Rete 8
October 14, 2016
Film director Cinema, Tonino Valerii has died
Bereavement in the Italian cinema. Director Tonino Valerii, one of the famous western directors died in Abruzzo.
On hearing the news, the Mayor of Teramo Maurizio Brucchi and the Councillor for Culture Marco Chiarini, have expressed deep sorrow for the death of the director. "With him is another less prominent figure and relief that has been able to ferry sensitivity and typical nature of his native land in a particular area such as the cinema".
Tonino Valerii was born May 20, 1934 in Montorio al Vomano. In 1955 he moved to Rome to attend the Experimental Center of Cinematography, where he studied with among others Alessandro Blasetti and where he graduated in direction and screenwriting.
Valerii made his way with working on the film "Tutto è musica" by Domenico Modugno, which he wrote. In 1964, the director was noted by the icon of the new spaghetti westerns of the time, Sergio Leone. Leone asked Tonino to act as assistant director for “Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More” (although actually in “A Fistful of Dollars” Valerii is not credited). In 1966, Valerii started his career as a director. In that year, he directed and wrote the script for “A Taste for Killing”, with Craig Hill and George Martin. Two years later he dedicated himself to the realization of the great Ron Barker 'novel, Der Tod ritt dienstags(“Day of Anger”), written by Ernesto Gastaldi, with two-stars of the spaghetti westerns of the time: Giuliano Gemma and Lee Van Cleef, the latter after the success obtained by “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “For a Few Dollars More. Valerii remained famous by the soundtrack of the movie made by Riz Ortolani and recently used in Kill Bill Vol. 2 by QuentinTarantino, a big fan of the genre. He was responsible for the innovative (for that time) cinematic technique to follow the enemy from a distance in the "Day of Anger"....
In 1973, he directed Henry Fonda and Terence Hill in “My Name Is Nobody”, a film born from an idea by Sergio Leone with Ernesto Gastaldi’s screenplay, which happens to be a real tribute to Leo's cinema and the western in general. A film, sold to manufacturers, as repeatedly stated Leone, telling the first 3 minutes, without knowing how the film would be continued. The film was a huge success, one of the top three grossing films of 1973. In 1986 he wrote and directed “Unscrupulous” an erotic movie starring Marzio Honorato and Sandra Wey (cast as the protagonist in the sequel “Histoire d'O”). The film makes use of the soundtrack written by James Senese and Joe Amoruso as well as the photography of Giulio Albonico.
In 1996 he was the creator of the film festival Roseto Opera Prima, dedicated to the Italian first-time directors, which takes place every summer in Roseto degli Abruzzi, now in its twenty-first edition.
Tonino Valerii is survived by his wife Rita, and his children Francesca, Andrea, Luca, and his sister Rosella. The funeral will be held in Rome.
VALERII, Tonino(Antonio Valerii)
Born: 5/20/1934, Montorio al Vomano, Teramo, Italy
Died: 10/13/2016, Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy
Tonino Valerii’s westerns – director, assistant director, writer:
Fistful of Dollars – 1964 [assistant director, dialogue director]
For a Few Dollars More – 1965 [assistant director]
A Taste of Killing – 1966 [director, story]
Day of Anger – 1967 – [director]
The Price of Power – 1969 – [director]
Massacre at Fort Holman – 1972 [director, story]
My Name Is Nobody – 1973 [director]