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American actress Nadia Cassini, who found fame as a sex symbol in the Italian genre scene of the 1970s and 80s, has died in Italy at the age of 76.

The actress and showgirl’s only daughter Kassandra Voyagis confirmed her mother’s death after a long illness on March 18 in the southern Italian city of Reggio Calabria in a social media post.

Cassini was born Gianna Lou Müller on January 2, 1949, in Woodstock, New York, where her dancer and actor parents were on tour with a show.

She took her name from her first husband, the journalist Igor Cassini, whom she followed to Italy after he moved there for a time to oversee the fashion house of his designer brother Oleg Cassini. They divorced in 1972, and Cassini moved on with Greek actor Yorgo Voyagis, father of Kassandra.

In between times, Cassini had secured small roles in Romolo Guerrieri’s Il Divorzio...

At least the title of the documentary Life as a B-Movie: Piero Vivarelli is well chosen. Not only did Vivarelli, who died in 2010, write several hit songs, including two sung by Adriano Celentano, he was also responsible for the screenplay of B-movie treasures including Quentin Tarantino favorite Django, by Sergio Corbucci, and directed a whole bunch of genre movies including several erotic films that are ready for their cultural reappraisal. He was also obsessed with women, to the point of having his wife and two other actresses he was dating on the set of the same film all vying for ...

At least the title of the documentary Life as a B-Movie: Piero Vivarelli is well chosen. Not only did Vivarelli, who died in 2010, write several hit songs, including two sung by Adriano Celentano, he was also responsible for the screenplay of B-movie treasures including Quentin Tarantino favorite Django, by Sergio Corbucci, and directed a whole bunch of genre movies including several erotic films that are ready for their cultural reappraisal. He was also obsessed with women, to the point of having his wife and two other actresses he was dating on the set of the same film all vying for ...

The lineup has been unveiled for year’s edition of the Venice International Film Festival, taking place August 28 through September 7. Aside from films previously announced as coming to Tiff, some major new announcements include Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, James Gray’s Ad Astra, Roy Andersson’s About Endlessness, Ciro Guerra’s Waiting for the Barbarians, David Michôd’s The King, Benedict Andrews’ Kristen Stewart-led biopic Seberg, and Roman Polanski’s J’accuse. Only two films by female directors made into the competition lineup: Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate and Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth.

Check out the lineup below (hat tip to Mubi), which also includes other sections at the festival.

Competition

The Truth (Hirokazu Kore-eda)

The Perfect Candidate (Haifaa Al-Mansour)

About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)

Wasp Network (Olivier Assayas)

Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)

Guest of Honour (Atom Egoyan)

Ad Astra (James Gray)

A Herdade (Tiago Guedes)

Gloria Mundi (Robert Guédiguian...

Chicago – The great cult movie studio Blue Underground continues their pattern of excellent Blu-ray releases for unheralded horror gems with the recent releases of the Lucio Fulci zombie film “City of the Living Dead” and one of the most underrated westerns ever made in “Django”. While they don’t have much in common outside of studio and cult status, both are worth a look.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

“City of the Living Dead”

Even though I admire some of his technique and willingness to do whatever inspired him, I was never a huge Lucio Fulci fan. The man has often been called the Italian Herschell Gordon Lewis and is probably most well-known for “Zombi II” and “The Beyond,” two films from the late-’70s and ’80s that earned Fulci a reputation for extreme gore. A large number of his films have been banned around the world and his “The New York Ripper...