Lucio Fulci
Encyclopedia
Lucio Fulci was an Italian
film director
, screenwriter
, and actor
. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie (1979) and The Beyond (1981), although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo
, western
, and comedy
. Fulci is known as the "Godfather of Gore" a title also given to Herschell Gordon Lewis
.
on 17 June 1927. After studying medicine in college and being employed for a time as an art critic, Fulci opted for a film career first as a screenwriter, then later as a director, working initially in the comedy field. In the early to mid-1960s, Fulci directed around 18 Italian comedies, many starring the famous Italian comedy team Franco and Ciccio. Most of these early films were not distributed well (if at all) in the USA.
In 1969, he moved into the thriller arena, directing giallos (such as Lizard in a Woman's Skin and The Psychic) and action films (such as White Fang
and Four of the Apocalypse
) that were both commercially successful and controversial in their depiction of violence and religion. Some of the special effects in "Lizard" involving mutilated dogs in a vivisection room were so realistic, Fulci was dragged into court and charged with animal cruelty, until he showed the artificial canine puppets (created by Spfx maestro Carlo Rambaldi) to the judge and explained that they weren't real animals.
The first film to gain him actual notoriety in his native country, Don't Torture A Duckling
, combined scathing social commentary with the director's soon-to-be-trademark graphic violence. Fulci had a Catholic
upbringing and referred to himself as a Catholic. Despite this, some of his movies (such as his Beatrice Cenci and Don't Torture A Duckling) have been viewed as severely anti-Catholic. In one of his films, a priest is depicted as a homicidal child killer, and in another, a priest commits suicide by hanging himself in a cemetery and is reincarnated as a murderous demon.
In 1979, he achieved his international breakthrough with Zombie
, a violent zombie
film that was marketed in European territories as a sequel to George Romero's
Dawn of the Dead (1978). He quickly followed it up with several other tales of horror
and the supernatural
, many also featuring shambling, maggot-infested zombies which were all the rage at the time. His features released during the 1979 to 1983 period (most of them scripted by famed Italian screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti) were described by some critics as being among the most violent and gory films ever made. City of the Living Dead
(1980), The Beyond (1981), House by the Cemetery (1981), The Black Cat
(1981), and The New York Ripper
(1982) were among his biggest hits, all of which featured extreme levels of on-screen blood and cruelty.
Several of Fulci's movies released in America were censored by the film distributor
to ensure an R rating
(such as The Beyond, which was originally released on video in edited form as Seven Doors of Death) or were released Unrated in order to avoid an X-rating (as with Zombie and House by the Cemetery) which would have greatly restricted the films' target audiences to adults. The unrated films often played worldwide in drive-ins
and grindhouse
s to hordes of delighted teenagers and horror fanatics. Many of Fulci's horror films tend to contain "injury to the eye" sequences, in which a character's eyeball is either pierced or pulled out of its socket, usually in lingering, close-up detail.
Several of Fulci's movies were banned in Europe or were released in heavily cut versions. Of the original 72 films on the infamous Video Nasty
list in the United Kingdom
, three belonged to Fulci: Zombie (1979), The Beyond (1981), and House by the Cemetery (1981). After viewing Fulci's New York Ripper, not only did the British Board of Film Classification refuse the film a certificate, but every single print in the country was taken to an airport and returned to Italy by order of James Ferman
; it wasn't until later that VIPCO had the courage to release the film, initially outsourcing production to a foreign source under police supervision before releasing a home-grown VHS in 2002 and a DVD in 2007.
After collaborating with screenwriter Sacchetti for six years, Fulci went off on his own in 1983 to direct the movie Conquest
(a Conan-like barbarian fantasy) in Mexico, failing to involve Sacchetti in the deal. The film actually wound up doing quite poorly upon its release, and afterwards, Fulci had trouble jump-starting his working relationship with Sacchetti, who by this time had gone his own way.
Fulci became deathly ill from hepatitis in 1984 (right after he finished directing Murder Rock
in New York City) and had to be hospitalized for many months, eventually getting well enough to be released. Fulci spent most of 1984 hospitalized with cirrhosis
, and much of 1985 recuperating at home. After 1986, with his diabetes plaguing him and the departure of screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti from Fulci's circle of friends (see "Fulci vs Sacchetti" below), Fulci was far less successful in his endeavors. Most of Fulci's films after 1986 were badly written and cheaply produced, with the possible exception of his Aenigma (1987) and Voices From Beyond
(1991).
In 1988, he directed only 65% of Zombie 3 in the Philippines and had to return abruptly to Italy due to a life-threatening illness, and the film was finished by an uncredited Bruno Mattei
. Fulci hated the finished product and tried unsuccessfully to get his name removed from the credits. Mattei has said in interviews that the film was Fulci's, and that he (Mattei) just added a few extra scenes to pad out the running time.
In 1989, Fulci was hired to direct a pair of made-for-Italian-TV horror movies, neither of which aired in Italy due to the high amount of gore and violence (they were however later released on DVD outside of Italy). Fulci's intended comeback films Demonia
and Cat in the Brain (both produced and released in 1990) were big disappointments to his fans in terms of overall quality, and almost didn't get released. His final project, the 1991 psychological thriller Door To Silence
received terrible reviews and pretty much terminated his career.
