Movies by Vittorio Cottafavi

Hercules and the Captive Women

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

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

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

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

100 Horsemen

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