Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies[1][2] ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italianfilmmaker.[3] Margheriti worked in many different genres in the Italian film industry, and was known for his sometimes derivative but often stylish and entertaining science fiction, sword and sandal, horror/giallo, Eurospy, Spaghetti Western, Vietnam War and action movies that were released to a wide international audience.[4] He died in 2002.[5]
Antonio Margheriti was born in Rome on 19 September 1930.[1] Margheriti was the son of a railroad engineer and began his film career in 1950 working with Mario Serandrei.[1][2] He then began making short documentaries beginning with Vecchia Roma in 1953.[2] In 1954, Margheriti was credited with special effects in films such as Pino Mercanti's I cinque dell'Adamello and La notte che la terra tremo.[2] By 1955 he was credited in screenplays such as Classe di ferro.[2]
Margheriti then returned to science fiction with his Gamma I series, originally filmed for the Italian television series Fantascienza but afterwards released theatrically.[8] Margheriti followed these films with some westerns, including Take a Hard Ride and And God Said to Cain.[8][9]
Margheriti's specialty in films was low budget efforts that fell into genres such as action and science fiction.[1] To make films in short amounts of time, Margheriti applied techniques such as shooting with several cameras simultaneously, allowing him to record master shots, close-ups, and more.[2] This often led him to light films very carefully, and allowed him to create several films per year.[2]
Partial filmographyedit
Note: The films listed as N/A are not necessarily chronological.
In the documentary on the Image DVD release of his film Cannibal Apocalypse, Margheriti proudly mentioned that it was Quentin Tarantino's favorite among his films. In Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds, Eli Roth's character Donny Donowitz uses "Antonio Margheriti" as an alias in an undercover operation at the cinema screening of Stolz der Nation.[73][74][75][better source needed] There is also a reference in Tarantino's film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In said film, Leonardo DiCaprio portrays the fictional actor Rick Dalton, who goes to Italy in 1969 to film Spaghetti Westerns, including one spy thriller directed by Margheriti titled Operazione Dyn-o-mite.[76]
^"Antonio Margheriti". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007.
^Roberto Chiavini; Gian Filippo Pizzo; Michele Tetro (2003). Il grande cinema di fantascienza: aspettando il monolito nero (1902–1967) [The great science fiction cinema: waiting for the black monolith (1902–1967)] (in Italian). Volume 2 di Il grande cinema di fantascienza, Collana gli Album. Gremese. p. 159. ISBN 8884402662.
^"Alien degli abissi (1989)". Archivio del cinema Italiano]. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
^"Indio (1989)". Archivio del cinema Italiano]. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
^Indio 2 - La rivolta (1991), Archivio del cinema Italiano
^Goldweber, David Elroy (2015). Claws & Saucers: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Film 1902–1982: A Complete Guide. Lulu Press, Inc. p. 279. ISBN 9781312288034.[permanent dead link]
^Fabris, Angela (2018). Kaleidoskop Literatur: Zur Ästhetik literarischer Texte von Dante bis zur Gegenwart. Festschrift für Cornelia Klettke zum 60. Geburtstag (in German). Frank & Timme GmbH. p. 712. ISBN 9783732905034.
^"Margheriti!". YouTube. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
^Sharf, Zack (26 July 2019). "'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood': Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds' Easter Egg Explained". IndieWire. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
Sourcesedit
Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968–1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786469765.
Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476619897.
Curti, Roberto (2016). Diabolika: Supercriminals, Superheroes and the Comic Book Universe in Italian Cinema. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 978-1-936168-60-6.
Curti, Roberto (2017). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970–1979. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476629605.
Curti, Roberto (2019). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1980-1989. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476672434.
Fischer, Dennis (2011). Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895-1998. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786485055.
Grant, Kevin (2011). Any Gun Can Play. Fab Press. ISBN 9781903254615.
Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.
Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8749-3.
External linksedit
Stefano Bigliardi, "Mr. Superinvisible's Potion: Science, Scientists and Technology in Antonio Margheriti's Films," Simulteanea. A Journal of Italian Media and Pop Culture - Rivista di media e cultura popolare in Italia, Vol. 2, N. 1.