and succeeds Tony Kendall who resigned from the company last week. The appointment is effective immediately.

The director of sales at News Limited Tony Kendall has resigned, the company has announced.

A statement from News Limited reads:

News Limited today announced the resignation of its director of sales Tony Kendall.

Mr Kendall said: “I have had an incredible time at News, and have loved leading the sales operation but I feel at this stage it’s time to move on to a new challenge.”

“What I am most proud of from my time at News are the deep relationships I have built with customers and colleagues alike. Being able to combine the knowledge of our clients’ business requirements with the assets of News to create effective advertising solutions has been a very rewarding part of the role. Equally rewarding has been the opportunity to work with so many talented people, who I will sorely miss.”

News Limited CEO Kim Williams paid tribute to Mr Kendall’s...

CommBank has ditched its “determined to be different” positioning in favour of the one word proposition “Can” in a rebranding led by chief marketing officer Andy Lark and the bank’s new creative agency M&C Saatchi.

The five month relaunch project – labelled internally as “Project Northstar” – follows a week long teaser campaign around the word “Can’t”. It launches today with an execution in News Limited’s metro Sunday papers which sees them enhanced with an augmented reality app integrated with content throughout various sections.

It will be followed tonight with a 60 second TV ad fronted by actress Toni Collette reciting a poem “An ode to Can” penned by M&C Saatchi around the word “Can”. There is also a heavy outdoor component. CommBank’s media agency is Ikon.

The bank has also ditched its helvetica typeface in favour of Aachen. And it has added blue to its yellow and black colour palette.

The finalists vying to represent Australia in the Young Lions competition at Cannes next month have been revealed.

Australia will be represented in the categories of film, marketer, media, print and digital.

The next stage in the competition will see the shortlisted finalists in marketing, media, print and digital compete in a 24-hour brief, with finalists from the film category completing a 48-hour brief, all following the Cannes competition format.

News Limited is Cannes’ local representative. Director of sales Tony Kendall said: “Every entrant is a credit to the agencies they work for.”

Judge Mat Baxter, CEO of Um, said: ”Anyone watching the finalists’ presentations would be enormously confident that the future of our industry is in great hands.”

The winners will be announced on May 17.

Finalists:

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Brett Colliver and Paul Theobald, Clemenger Bbdo Melbourne Serge Bodulovic, Bondi Advertising and Simon Gibson, Clemenger Bbdo Sydney Jack Nunn and Will Brown,...

The Australian International Movie Convention has wrapped up for another year. The event attracted 960 registered delegates, with more than 650 attending for the entire week. Hoyts Corporation Gm marketing Sara Hoogendoorn and.20th Century Fox International's Craig Dehmel. . Peter Castaldi at the Sharmill Films stand. . News Limited director of sales Tony Kendall and.Naco chairman Peter Beattie. . Roadshow Films managing director Joel Pearlman accepting a box office award from Rentrak's Simon Burton for the final Harry Potter. . Transmission Films co-founders and joint managing directors Andrew Mackie and Richard Payten. . Paramount Pictures Australia & Nz managing director Michael...

Chicago – It’s pretty hard for contemporary audiences to look at a title like “Machine Gun McCain,” and not immediately make a political joke out of it. The most obvious one would be, “What’s the sequel called, “‘Pistol-Packing Palin’?” Of course, this minor cult classic came out long before the 2008 election, and was playing in theaters at the same time John McCain was being held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

The film stars legendary independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, five years after he memorably punched Ronald Reagan in “The Killers.” Cassavetes took acting roles primarily so he could fund his own projects, which were groundbreaking, audacious, uncompromising and fueled entirely by the passion and invention of their cast and crew. That same tireless passion is apparent in several of Cassavetes’s performances, even the ones he was supposedly phoning in. His work in “Machine Gun McCain” single-handedly...

Now this is how to celebrate the holidays -- with a whip and a body! Oh, what? We're not talking about Uncle Creepy's and my family traditions? Nope -- we're talking Mario Bava's 1963 kinky little ghost story entitled La frusta e il corpo (The Whip and the Body).

Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) is a ruthless and sadistic 19th Century nobleman who returns to his seafront castle home after years of wandering. He finds himself immediately at odds with his invalid father, a Count (Dean Ardow), as well as Kurt's spineless younger brother, Christian (Tony Kendall), who is married to Kurt's cousin and former lover Nevenka (Daliah Lavi). When Kurt is found in his room on the next night, murdered, suspicion falls on everyone, which gets more complicated when Nevenka begins seeing his ghost (real or imaginary?) haunting the castle, supposedly wanting revenge against his killers.

"Don’t doublethink the kink!