Italian Genre Cinema - Essential and Chronological
by supercurdt | created - 16 Mar 2018 | updated - 18 Mar 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Black Sabbath (1963)
Approved | 97 min | Horror
Boris Karloff hosts a trio of horror stories concerning a stalked call girl, a vampire-like monster who preys on his family, and a nurse who is haunted by her ring's rightful owner.
Director: Mario Bava | Stars: Michèle Mercier, Lidia Alfonsi, Boris Karloff, Mark Damon
Votes: 13,888
Black Sabbath 1963 Dir. Mario Bava Boris Karloff, Michèle Mercier & Jacqueline Pierreux Music by Roberto Nicolosi
2. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
R | 99 min | Action, Drama, Western
A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
Votes: 232,402 | Gross: $14.50M
A Fistful of Dollars 1964 Dir. Sergio Leone Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté & Marianne Koch Music by Ennio Morricone
3. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
R | 132 min | Drama, Western
Two bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè, Mara Krupp
Votes: 274,369 | Gross: $15.00M
For a Few Dollars More 1965 Dir. Sergio Leone Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef & Gian Maria Volonté Music by Ennio Morricone
4. Django (1966)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Drama, Western
A coffin-dragging gunslinger and a prostitute become embroiled in a bitter feud between a Klan of Southern racists and a band of Mexican Revolutionaries.
Director: Sergio Corbucci | Stars: Franco Nero, José Canalejas, José Bódalo, Loredana Nusciak
Votes: 30,946 | Gross: $0.03M
Django 1966 Dir. Sergio Corbucci Franco Nero Music by Luis Bacalov
5. The Big Gundown (1967)
Approved | 110 min | Drama, Western
An unofficial lawman and would-be senator is tasked by a railroad baron with hunting down a knife-wielding Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a young girl.
Director: Sergio Sollima | Stars: Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Walter Barnes, Nieves Navarro
Votes: 7,078
The Big Gundown 1966 Dir. Sergio Sollima Lee Van Cleef & Tomas Milian Music by Ennio Morricone
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 810,344 | Gross: $6.10M
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Dir. Sergio Leone Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach & Lee Van Cleef Music by Ennio Morricone
7. The Mercenary (1968)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Western
A greedy Polish mercenary helps a mine worker and a peasant girl lead a revolution against the Mexican Government, all while being pursued by an American rival.
Director: Sergio Corbucci | Stars: Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Franco Giacobini, Eduardo Fajardo
Votes: 6,147 | Gross: $0.03M
The Mercenary 1968 Dir. Sergio Corbucci Franco Nero, Tony Musante & Jack Palance Music by Ennio Morricone & Bruno Nicolai
8. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
PG-13 | 166 min | Western
A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 348,810 | Gross: $5.32M
Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 Dir. Sergio Leone Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale & Henry Fonda Music by Ennio Morricone
9. Cemetery Without Crosses (1969)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Western
A melancholic gunfighter is drawn into a vengeful and tragic kidnapping plot by his widowed ex-lover.
Director: Robert Hossein | Stars: Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein, Guido Lollobrigida, Daniele Vargas
Votes: 2,389
Cemetery without Crosses 1969 Dir. Robert Hossein Robert Hossein & Michèle Mercier Music by André Hossein
10. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
GP | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi
Votes: 24,049 | Gross: $0.42M
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970 Dir. Dario Argento Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall & Enrico Maria Salerno Music by Ennio Morricone
11. Duck, You Sucker! (1971)
PG | 138 min | Drama, War, Western
A low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti
Votes: 37,465 | Gross: $0.70M
Duck, You Sucker! 1971 Dir. Sergio Leone Rod Steiger & James Coburn Music by Ennio Morricone
12. Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A series of murders are committed near the estate of a degenerate author and his mistreated wife.
Director: Sergio Martino | Stars: Edwige Fenech, Anita Strindberg, Luigi Pistilli, Ivan Rassimov
Votes: 4,680
Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key 1972 Dir. Sergio Martino Luigi Pistilli, Edwige Fenech & Anita Strindberg Music by Bruno Nicolai
13. Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
Not Rated | 105 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
When a southern Italian town is rocked by a string of child murders, the police and two urban outcasts search for the culprit amid scapegoating within the superstitious community.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomas Milian, Irene Papas
Votes: 10,681
Don't Torture a Duckling 1972 Dir. Lucio Fulci Tomas Milian, Florinda Bolkan & Barbara Bouchet Music by Riz Ortolani
14. Deep Red (1975)
R | 127 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A jazz pianist and a wisecracking journalist are pulled into a complex web of mystery after the former witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Macha Méril
Votes: 42,577
Deep Red 1975 Dir. Dario Argento David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi & Gabriele Lavia Music by Claudio Simonetti, Fabio Pignatelli, Walter Martino & Giorgio Gaslini
15. Keoma (1976)
R | 105 min | Drama, Western
A half-breed ex-Union gunfighter attempts to protect his plague-ridden hometown from being overridden by his racist half-brothers and a Confederate tyrant.
Director: Enzo G. Castellari | Stars: Franco Nero, William Berger, Olga Karlatos, Orso Maria Guerrini
Votes: 6,180
Keoma 1976 Dir. Enzo G. Castellari Franco Nero, William Berger & Woody Strode Music by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis
16. Suspiria (1977)
R | 92 min | Horror
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé
Votes: 105,281
Suspiria 1977 Dir. Dario Argento Jessica Harper, Alida Valli & Joan Bennett Music by Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli & Agostino Marangolo
17. The Inglorious Bastards (1978)
R | 99 min | Action, Adventure, War
In 1944 France, a group of escaped American military prisoners en route to Switzerland volunteers to steal a German V2 rocket warhead for the Allies.
Director: Enzo G. Castellari | Stars: Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Michael Pergolani
Votes: 10,390
The Inglorious Bastards 1978 Dir. Enzo G. Castellari Fred Williamson & Bo Svenson Music by Francesco De Masi
18. Zombie (1979)
R | 91 min | Horror
Strangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver
Votes: 30,684
Zombie Flesh Eaters 1979 Dir. Lucio Fulci Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch & Richard Johnson Music by Fabio Frizzi & Giorgio Tucci
19. The Beyond (1981)
R | 87 min | Horror
A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck, Cinzia Monreale, Antoine Saint-John
Votes: 25,281 | Gross: $0.12M
The Beyond 1981 Dir. Lucio Fulci Catriona MacColl & David Warbek Music by Fabio Frizzi
20. Tenebrae (1982)
R | 101 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Anthony Franciosa, Giuliano Gemma, John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi
Votes: 27,381
Tenebrae 1982 Dir. Dario Argento Anthony Franciosa, Daria Nicolodi & Giuliano Gemma Music by Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante & Fabio Pignatelli
21. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
R | 229 min | Crime, Drama
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams
Votes: 377,313 | Gross: $5.32M
Once Upon a Time in America 1984 Dir. Sergio Leone Robert De Niro, James Wood & Elizabeth McGovern Music by Ennio Morricone
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