Biography: Talented, prolific and versatile writer/director Sergio Martino has made a vast array of often solid and enjoyable films in such diverse genres as horror, comedy, Western, and science fiction in a career that spans over 40 years. Martino was born on July 19, 1938 in Rome, Italy. His grandfather was noted director Gennaro Righelli. Sergio began his cinematic career in his early 20s as an assistant ... show all Talented, prolific and versatile writer/director Sergio Martino has made a vast array of often solid and enjoyable films in such diverse genres as horror, comedy, Western, and science fiction in a career that spans over 40 years. Martino was born on July 19, 1938 in Rome, Italy. His grandfather was noted director Gennaro Righelli. Sergio began his cinematic career in his early 20s as an assistant to his writer/producer brother Luciano Martino and handled second unit director chores on Mario Bava's "The Whip and the Body." Martino made his directorial debut in 1969 with the mondo documentary "Mondo Sex." He really hit his stride in the early 70s with several superior giallo murder mystery thrillers that usually starred popular actress Edwige Fenech (she was married to Martino's brother Luciano in the 70s): "The Strange Vice of Ms. Wardth," "All the Colors of the Dark," "The Case of the Scorpion's Tail," and "Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key." Martino subsequently collaborated with Fenech on a handful of other projects that include the bubbly sex comedies "Sex With a Smile" and "Cream Horn." Other people Sergio has frequently worked with are actors George Hilton, Ivan Rassimov, and Claudio Cassinelli, plus screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi. Sergio's other worthwhile movies are the gritty spaghetti Western "Arizona," the terrifically trashy "Torso," the rousing crime thriller "The Violent Professionals," the entertaining action/adventure romp "Mountain of the Cannibal God," the fun "The Island of Dr. Moreau" cash-in copy "The Island of the Fishmen," and the funky post-nuke sci-fi/action opus "2019: After the Fall of New York." More recently Sergio Martino has directed various made-for-TV features and episodes of TV shows for Italian television. hide |
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