Obits
Spaghetti Western Director Sergio Sollima Dead at 94 – Worked With Charles Bronson
Not as well-known stateside as other Spaghetti Western Sergios such as Leone and Corbucci, but the passing of director Sergio Sollima is notable to cult film fans. His THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966) with Lee Van Cleef and FACE TO FACE (1967) are considered classics of the sub-genre but in my book his masterpiece is the gritty 1970 crime thriller VIOLENT CITY, a film that made it all the way to #3 on my list of ‘Top Ten Charles Bronson Movies’ (read the list HERE)
In VIOLENT CITY, produced in Italy with some New Orleans exteriors, Sollima, working from a script by future art-house helmer Lina Wertmüller, directed Charles Bronson just as he was exiting his career as a character actor and phasing into his role as a megastar. VIOLENT CITY found Bronson a vengeance-minded hit-man after a former flame (Jill Ireland at her sexiest) and her mob boss boyfriend (Telly Savalas) who’d conspired to send him to prison. Sollima directed one stylish action scene after another and maintained a tough, no-nonsense tone perfectly accompanied by Ennio Morricone’s angry electric score. The wordless opening car chase is a gem, the finale with Bronson on a rooftop with a sniper rifle is exciting, and some elements, such as a prison plagued by huge spiders, were just weird. VIOLENT CITY was not released in the U.S. until 1974, after the success of DEATH WISH, and then it was shorn 20 minutes and retitled THE FAMILY.
Sergio Sollima died July 1st at age 95. A nice tribute by Dennis Cozzalio can be found HERE
0 comments