Ciro Ippolito (born

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, 27 January 1947) is an Italian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, screenwriter and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

. He is known to horror film fans for his 1980 opus '' Alien 2: On Earth'', which he coproduced, wrote and directed.

Biography

Born in 1947 the son of an Italian theatre producer, Ciro Ippolito started his career during childhood being an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

in the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

''Class of Iron'' (''Classe di ferro'', 1957) by Turi Vasile. In 1972 he participated in the film ''Augustine of Hippo'' (''Agostino d'Ippona'') by

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

, with whom he worked as

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

. In the mid-1960s, he produced two theatre shows of

Leopoldo Mastelloni Leopoldo Mastelloni (born 12 July 1945) is an Italian actor, comedian and singer. Biography Born in Naples, Mastelloni made his debut in his hometown, performing in theatre and cabaret. He got his first success on television with the RAI variety ...

(''Le compagnie'' and ''Brechtomania''), and participated in various films (''I misteri di Napoli'', ''La Badessa di Castro'', ''Vieni amore mio'', ''Flavia la monaca musulmana'', ''La fine dell'innocenza'') as actor or

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. His first work as a

came in 1980 with the film '' Alien 2: On Earth'' (''Alien 2 sulla terra''), made under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Sam Cromwell. His main successes from that period are ''Lacrime napolitane'' (

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

, 1980), followed by ''Pronto...Lucia'' (1982) and ''Zampognaro innamorato'' (1983), both with Carmelo Zappulla. ''Arrapaho'', a film about the

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

tribe

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

, was an immediate success. The film was made in a fortnight at a cost of 135 million

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

and recovered five billion. Ippolito continued his activity as film producer with ''La venexiana'' (1986) directed by

Mauro Bolognini Mauro Bolognini (28 June 1922 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian film and stage director of literate sensibility, known for his masterly handling of period subject matter. Early years Bolognini was born in Pistoia, in the Tuscany region of Italy. ...

and his

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

activity with works like ''La romana'' by

Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (26 February 1921 – 15 December 2005) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director, and author. He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spent ...

, ''Gli indifferenti'',

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

by Bolognini, ''Disperatamente Giulia'' by

Enrico Maria Salerno Enrico Maria Salerno (September 18, 1926 – February 28, 1994) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Ch ...

, ''Donna d'onore'' by

Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American film, theater, and television actor and director who won two Emmy Awards for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series ''The Rockford Files''. In 1973, h ...

, ''

The Seventh Scroll ''The Seventh Scroll'' is a novel by author Wilbur Smith. It was first published in 1995. It is part of the 'Egyptian' series of novels by Smith and follows the exploits of the adventurer Nicholas Quenton-Harper and Dr. Royan Al Simma. The tomb ...

'' (''Il settimo papiro'') by Kevin Condor and ''Il terzo segreto di Fatima'' by

Alfredo Peyretti Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon name Alfred (name), Alfred and a common Italian language, Italian, Galician language, Galician, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given na ...

. During the 1990s, he was producer for

Lina Wertmüller Arcangela Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg Spanol von Braueich (14 August 1928 – 9 December 2021), known as Lina Wertmüller (), was an Italian film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her 1970s art film, art house films ''Sev ...

in ''Io speriamo che me la cavo'' and ''Ninfa Plebea'', and for

Maurizio Nichetti Maurizio Nichetti (born 8 May 1948) is an Italian film screenwriter, actor and director. His 1989 film ''The Icicle Thief'' won the Golden St. George at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1998 he was a member of the jury at the 48th ...

in ''Palla di neve''. Ciro Ippolito's last film was ''Vaniglia e cioccolato'' / ''Vanilla and Chocolate'' (2004), an

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of the homonym

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

of Sveva Casati Modigliani, which had a discrete success. In 2010 Ippolito published a book entitled ''Un Napoletano a Hollywood''.Ciro Ippolito, ''Un Napoletano a Hollywood'', Nápoles: Casa Editrice Tullio Pironti S.r.l., 2010, 180 pp.