For the last decade of his life, Fulci suffered from emotional and health problems, reflected by a marked decline in the quality of his work. His wife's suicide back in 1969 and a daughter's fatal car accident several years later always weighed heavily on him, and his hyper-violent films such as The New York Ripper caused him to be branded a misogynist by the critics, although he always claimed that he loved women. Fulci suffered from severe problems with his feet during the 1980s which was caused by diabetes, but tried to hide the severity of his illness from his friends and associates so that he wouldn't be deemed unemployable.
During this time, from 1987 to 1990, Fulci began lending his name to the credits of some very low-budget horror films that he hadn't even directed, simply to make the films more distributable outside of Italy. Although he did appear to have supervised the gore effects in both The Curse
and The Murder Secret, he was hardly involved with some of the other projects that nonetheless bore the Lucio Fulci Presents banner on their advertising material. (See section "Films Presented by Lucio Fulci" below). Fulci tried unsuccessfully to have his name removed from the credits of one film in particular (Gianni Martucci's Red Monks), since he swore he had had absolutely no involvement with making that film. The following year, in reciprocation for the use of his name, Fulci was permitted to use gore footage culled from these films to make his notorious Cat in the Brain, in which he played himself.
Some of Fulci's fans have retroactively argued that at his peak, Fulci's fame and popularity were on a par with that of Dario Argento
, another famous Italian horror film director with whom Fulci had avoided working and whom Fulci had openly badmouthed from time to time. Fulci was most likely resentful of Argento, since Argento had always received critical acclaim and recognition in (and outside of) Italy, and Fulci had been regarded there as something of a "horror film hack". (Fulci told friends that when he died, he predicted that the Italian newspapers would all misspell his name, if they even mentioned him at all).
Fulci and Argento met in 1995 and agreed to collaborate on a horror film called Wax Mask (a remake of the 1953 Vincent Price horror classic "House of Wax", based on a story by Gaston Leroux). Argento claimed he had heard about Fulci's miserable circumstances at the time and wanted to offer him a chance for a comeback. Fulci wrote a plot synopsis and a screenplay for Argento and thought that he was slated to direct the film as well, but he died before filming could begin (due to a series of delays caused by Argento's involvement with his own film Stendhal Syndrome
at the time). Being in poor health, Fulci was furious that the filming was delayed so many times, as he knew he was running out of time and wanted desperately to make one last, big-budget film before he died. The film was eventually directed by former special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti. Reportedly the screenplay was entirely reworked by screenwriter Daniele Stroppa after Fulci's death, so the finished film sadly bears little resemblance to Fulci's original screenplay. (Stroppa had co-written two of Fulci's earlier films, House of Clocks and Voices From Beyond
.)
Fulci died alone at his home in Rome on the afternoon of 13 March 1996 of complications from diabetes at age 68. There was some controversy regarding his death since Fulci had been so sickly and despondent in his later years, it was thought perhaps that he had intentionally allowed himself to die by not taking his medications, but no one really knows as he was alone at the time of his death.
Fulci's films remained generally ignored or dismissed by the mainstream critical establishment, who regarded his work as pure exploitation
. However, genre
fans appreciated his films as being stylish exercises in extreme gore, and at least one of his splatter film
s, The Beyond, has "amassed a large and dedicated following". In 1998, Fulci's The Beyond was re-released to theaters by Quentin Tarantino
, who has often cited the film, and Fulci himself, as a major source of inspiration. His earlier, lesser-known giallo
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) received some critical acclaim. Fulci himself highly regarded two of his films, Don't Torture A Duckling and Beatrice Cenci
as his best work (the latter which he said his wife had liked the best of all his films), and he had to have considered both Zombie and The Beyond as the two films that forever catapulted him to cult film stardom.
Fulci was feted like royalty at the January 1996 Fangoria Horror Convention in New York City, just two months before his death. He told attendees that he had had no idea his films were so popular outside of his native Italy, as literally thousands of starstruck fans braved blizzard conditions all that weekend to meet him.
share many screen credits from 1977 to 1983. Indeed, most of Fulci's most celebrated horror films were written by Sacchetti. After collaborating with Sacchetti for six years, Fulci went off on his own in 1983 to direct the movie "Conquest" (a Conan-like barbarian fantasy) in Mexico, failing to involve Sacchetti in the deal. The film was supposed to be a very big budget "A" picture, and Sacchetti allegedly resented the fact that Fulci had not thought to involve him in the project. The film actually wound up doing quite poorly upon its release, and afterwards, Fulci had trouble jump-starting his working relationship with Sacchetti, who by this time had gone his own way. Most Fulci fans agree that the films Fulci made without Sacchetti after 1983 were not nearly as good as their previous collaborative efforts.
