Stelvio Cipriani born 20 August 1937 in Rome

Rome

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...

 is an Italian composer, notably for motion picture soundtrack

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

s.

Though not coming from a musical background, as a child Cipriani was fascinated by his church's organ. His priest gave him his first music lessons and encouraged Cipriani and his family. Cipriani passed his examinations and studied at Santa Cecilia Conservatory from the age of 14, then played on cruise ship

Cruise ship

A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

 bands, that enabled him to meet Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck

David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

. Upon return to Italy he accompanied Rita Pavone

Rita Pavone

Rita Pavone is an Italian ballad and rock singer who enjoyed success through the 1960s. Pavone is also an actress.-Singing career:...

 on piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

.

His first soundtrack was the spaghetti western

Spaghetti Western

Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...

 El Precio de un Hombre/The Bounty Killer (1966) followed by a well known score for Un Uomo, uno caballo, una pistola/The Stranger Returns/Shoot First Laugh Last (1967) starring Tony Anthony

Tony Anthony (actor)

Tony Anthony , is a former film actor, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his starring roles in spaghetti westerns.-Early career:...

; Cipriani later composed other spaghetti western scores with Anthony.

Cipriani became prolific in the Italian film world and was awarded a Nastro d'Argento Best Score

Nastro d'Argento Best Score

A list of Nastro d'Argento awards for Best Score.*1947 - Renzo Rossellini - Paisà*1948 - Renzo Rossellini - I fratelli Karamàzov *1949 - Alessandro Cicognini - Ladri di biciclette...

 for The Anonymous Venetian (film)

The Anonymous Venetian (film)

Anonimo Venziano is a 1970 Italian award winning drama film written and directed by the famous Italian actor Enrico Maria Salerno on his debut as film director...

(1970).

In a 2007 interview, Cipriani said that he had composed music for Pope John Paul II and was currently working with Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

.

One of Cipriani's most famous scores is from "La Polizia Sta a Guardare". The main theme was recycled by Cipriani for the score for Tentacoli

Tentacles (film)

Tentacles is a 1977 Italian-American horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis and starring John Huston and Shelley Winters.- Plot :The tourist spot Ocean Beach has come under attack by a giant octopus, which captures human swimmers and picks clean the skeletons of flesh and bone marrow...

and was brought to the public's attention again in 2007 when it was featured in 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...

's Death Proof

Death Proof

Death Proof is a 2007 American action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film centers on a psychopathic stunt man who stalks young women before murdering them in staged car accidents using his "death-proof" stunt car...

.

Cipriani's scores for the films of the "La Polizia..." series were different arrangements over the same theme. Some of those themes were used in the soundtrack of the couple Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani's first feature Amer

Amer (film)

Amer is a 2009 French-language thriller film written and directed by French directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani.-Cast:* Marie Bos* Delphine Brual* Harry Cleven* Bianca Maria D'Amato* Cassandra Forêt* Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud...

.

