Ferdinando Baldi
1917 - 2007
Denn sie kennen kein Erbarmen: Der Italowestern
Hans-Jürgen Panitz
Alberto Grimaldi, Bud Spencer
The beginnings, development and decline of so-called spaghetti-western genre; with clips, interviews and opinions of producers, actors and directors. A nostalgic look at those movies that are still in the taste of many.
Denn sie kennen kein Erbarmen: Der Italowestern
Django, Prepare a Coffin
Ferdinando Baldi
Terence Hill, Horst Frank
A mysterious gunfighter named Django is employed by a local crooked political boss as a hangman to execute innocent locals framed by the boss, who wants their land. What the boss doesn't know is that Django isn't hanging the men at all, just making it look like he is, and using the men he saves from the gallows to build up his own "gang" in order to take revenge on the boss, who, with Django's former best friend, caused the death of his wife years before.
Django, Prepare a Coffin
Il pistolero dell'Ave Maria
Ferdinando Baldi
Leonard Mann, Luciana Paluzzi
One of the most ambitious spaghetti westerns, The Forgotten Pistolero is a retelling of the Greek legend of Orestes, who avenges the murder of his father with the help of his friend and former mentor Pylades and his sister Electra. In Baldi’s movie, Orestes is called Sebastian, a man living on his own. One day a wounded stranger called Rafael/Pylades takes shelter in his house and tells him that he, Sebastian, is the son of a Mexican general who was murdered by his wife and her lover. Sebastian has no recollection of the massacre, but the tolling of the bells announcing the Ave Maria bring back fragmented memories. Finally Sebastian is re-united with his sister Isabella and together they avenge the murder of their father. The film is a bit confusing from time to time, with a storyline that seems over-complicated for a spaghetti western, but patient and attentive viewers are rewarded. The Forgotten Pistolero is also known for Roberto Pregadio’s awesome score.
Forgotten Pistolero
Nove ospiti per un delitto
Ferdinando Baldi
Sofia Dionisio, Massimo Foschi
Nine members of an extremely rich and hateful family have decided to have a reunion on a remote island in the Mediterranean. No sooner than their arrival, old grudges, resentments, and feuds make themselves known, along with allusions to some more macabre events in their past. But when their boats are sabotaged, thus stranding them without any connection to the mainland, it becomes clear that someone is not willing to let old wounds heal, a fact made all the more clear as bodies start to pile up...
Nine Guests for a Crime
Sfida al re di Castiglia
Ferdinando Baldi
Mark Damon, Paolo Gozlino
it's a fast moving blood and thunder tale well rendered and at least rooted in fact, and has a good feel for the period. It's interesting to have a look at somewhere else in medieval Europe besides England and France for a change. After all, Spain, Portugal, and the Italian states and some other principalities were big players at that time, too.
The Tyrant of Castile
All'ombra delle aquile
Ferdinando Baldi
Cameron Mitchell, Beba Lončar
After the death of Octavian, the rebel populations of Illyria and Pannonia pose a grave threat to the Roman Empire. Tribune Marcus Ventidius is sent to subdue the uprising and, after a bitter battle, captures Pannonian chief Magdus together with a number of women hostages. These include Magdus's own daughter Helen, betrothed to cruel Illyrian warrior Batone who has killed many Romans. Julia, daughter of the Roman governor Messala, is in love with Tribune Marcus and, jealous of his sympathy for the barbarian girl, plots an escape by Helen and her father. Pursuing the fugitives, Marcus crosses a mountain pass where Batone has laid a trap.
In the Shadow of the Eagles