In 1987, Fulci accused Sachetti of stealing a story idea of his (a project which they were planning to do together in 1983 after Fulci returned from Mexico). He claimed that Sachetti later allowed director Lamberto Bava to direct the project (under the title "Per Sempre/ After Death") in 1987 without Fulci's knowledge that the film was even being made. Luca M. Palmerini and Gaetano Mistretta's book Spaghetti Nightmares
, publishes two full interviews, one with Fulci and one with Sacchetti, explaining the reasons for the fallout.
Fulci's version is as follows: "One day I told Dardano the plot of my Evil Comes Back (later retitled Per Sempre/ After Death), a sequel on a fantastic note to The Postman Always Rings Twice
, and he proposed it to several producers with my name on it as the director. Then, one day, he registered the screenplay with his name on it! (laughs) I later found out that he'd sold the story idea to a producer named Sergio Martino, but, in view of our past friendship, I decided not to sue him. I just broke off all relations with him. He is indeed a very good scriptwriter though."
Sacchetti's version differs: "When I proposed to Lucio my original treatment for "Per Sempre/ Until Death", which was nothing more than a sequel to The Postman Always Rings Twice in which a dead man returns to life, he became really enthusiastic and had my story read by a producer friend of his who then commissioned me to write a finished script. At that time, Fulci assumed that he would direct it. Later, for various reasons, problems arose and the film was never made. Four years later, Bava
used my script to make Per Sempre
/ Until Death and Fulci, who wasn't working much at the time, got angry with me and started hurling these accusations. It's one thing for him to say that we were originally supposed to make the film together, but to claim that he originated the story and that I stole it from him is pure science-fiction".
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie (1979) and The Beyond (1981), although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo
Giallo
Giallo is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism...
, western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, and comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
. Fulci is known as the "Godfather of Gore" a title also given to Herschell Gordon Lewis
Herschell Gordon Lewis
Herschell Gordon Lewis is an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter film" subgenre of horror...
.
Life and career
Fulci was born in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on 17 June 1927. After studying medicine in college and being employed for a time as an art critic, Fulci opted for a film career first as a screenwriter, then later as a director, working initially in the comedy field. In the early to mid-1960s, Fulci directed around 18 Italian comedies, many starring the famous Italian comedy team Franco and Ciccio. Most of these early films were not distributed well (if at all) in the USA.
In 1969, he moved into the thriller arena, directing giallos (such as Lizard in a Woman's Skin and The Psychic) and action films (such as White Fang
White Fang
White Fang is a novel by American author Jack London. First serialized in Outing magazine, it was published in 1906. The story takes place in Yukon Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th-century, and details a wild wolfdog's journey to domestication...
and Four of the Apocalypse
Four of the Apocalypse
Four of the Apocalypse is a 1975 Spaghetti Western film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Fabio Testi. It is based on two stories by western writer Bret Harte, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"....
) that were both commercially successful and controversial in their depiction of violence and religion. Some of the special effects in "Lizard" involving mutilated dogs in a vivisection room were so realistic, Fulci was dragged into court and charged with animal cruelty, until he showed the artificial canine puppets (created by Spfx maestro Carlo Rambaldi) to the judge and explained that they weren't real animals.
The first film to gain him actual notoriety in his native country, Don't Torture A Duckling
Don't Torture a Duckling
Don't Torture a Duckling, is a Giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci in 1972.The film is significant within Fulci's filmography as it is one of the first in which he began using violent gore effects, something he would continue to do in his later films, such as Zombi 2, The Beyond and City of the...
, combined scathing social commentary with the director's soon-to-be-trademark graphic violence. Fulci had a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
upbringing and referred to himself as a Catholic. Despite this, some of his movies (such as his Beatrice Cenci and Don't Torture A Duckling) have been viewed as severely anti-Catholic. In one of his films, a priest is depicted as a homicidal child killer, and in another, a priest commits suicide by hanging himself in a cemetery and is reincarnated as a murderous demon.
In 1979, he achieved his international breakthrough with Zombie
Zombi 2
Zombi 2 is a 1979 zombie horror film directed by Lucio Fulci. It is the best-known of Fulci's films and made him a horror icon. Though the title suggests this is a sequel to Zombi Zombi 2 (also known as Zombie, Island of the Living Dead, Zombie Island, Zombie Flesh Eaters and Woodoo) is a 1979...
, a violent zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
film that was marketed in European territories as a sequel to George Romero's
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
Dawn of the Dead (1978). He quickly followed it up with several other tales of horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
and the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
, many also featuring shambling, maggot-infested zombies which were all the rage at the time. His features released during the 1979 to 1983 period (most of them scripted by famed Italian screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti) were described by some critics as being among the most violent and gory films ever made. City of the Living Dead
City of the Living Dead
City of the Living Dead is an Italian horror film from director Lucio Fulci. It has numerous alternate titles, such as Gates of Hell. It is the first installment of the unofficial Gates of Hell trilogy which also includes The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery. Fulci makes an uncredited cameo...
(1980), The Beyond (1981), House by the Cemetery (1981), The Black Cat
The Black Cat (1981 film)
The Black Cat is a 1981 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci, using his usual violent style. The film is based loosely on the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.- Plot :...