Selective Filmography

Year	Film	Directed by	Notes
1969	The Thirteen Chairs The Thirteen Chairs The Thirteen Chairs is a comedy film released in 1969. It was based on The Twelve Chairs, a 1928 satirical novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov. It was directed by Nicolas Gessner and Luciano Lucignani, and starred Sharon Tate , Vittorio Gassman, Orson Welles, Vittorio De Sica and Tim...	Nicolas Gessner Nicolas Gessner Nicolas Gessner is a Hungarian-born film maker who mostly worked in France.His movies are often characterized by strange, quirky atmospheres and unusual cast mixing French and international actors...
1970	Rough Justice Rough Justice (film) Rough Justice is a 1970 Italian Western film directed by Mario Costa and starring Klaus Kinski.-Cast:* Klaus Kinski - Johnny Laster* Gabriella Giorgelli - Juanita* Steven Tedd - Riccardo* Giovanni Pallavicino - Machete...	Mario Costa
	The Anonymous Venetian The Anonymous Venetian (film) Anonimo Venziano is a 1970 Italian award winning drama film written and directed by the famous Italian actor Enrico Maria Salerno on his debut as film director...	Enrico Maria Salerno Enrico Maria Salerno Enrico Maria Salerno was an Italian theatre & film actor, also a film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Christ in The Gospel According to St...
	The Lickerish Quartet The Lickerish Quartet The Lickerish Quartet is a 1970 drama film produced and directed by Radley Metzger. The film was written by Metzger and Michael DeForrest. This was the last non-explicit sex film directed by Metzger.- Plot :...	Radley Metzger Radley Metzger Radley Metzger is an American filmmaker and distributor. He is also credited under the pseudonym Henry Paris, a name he adopted in the 1970s when he began to direct hardcore pornography....
1971	Twitch of the Death Nerve Twitch of the Death Nerve Twitch of the Death Nerve is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava. Bava cowrote the screenplay with Giuseppe Zaccariello, Filippo Ottoni and Sergio Canevari, with story credit given to Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Barberi. The film stars Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, and Laura...	Mario Bava Mario Bava Mario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy...
1972	Night Hair Child Night Hair Child Night Hair Child is a 1971 horror film starring Mark Lester, Britt Ekland, Hardy Krüger and Lilli Palmer. The film was directed by James Kelley and Andrea Bianchi...	James Kelley & Andrea Bianchi Andrea Bianchi Andrea Bianchi is an Italian film director and writer.-Filmography:* Diabólica malicia * Treasure Island...
1973	Le mataf Le mataf Le mataf is a 1973 drama film directed by Serge Leroy and starring Michel Constantin.-Cast:* Michel Constantin - Bernard Solville* Adolfo Celi - Me Desbordes* Georges Géret - Basilio Hagon* Annie Cordy - Nina* Cathy Rosier - Cathy Mondor...	Serge Leroy
	The Bloody Hands of the Law The Bloody Hands of the Law The Bloody Hands of the Law is a 1973 Italian crime film directed by Mario Gariazzo and starring Klaus Kinski.-Cast:* Philippe Leroy - Commissario Gianni De Carmine* Tony Norton - D'Amico* Silvia Monti - Linda De Carmine* Klaus Kinski - Vito Quattroni...	Mario Gariazzo Mario Gariazzo Mario Gariazzo was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 21 films between 1969 and 1992. He also directed 18 films between 1962 and 1992.He was born in Biella, Italy and died in Rome, Italy....
1974	The Balloon Vendor The Balloon Vendor The Balloon Vendor is a 1974 drama film directed by Mario Gariazzo and starring Lee J. Cobb.-Cast:* Alfredo Adami - Alfredo* Gianni Agus - Circus manager* Giordano Albertoni* Maurizio Arena - Romolo* Adolfo Celi - Professor...	Mario Gariazzo Mario Gariazzo Mario Gariazzo was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 21 films between 1969 and 1992. He also directed 18 films between 1962 and 1992.He was born in Biella, Italy and died in Rome, Italy....
1976	Colt 38 Special Squad Colt 38 Special Squad Colt 38 Special Squad, also known as Those of the 38 Caliber is a 1976 poliziotteschi film...	Massimo Dallamano
1977	Tentacles Tentacles (film) Tentacles is a 1977 Italian-American horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis and starring John Huston and Shelley Winters.- Plot :The tourist spot Ocean Beach has come under attack by a giant octopus, which captures human swimmers and picks clean the skeletons of flesh and bone marrow...	Oliver Hellman Ovidio G. Assonitis Ovidio Assonitis is an independent film producer and businessman with over 35 years of experience in the entertainment industry.- Biography :...	as "S.W. Cipriani"
1979	Concorde Affaire '79 Concorde Affaire '79 Concorde Affaire '79 , also known as The Concorde Affair, is an Italian action thriller directed by Ruggero Deodato and was written by Ernesto Gastaldi and Renzo Genta.- Summary :...	Ruggero Deodato Ruggero Deodato Ruggero Deodato is an Italian film director and screen writer, best known for directing violent and gory horror films. Deodato is infamous for his 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.- Biography :...
1981	Piranha II: The Spawning Piranha II: The Spawning Piranha II: The Spawning, also known as Piranha II: Flying Killers, is a 1981 horror film, the sequel to the 1978 low-budget film Piranha, and the feature film directorial debut of James Cameron.-Plot:...	James Cameron James Cameron James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...  & Ovidio G. Assonitis Ovidio G. Assonitis Ovidio Assonitis is an independent film producer and businessman with over 35 years of experience in the entertainment industry.- Biography :...	as "Steve Powder"
2001	Death, Deceit and Destiny Aboard the Orient Express Death, Deceit and Destiny Aboard the Orient Express Death, Deceit and Destiny Aboard the Orient Express is a 2000 thriller film about a group of international terrorists who, a few days before the start of the new millennium, lure a group of very rich celebrities and businesspeople on board the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul in order to...	Mark Roper

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