Movies by Vittorio Cottafavi

Hercules and the Captive Women
King Androcles of Thebes commands a ship in search of a threat to Greece, predicted by an atmospheric oracle. Hercules is part of the crew, but the strongman falls overboard in a thick fog. Washed ashore, he saves a young Ismene from Proteus, an evil, shape-shifting creature. Ismene takes Hercules to Atlantis, where he discovers that her mother, Queen Antinea, has captured Androcles. Hercules schemes to rescue him and thwart Antinea's dream of world conquest.

A Woman Has Killed
In 1951, two years after the “scandal” of the Fiamma che non si spegne, Cottafavi got the opportunity to work on a film with a small production company, Novissima Film. With little means, a number of technical and financial problems and working Sundays with the pieces of film given to him bit by bit, Cottafavi shot Una donna ha ucciso, a minor film that marked his comeback to directing. (Gianni Rondolino)

The Felling of the Forest
In the forested slopes surrounding the rural Tuscan village of Tirli, a group of lumberjacks work long hours felling trees in the hopes of making an ample profit. Amongst them, a recently widowed father struggles to overcome the pain of his wife’s death, whilst juggling the fresh financial pressures of raising two motherless children.

A Free Woman
Liana, an architecture graduate, is about to get married until she is confronted with the fact she is sacrificing the rest of her life for a man she barely knows. So begins a series of romantic encounters in which Liana tries to find her freedom and happiness, but which will ultimately lead her to a tragic fate.

100 Horsemen
Don Fernando rallies peasants and townspeople to overthrow Moorish occupiers in medieval Spain.

Antigone
Faithful TV adaptation of Sophocles' tragedy.
Oliver Cromwell: Ritratto di un dittatore
Television movie about Oliver Cromwell.

Life of Dante
3-part biopic of Dante Alighieri made for Italian public television. Mixes reenacted scenes of Dante's public life with readings of his poems, expository narration, footage of modern-day Florence and images of old paintings and documents.

La trincea