(1981), and The New York Ripper
The New York Ripper
The New York Ripper, original title Lo squartatore di New York, is a 1982 Italian horror film directed and co-written by Lucio Fulci.The film score was written by Francesco De Masi...
(1982) were among his biggest hits, all of which featured extreme levels of on-screen blood and cruelty.
Several of Fulci's movies released in America were censored by the film distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
to ensure an R rating
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
(such as The Beyond, which was originally released on video in edited form as Seven Doors of Death) or were released Unrated in order to avoid an X-rating (as with Zombie and House by the Cemetery) which would have greatly restricted the films' target audiences to adults. The unrated films often played worldwide in drive-ins
Drive-in theater
A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.The screen can be as simple as a...
and grindhouse
Grindhouse
A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
s to hordes of delighted teenagers and horror fanatics. Many of Fulci's horror films tend to contain "injury to the eye" sequences, in which a character's eyeball is either pierced or pulled out of its socket, usually in lingering, close-up detail.
Several of Fulci's movies were banned in Europe or were released in heavily cut versions. Of the original 72 films on the infamous Video Nasty
Video nasty
"Video nasty" was a colloquial term coined in the United Kingdom by 1982 which originally applied to a number of films distributed on video cassette that were criticized for their violent content by the press, commentators such as Mary Whitehouse and various religious organizations.While violence...
list in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, three belonged to Fulci: Zombie (1979), The Beyond (1981), and House by the Cemetery (1981). After viewing Fulci's New York Ripper, not only did the British Board of Film Classification refuse the film a certificate, but every single print in the country was taken to an airport and returned to Italy by order of James Ferman
James Ferman
James Alan Ferman was an American television and theatre director. He was the Secretary of the British Board of Film Classification from 1975 to 1999....
; it wasn't until later that VIPCO had the courage to release the film, initially outsourcing production to a foreign source under police supervision before releasing a home-grown VHS in 2002 and a DVD in 2007.
Conquest
-Film and television:* Conquest , a 1937 film starring Greta Garbo and Charles Boyer* Conquest , directed by Lucio Fulci* Conquest , a 1998 British-Canadian film* Conquest , a History Channel series...
(a Conan-like barbarian fantasy) in Mexico, failing to involve Sacchetti in the deal. The film actually wound up doing quite poorly upon its release, and afterwards, Fulci had trouble jump-starting his working relationship with Sacchetti, who by this time had gone his own way.
Fulci became deathly ill from hepatitis in 1984 (right after he finished directing Murder Rock
Murder Rock
Murder Rock is a 1984 giallo film film starring Olga Karlatos and written and directed by Lucio Fulci.-Plot:...
in New York City) and had to be hospitalized for many months, eventually getting well enough to be released. Fulci spent most of 1984 hospitalized with cirrhosis
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
, and much of 1985 recuperating at home. After 1986, with his diabetes plaguing him and the departure of screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti from Fulci's circle of friends (see "Fulci vs Sacchetti" below), Fulci was far less successful in his endeavors. Most of Fulci's films after 1986 were badly written and cheaply produced, with the possible exception of his Aenigma (1987) and Voices From Beyond
Voices from Beyond
Voices from Beyond is a 1990 Italian mystery thriller film by director Lucio Fulci. It features Karina Huff, Duilio del Prete, Pascal Persiano and Damiano Azzos. The story centers about the murder of a wealthy man, with his spirit returning to guide his daughter in discovering his killers....
(1991).
In 1988, he directed only 65% of Zombie 3 in the Philippines and had to return abruptly to Italy due to a life-threatening illness, and the film was finished by an uncredited Bruno Mattei
Bruno Mattei
Bruno Mattei was an Italian film director, screenwriter and editor who gained a cult following for a wide variety of exploitation films that covered many genres, ranging from women in prison to zombie films...
. Fulci hated the finished product and tried unsuccessfully to get his name removed from the credits. Mattei has said in interviews that the film was Fulci's, and that he (Mattei) just added a few extra scenes to pad out the running time.
In 1989, Fulci was hired to direct a pair of made-for-Italian-TV horror movies, neither of which aired in Italy due to the high amount of gore and violence (they were however later released on DVD outside of Italy). Fulci's intended comeback films Demonia
Demonia (film)
-Plot:A Canadian archaeological team in Sicily accidentally unleashes vengeful ghosts of five demonic nuns whom were murdered 500 years earlier and the ghosts now set out to kill the group and townspeople alike.- External links :...
and Cat in the Brain (both produced and released in 1990) were big disappointments to his fans in terms of overall quality, and almost didn't get released. His final project, the 1991 psychological thriller Door To Silence
Door to Silence
Door into Silence / Door to silence / The Door to Silence is a 1991 Italian horror movie directed by Lucio Fulci and produced by Joe D'Amato.- Cast :* John Savage * Sandi Schultz...
received terrible reviews and pretty much terminated his career.
