Films, mostly Italian…

Un ettaro di cielo: A great film with Marcello Mastroianni. A perfect candidate for English language DVD release.

The Betrayal: This samurai film has to have the bloodiest final scene of any I have ever seen. The character played by Raizô Ichikawa kills at least 100 men by himself.

Uccidite Rommel: A pretty decent Italian war film.

Parola di ladro: A very good caper/comedy. Another film that deseves wider recognition.

Di Tressette ce n’e’ uno, tutti gli altri sono nessuno: The second film in the two-film series. A crazy and pleasant comedy spaghetti western.

Revolver: Sergio Sollima, Oliver Reed and Fabio Testi. A very good cop film.

La Volpe della coda di velluto: A not quite fullfilling giallo, but worth a look for fans of the genre.

Vacanze per un massacre: A very satisfying Italian thriller. One of director Fernando Di Leo’s last efforts.

Notes from an as-yet-unpublished novel

The oxen he had bathed in hot water so they would grow fat. The hides of a select few were slit and air blown through a reed between their flesh and the skin and into their entrails for the same purpose. But these latter grew sick and died and were put down as the price of an experiment without success.

By making small glasses in the shape of cherubs, and then placing these same around young pears, he produced beautiful fruit. The glasses were broken away at harvest time and he had three baskets of pears in the shape of cherubs to present to the Duke.