Damiano Damiani

• Name — Damiano Damiani • Born — 23 July 1922 • Birthplace — Pasiano di Pordenone, Friuli, Kingdom of Italy • Died — 7 March 2013 • Place of death — Rome, Italy • Education — Brera Academy • Occupation — * Film director • screenwriter • comics creator • Years Active — 1947–2002

Damiani was born in Pasiano di Pordenone, Friuli (now a part of Friuli-Venezia Giulia) in 1922, and studied at the Accademia di Brera in Milan.

Before his career as a filmmaker, Damiani was first a comic cartoonist in association with the so-called "Group of Venice", with Fernando Carcupino, Hugo Pratt and Dino Battaglia. Focused on the comic Asso di Picche (1945–49) the comic featured a masked vigilante who fights crime all over the globe and is in charge of the crime stopping organization, "Band of Panthers". A smaller publication to which he also contributed through illustration was Mike Lazy (1946), producing two volumes in Albo Dinamite by Edizioni Il Carro in Milan.[2] Then individually producing his own gangster comic, Pat la Rocca (1946). Two books were published in the collection Collana Gialli Film, also by Edizioni Il Carro. A third comic was scheduled and advertised for release, but never materialised. Continuing his work in the comic industry, Damiani wrote scripts for the photo comic strip Arizona Kid (1949) published in Mondadori magazines such as Avventuroso Film and Bolero Film. Moving on to work on the launch of a similar magazine, Sogno, alongside editor Luciano Pedrocchi, he also later worked as a writer for an adventure comic I Tre Boyscouts (Edizioni Castello, 1948; which was illustrated by Rino Ferrari, Giovanni Benvenuti and Andrea Bresciani). Later in his career, Damiani did some illustration work for the crime noir comic, Hogart il Giustiziere, which was reprinted and published under the title Bogart il Giusitiziere (1968–69).[3]

In 1947, he directed the short documentary La banda d'Affori, and was an art director and production designer in the film industry for a time. After a few years as a screenwriter, he directed his first feature film in 1960, Lipstick. His 1962 film, Arturo's Island, won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.[4] The 1960s were Damiani's "golden decade"; he was praised by critics and his films were box office successes.[5] In 1966, he directed A Bullet for the General, one of the first political spaghetti Westerns.[6] In 1968, with The Day of the Owl, he started a series of films in which social criticism, often related to the connections between politics and crime, was mixed with spectacular plots.[8] His 1971 film Confessions of a Police Captain won the Golden Prize at the 7th Moscow International Film Festival.[9] In 1973 Damiani débuted as an actor, playing Giovanni Amendola in Florestano Vancini's The Assassination of Matteotti. He was known to cult horror film fans for directing Amityville II: The Possession in 1982 for Dino De Laurentiis. In 1984, he directed one of the most famous Italian television series, La piovra, a description of the contemporary Italian Mafia and its involvement in politics. His last feature film was Assassini dei giorni di festa, directed in 2002.[10]

Damiani died on 7 March 2013, at his home in Rome, from respiratory failure; he was 90 years old.

• Lipstick (Il rossetto, 1960) • Blood Feud (1961) aka Il sicario (1960) • Arturo's Island (L'isola di Arturo, 1962) • The Empty Canvas (La noia, 1963) • The Reunion (La rimpatriata, 1963) • The Witch in Love (La strega in amore, 1966) • A Bullet for the General (El Chuncho, quien sabe?, 1966) • The Day of the Owl also known as Mafia (Il giorno della civetta, 1967) • A Complicated Girl (Una ragazza piuttosto complicata, 1968) • The Most Beautiful Wife (La moglie più bella, 1970) • Confessions of a Police Captain (Confessioni di un Commissario di Polizia al Procuratore della Repubblica) (1971) • The Case Is Closed, Forget It (L'istruttoria è chiusa: dimentichi, 1972) • The Assassin of Rome (Girolimoni, il mostro di Roma, 1972) • The Devil Is a Woman (Sorriso del grande tentatore, 1974) • How to Kill a Judge (Perché si uccide un magistrato, 1974) • A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (Un genio, due compari, un pollo, 1975) • Goodbye and Amen (Goodbye e amen, 1977) • I Am Afraid (Io ho paura) (1977) • A Man on His Knees (Un uomo in ginocchio) (1978) • The Warning (L'Avvertimento, 1980) • Amityville II: The Possession (1982) • Parole e sangue (1983, TV) • La piovra (1984, TV) • Pizza Connection (1985) • The Inquiry (L'inchiesta, 1986) • Imago urbis (1987) • Massacre Play (1989) • Lenin...The Train (1990, TV) • The Dark Sun (Il sole buio, 1990) • Man of Respect (Uomo di rispetto) (1992) • Angel with a Gun (1992) • Una bambina di troppo (1994, TV) • Ama il tuo nemico (1999, TV) • Alex l'ariete (2000) • Ama il tuo nemico 2 (2001, TV) • Another World Is Possible (Un altro mondo è possibile, 2001) • Assassini dei giorni di festa (2002)

• 7 Bullets for Gringo (1967) - Journalist with Gen. Elías (uncredited) • The Case Is Closed, Forget It (1971) - Vanzi's lawyer (uncredited) • The Assassination of Matteotti (1973) - Giovanni Amendola • How to Kill a Judge (1975) - Giacomo Solaris' Attorney (uncredited) (final film role)

• Golden Berlin Bear for Pizza Connection (1985) • Golden Berlin Bear for Il giorno della civetta (1968) • Golden Berlin Bear for La rimpatriata (1963)[12]

Damiano Damiani is recorded with the occupation film director. Classed in the genre Spaghetti Western. Recorded as film director, screenwriter, actor and writer.