For the last decade of his life, Fulci suffered from emotional and health problems, reflected by a marked decline in the quality of his work. His wife's suicide back in 1969 and a daughter's fatal car accident several years later always weighed heavily on him, and his hyper-violent films such as The New York Ripper caused him to be branded a misogynist by the critics, although he always claimed that he loved women. Fulci suffered from severe problems with his feet during the 1980s which was caused by diabetes, but tried to hide the severity of his illness from his friends and associates so that he wouldn't be deemed unemployable.
During this time, from 1987 to 1990, Fulci began lending his name to the credits of some very low-budget horror films that he hadn't even directed, simply to make the films more distributable outside of Italy. Although he did appear to have supervised the gore effects in both The Curse
The Curse (1987 film)
The Curse is a 1987 horror film adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space directed by David Keith.-Plot:Nathan Hayes is a religious man trying to hold onto his farm and keep his family in line. A real estate developer is trying to buy most of the farm property in the area, including Mr...
and The Murder Secret, he was hardly involved with some of the other projects that nonetheless bore the Lucio Fulci Presents banner on their advertising material. (See section "Films Presented by Lucio Fulci" below). Fulci tried unsuccessfully to have his name removed from the credits of one film in particular (Gianni Martucci's Red Monks), since he swore he had had absolutely no involvement with making that film. The following year, in reciprocation for the use of his name, Fulci was permitted to use gore footage culled from these films to make his notorious Cat in the Brain, in which he played himself.
Some of Fulci's fans have retroactively argued that at his peak, Fulci's fame and popularity were on a par with that of Dario Argento
Dario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
, another famous Italian horror film director with whom Fulci had avoided working and whom Fulci had openly badmouthed from time to time. Fulci was most likely resentful of Argento, since Argento had always received critical acclaim and recognition in (and outside of) Italy, and Fulci had been regarded there as something of a "horror film hack". (Fulci told friends that when he died, he predicted that the Italian newspapers would all misspell his name, if they even mentioned him at all).
Fulci and Argento met in 1995 and agreed to collaborate on a horror film called Wax Mask (a remake of the 1953 Vincent Price horror classic "House of Wax", based on a story by Gaston Leroux). Argento claimed he had heard about Fulci's miserable circumstances at the time and wanted to offer him a chance for a comeback. Fulci wrote a plot synopsis and a screenplay for Argento and thought that he was slated to direct the film as well, but he died before filming could begin (due to a series of delays caused by Argento's involvement with his own film Stendhal Syndrome
The Stendhal Syndrome
The Stendhal Syndrome is 1996 Italian Horror film, written and directed by Dario Argento and starring his daughter Asia Argento. It was the first Italian film to use computer-generated imagery .. Stendhal Syndrome is a real syndrome, first diagnosed in Florence, Italy in 1982...
at the time). Being in poor health, Fulci was furious that the filming was delayed so many times, as he knew he was running out of time and wanted desperately to make one last, big-budget film before he died. The film was eventually directed by former special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti. Reportedly the screenplay was entirely reworked by screenwriter Daniele Stroppa after Fulci's death, so the finished film sadly bears little resemblance to Fulci's original screenplay. (Stroppa had co-written two of Fulci's earlier films, House of Clocks and Voices From Beyond
Voices from Beyond
Voices from Beyond is a 1990 Italian mystery thriller film by director Lucio Fulci. It features Karina Huff, Duilio del Prete, Pascal Persiano and Damiano Azzos. The story centers about the murder of a wealthy man, with his spirit returning to guide his daughter in discovering his killers....
.)
Fulci died alone at his home in Rome on the afternoon of 13 March 1996 of complications from diabetes at age 68. There was some controversy regarding his death since Fulci had been so sickly and despondent in his later years, it was thought perhaps that he had intentionally allowed himself to die by not taking his medications, but no one really knows as he was alone at the time of his death.
Fulci's films remained generally ignored or dismissed by the mainstream critical establishment, who regarded his work as pure exploitation
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
. However, genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
fans appreciated his films as being stylish exercises in extreme gore, and at least one of his splatter film
Splatter film
A splatter film or gore film is a subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, through the use of special effects and excessive blood and guts, tend to display an overt interest in the vulnerability of the human body and the...
s, The Beyond, has "amassed a large and dedicated following". In 1998, Fulci's The Beyond was re-released to theaters by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
, who has often cited the film, and Fulci himself, as a major source of inspiration. His earlier, lesser-known giallo
Giallo
Giallo is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism...
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) received some critical acclaim. Fulci himself highly regarded two of his films, Don't Torture A Duckling and Beatrice Cenci
Beatrice Cenci
Beatrice Cenci was an Italian noblewoman. She is famous as the protagonist in a lurid murder trial in Rome....
as his best work (the latter which he said his wife had liked the best of all his films), and he had to have considered both Zombie and The Beyond as the two films that forever catapulted him to cult film stardom.
Fulci was feted like royalty at the January 1996 Fangoria Horror Convention in New York City, just two months before his death. He told attendees that he had had no idea his films were so popular outside of his native Italy, as literally thousands of starstruck fans braved blizzard conditions all that weekend to meet him.
Fulci vs. Sacchetti
Fulci and screenwriter Dardano SacchettiDardano Sacchetti
Dardano Sacchetti, born in Rome, Italy in 1944, is an Italian screenwriter best-known for his work in the horror genre.At an early age, he became hooked on films from watching the American science fiction classic Them!...
share many screen credits from 1977 to 1983. Indeed, most of Fulci's most celebrated horror films were written by Sacchetti. After collaborating with Sacchetti for six years, Fulci went off on his own in 1983 to direct the movie "Conquest" (a Conan-like barbarian fantasy) in Mexico, failing to involve Sacchetti in the deal. The film was supposed to be a very big budget "A" picture, and Sacchetti allegedly resented the fact that Fulci had not thought to involve him in the project. The film actually wound up doing quite poorly upon its release, and afterwards, Fulci had trouble jump-starting his working relationship with Sacchetti, who by this time had gone his own way. Most Fulci fans agree that the films Fulci made without Sacchetti after 1983 were not nearly as good as their previous collaborative efforts.
In 1987, Fulci accused Sachetti of stealing a story idea of his (a project which they were planning to do together in 1983 after Fulci returned from Mexico). He claimed that Sachetti later allowed director Lamberto Bava to direct the project (under the title "Per Sempre/ After Death") in 1987 without Fulci's knowledge that the film was even being made. Luca M. Palmerini and Gaetano Mistretta's book Spaghetti Nightmares
Spaghetti Nightmares
Spaghetti Nightmares is a reference book on Italian horror films by Luca M. Palmerini and Gaetano Mistretta. The book consists mainly of interviews with major genre icons...
, publishes two full interviews, one with Fulci and one with Sacchetti, explaining the reasons for the fallout.
Fulci's version is as follows: "One day I told Dardano the plot of my Evil Comes Back (later retitled Per Sempre/ After Death), a sequel on a fantastic note to The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1934 crime novel by James M. Cain.The novel was quite successful and notorious upon publication, and is regarded as one of the more important crime novels of the 20th century...
, and he proposed it to several producers with my name on it as the director. Then, one day, he registered the screenplay with his name on it! (laughs) I later found out that he'd sold the story idea to a producer named Sergio Martino, but, in view of our past friendship, I decided not to sue him. I just broke off all relations with him. He is indeed a very good scriptwriter though."
Sacchetti's version differs: "When I proposed to Lucio my original treatment for "Per Sempre/ Until Death", which was nothing more than a sequel to The Postman Always Rings Twice in which a dead man returns to life, he became really enthusiastic and had my story read by a producer friend of his who then commissioned me to write a finished script. At that time, Fulci assumed that he would direct it. Later, for various reasons, problems arose and the film was never made. Four years later, Bava
Lamberto Bava
Lamberto Bava is an Italian film director, specializing in horror and fantasy films.Bava was born in Rome, Italy, the son of cinematographer/director Mario Bava, and grandson of cameraman Eugenio Bava...
used my script to make Per Sempre
The Changeling 2
The Changeling 2 is a 1987 Italian horror made-for-TV movie directed by Lamberto Bava and written by Dardano Sacchetti...
/ Until Death and Fulci, who wasn't working much at the time, got angry with me and started hurling these accusations. It's one thing for him to say that we were originally supposed to make the film together, but to claim that he originated the story and that I stole it from him is pure science-fiction".
Complete filmography (as director)
Note - Films with Italian titles were never dubbed into English or distributed outside of Italy. Approximate English translations of the titles are provided.- I Ladri/ The Thieves (1959)
- Ragazzi del Juke-BoxRagazzi del Juke-BoxRagazzi del Juke-Box is a 1959 Italian musical film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Mario Carotenuto, Elke Sommer and Anthony Steffen. The young daughter of a record company boss takes over the company following her father's arest, and uses it to promote the bands she likes.-Cast:* Mario...
/ Juke Box Kids (1959) - Urlatori alla sbarra/ Howlers of the Dock (1960)
- Colpo gobbo all'italiana/ Getting Away With It, Italian Style (1962)
- I due della legione straniera/ The Two Legionnaires (1962)
- Le massaggiatrici/ The Masseuses (1962)
- Uno strano tipo/ A Strange Type (1963)
- Gli imbroglioni/ The Swindlers (1963)
- I maniaci / The Maniacs (1964)
- I due evasi di Sing Sing/ Two Escapees From Sing Sing (1964)
- I due pericoli pubblici/ Two Public Enemies (1964)
- 002 agenti segretissimi/ 002 Those Most Secret Agents! (1964)
- Come inguaiammo l'esercito/ How We Got The Army into Trouble (1965)
- 002 operazione Luna/ 002 Operation Moon (1965) aka Dos Cosmonautas a la Fuerza/ Two Unwilling Astronauts
- I due parà/ The Two Parachutists (1965)
- Come svaligiammo la Banca d'Italia/ How We Robbed The Bank of Italy (1966)
- Massacre TimeMassacre TimeMassacre Time is a 1966 Spaghetti Western feature film starring Franco Nero...
(1966) (aka Colt Concert, aka Django the Runner, aka The Brute and the Beast, aka Tempo di Massacro) spaghetti western - Come rubammo la bomba atomica/ How We Stole the Atomic Bomb (1967)
- Il lungo, il corto, il gatto/ The Tall, the Short, and the Cat (1967)
- Operazione San Pietro/ Operation Saint Peter's (1967)
- A Bullet for Sandoval (1969) This spaghetti western was allegedly co-directed by Julio Buchs and Lucio Fulci
- Double Face (1969) (aka Doppia Faccia) Fulci co-wrote this film's screenplay for director Riccardo Freda
- One on Top of the Other (1969) (aka Perversion Story)
- Beatrice Cenci (aka Conspiracy of Torture, 1969)
- Tepepa (1970) (aka Blood and Guns) Fulci claims he produced (but did not direct) this spaghetti western
- A Lizard in a Woman's SkinA Lizard in a Woman's SkinLizard in a Woman's Skin is a 1971 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci. It was released in 1971. The film follows the daughter of a respected politician by the name of Carol Hammond , who experiences a series of vivid, psychedelic nightmares consisting of depraved sex orgies and LSD...
(1971) (aka Schizoid, aka Carole) - The Eroticist (1972) (aka The Senator Likes Women, aka All the Way...A Lady)
- Don't Torture a DucklingDon't Torture a DucklingDon't Torture a Duckling, is a Giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci in 1972.The film is significant within Fulci's filmography as it is one of the first in which he began using violent gore effects, something he would continue to do in his later films, such as Zombi 2, The Beyond and City of the...
(1972) (aka The Long Night of Exorcism) - White FangWhite FangWhite Fang is a novel by American author Jack London. First serialized in Outing magazine, it was published in 1906. The story takes place in Yukon Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th-century, and details a wild wolfdog's journey to domestication...
(1973) (aka Croc-Blanc) - Challenge to White Fang (1974) (aka The Return of White Fang)
- Dracula in the Provinces (1975) (aka Young Dracula, aka Il Cavaliere Costante Nicosia Demoniaco...Ovvero Dracula in Brianza)
- Four of the ApocalypseFour of the ApocalypseFour of the Apocalypse is a 1975 Spaghetti Western film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Fabio Testi. It is based on two stories by western writer Bret Harte, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"....
(1975) spaghetti western - The Magistrate (1976) (aka La Pretora, aka My Sister-in-Law)
- The Psychic (1977) (aka Seven Notes in Black, aka Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes)
- Silver SaddleSilver SaddleSilver Saddle , also released under the titles The Man in the Silver Saddle and They Died with Their Boots On, is a 1978 Spaghetti Western. It is the third and final western directed by Lucio Fulci and one of the last spaghetti westerns to be produced by a European studio...
(1978) (aka They Died With Their Boots On) spaghetti western - Zombie (1979) (aka Zombi 2, aka Zombie Flesh Eaters, aka Island of the Living Dead)
- Contraband (1980) (aka The Naples Connection, aka Luca the Smuggler, aka Vicious)
- City of the Living DeadCity of the Living DeadCity of the Living Dead is an Italian horror film from director Lucio Fulci. It has numerous alternate titles, such as Gates of Hell. It is the first installment of the unofficial Gates of Hell trilogy which also includes The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery. Fulci makes an uncredited cameo...
(1980) (aka The Gates of Hell, aka Fear in the City of the Living Dead) - The Black CatThe Black Cat (1981 film)The Black Cat is a 1981 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci, using his usual violent style. The film is based loosely on the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.- Plot :...
(1981) (aka Il Gatto Nero, aka The Cat of Park Lane) - The Beyond (1981) (aka L'Aldilà) (Censored U.S. video version was retitled Seven Doors of Death)
- The House by the CemeteryThe House by the CemeteryThe House by the Cemetery is a 1981 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Lucio Fulci and is the third instalment of the unofficial Gates of Hell trilogy which also includes City of the Living Dead and The Beyond Its plot revolves around a series of murders taking place in a New England...
(1981) (aka Zombie Hell House, aka Freudstein) - The New York RipperThe New York RipperThe New York Ripper, original title Lo squartatore di New York, is a 1982 Italian horror film directed and co-written by Lucio Fulci.The film score was written by Francesco De Masi...
(1982) - Manhattan BabyManhattan BabyManhattan Baby is a 1982 Italian horror film...
(1982) (aka Evil Eye, aka Eye of the Evil Dead, aka Possessed) - ConquestConquest (1983 film)-Plot:The film opens on a long strand of beach, where several people in white robes gather around a young man named Ilius, adorning him in a vest of leather armor, while an old man hands him a bow and a set of arrows, summoning it to fly to them...
(1983) (aka Conquest of the Lost Land) - The New GladiatorsWarriors of the Year 2072Warriors of the Year 2072 is an Italian 1984 film directed by Lucio Fulci based on a story by Elisa Briganti. Runtime - 89 min...
(1984) (aka Warriors of the Year 2072Warriors of the Year 2072Warriors of the Year 2072 is an Italian 1984 film directed by Lucio Fulci based on a story by Elisa Briganti. Runtime - 89 min...
, aka Rome 2033 - The Fighter Centurions) - Murder RockMurder RockMurder Rock is a 1984 giallo film film starring Olga Karlatos and written and directed by Lucio Fulci.-Plot:...
(1984) (aka Murder Rock - Dancing Death, aka The Demon is Loose!) - The Devil's Honey (1986) (aka Dangerous Obsession)
- AenigmaAenigma (film)-Plot:After her snobby schoolmates accidentally send her into a coma, poor little Kathy has only one way to get even--with her mind. Eva, another schoolgirl, falls under the spell of Kathy's vengeful psyche, which is capable of horrible destruction using telekinesis and even killer snails to do her...
(1987) - Zombie 3 (1988) (aka Zombi 3) completed by Bruno Mattei after Fulci became ill
- Touch of DeathTouch of Death (1988 film)Touch of Death, also known as When Alice Broke the Mirror is a 1988 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci.-Plot:...
(1988) (aka When Alice Broke the Looking Glass) - Sodoma's GhostSodoma's GhostSodoma's Ghost also known as The Ghosts of Sodom or Il Fantasma di Sodoma is a 1988 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci.-Critical reception:...
(1988) (aka The Ghosts of Sodom) - The Sweet House of HorrorsThe Sweet House of HorrorsThe Sweet House of Horrors is a 1989 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci.-Plot:After being murdered by a burglar, a couple return as spirits to care for their two young children...
(1989) made for Italian TV - The House of ClocksThe House of ClocksThe House of Clocks is a 1989 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci.-Plot:The story revolves around a wealthy older couple who are murdered during a robbery by three young perpetrators. The event results in a supernatural reversal of time, symbolized by the fast, counter-clockwise movement...
(1989) (aka The House of Time) made for Italian TV - DemoniaDemonia (film)-Plot:A Canadian archaeological team in Sicily accidentally unleashes vengeful ghosts of five demonic nuns whom were murdered 500 years earlier and the ghosts now set out to kill the group and townspeople alike.- External links :...
(1990) (aka Liza) - A Cat in the BrainA Cat in the BrainCat in the Brain is a 1990 Italian horror-slasher film written and directed by Italian horror filmmaker Lucio Fulci....
(1990) (aka Nightmare Concert) - Voices From BeyondVoices from BeyondVoices from Beyond is a 1990 Italian mystery thriller film by director Lucio Fulci. It features Karina Huff, Duilio del Prete, Pascal Persiano and Damiano Azzos. The story centers about the murder of a wealthy man, with his spirit returning to guide his daughter in discovering his killers....
(1991) (aka Voci dal Profondo/ Voices From the Deep, aka Urlo dal Profondo/ Scream From The Deep) - The Door to Silence (1991) (aka The Door Into Silence) Fulci's last film
- Wax Mask (1997) (aka M.D.C. Maschera di Cera) (Fulci submitted an early screenplay for this film just before his death, but the script was heavily altered later)
Films "Presented" by Lucio Fulci
- The CurseThe Curse (1987 film)The Curse is a 1987 horror film adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space directed by David Keith.-Plot:Nathan Hayes is a religious man trying to hold onto his farm and keep his family in line. A real estate developer is trying to buy most of the farm property in the area, including Mr...
(1987) (aka The Farm) (Fulci was credited as co-producer on this H. P. Lovecraft adaptation (based on HPL's "The Colour Out of Space") which was directed by David Keith; Fulci also supervised the gore effects)
- The Murder Secret (1988) (aka Don't Be Afraid of Aunt Martha) (Fulci was credited as co-producer on this film directed by Mario Bianchi; Fulci also supervised the gore effects)
- The Red Monks (1988) (aka I Frati Rossi) (Fulci fought in vain to have his name removed from this film's credits; the film was directed by Gianni Martucci whom Fulci claimed he never even met; Fulci was credited with handling the film's special effects, which he denied having been involved with)
- MassacreMassacre (film)Massacre is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alan Crosland. The film stars Richard Barthelmess and Ann Dvorak as its Native American protagonists, and also features Charles Middleton, Sidney Toler, Claire Dodd and Clarence Muse.-Plot:...
(1989) (Fulci lent his name as co-producer on this film directed by Andrea Bianchi although he claimed he was hardly involved at all with making it; Fulci's involvement is dubious.)
- Bloody Psycho (1989) (aka The Snake House, aka Lo Specchio, aka Nel Nido del Serpente/ "In the Nest of the Serpent") (Fulci lent his name as co-producer on this film directed by Leandro Luchetti; Fulci's involvement is dubious)
- Escape from Death (1989) (aka Luna di Sangue/ Moon of Blood) (Fulci lent his name as co-producer on this film directed by Enzo Milioni; Fulci's involvement is dubious)
- Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
(1989) (aka Non Si Serviziano i Bambini/ Don't Torture the Children) (Fulci was said to have co-directed this film with Giovanni Simonelli; Fulci's involvement is dubious)
External links
- http://www.santoandfriends.com (Mexican horror film site)
- Interview http://www.shockingimages.com/fulci/interview.html