Filmography

Director

* ''Strangers'' (1974) (under the

George Spelvin) * '' Alien 2: On Earth'' ''(Alien 2 sulla Terra)'' (1980) (under the

Sam Cromwell) * ''Lacrime napoletane'' (1981) * ''Pronto... Lucia'' (1982) * ''Zampognaro innamorato'' (1983) * ''Arrapaho'' (1984) * ''Uccelli d'Italia'' (1984) * ''

Vanilla and Chocolate ''Vanilla and Chocolate'' ( it, Vaniglia e cioccolato) is a 2004 Italian romance film directed by Ciro Ippolito. Cast *Maria Grazia Cucinotta: Penelope *Joaquín Cortés: Carlos *Alessandro Preziosi: Andrea * Roberta Alberti: young Penelope * ...

'' (''Vaniglia e cioccolato'') (2004)

Screenwriter

* ''L'Ultimo guappo'' (1978) * ''Napoli serenata calibro 9'' (1978) * ''Big Mamma'' (''Il mammasantissima'') (1978) * ''Lo Scugnizzo'' (1979) * ''Napoli... la camorra sfida e la città risponde'' (1979) * ''I contrabbandieri di Santa Lucia'' (1979) * ''Alien 2: On Earth'' (''Alien 2 sulla Terra'') (1980) (under the

Sam Cromwell) * ''Lacrime napulitane'' (1981) * ''Zampognaro innamorato'' (1983) * ''Arrapaho'' (1984) * ''

Snowball A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be a large ...

'' (''Palla di neve'') (1995) * ''The Seventh Scroll'' (''Il settimo papiro'') (1999) (

Miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

) * ''Vanilla and Chocolate'' (''Vaniglia e cioccolato'') (2004)

Producer

* ''Napoli serenata calibro 9'' (1978) * ''Big Mamma'' (''Il mammasantissima'') (1978) * ''Lo Scugnizzo'' (1979) * ''Napoli... la camorra sfida e la città risponde'' (1979) * ''I contrabbandieri di Santa Lucia'' (1979) * ''Alien 2: On Earth'' (''Alien 2 sulla Terra'') (1980) (executive producer under the

Sam Cromwell) * ''Lacrime napulitane'' (1981) * ''Zampognaro innamorato'' (1983) * ''Uccelli d'Italia'' (1984) * ''Arrapaho'' (1984) * ''

The Venetian Woman ''La venexiana'' (internationally released as ''The Venetian Woman'') is a 1986 Italian erotic film directed by Mauro Bolognini. The film is a transposition of the anonymous 16th century comedy play ''La Venexiana''. Cast *Laura Antonelli as An ...

'' (''La venexiana'') (1986) * ''A Time of Indifference'' (''Gli indifferenti'') (1988) (

) * ''

Disperatamente Giulia ''Disperatamente Giulia'' (also known as ''Julia Forever'') is a 1989 Italian romance-drama mini series directed by Enrico Maria Salerno. Broadcast on Canale 5, it is based on the novel with the same name by Sveva Casati Modignani.Aldo Grasso, M ...

'' (1989) (

) * ''Bride of Violence'' (''Donna d'onore'') (1991) * ''

Ciao, Professore! ''Ciao, Professore!'' (; original title: "'", which is a grammatically erroneous phrase meaning "Let's hope that I scrape by (the Judgement Day)" taken from Raffaele's homework essay) is a 1992 Italian "wikt: fish out of water, fish out of water" ...

'' (''Io speriamo che me la cavo'') (1992) * ''Snowball'' (''Palla di neve'') (1995) * ''

The Nymph ''Ninfa plebea'', internationally released as ''The Nymph'', is a 1996 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Lina Wertmüller. It is based on the Premio Strega winning novel with the same name by Domenico Rea. Cast * Raoul Bova: Pietro * Luc ...

'' (''Ninfa plebea'') (1996) * ''

'' (''Il settimo papiro'') (1999) (

) * ''Il terzo segreto di Fatima'' (2001) * ''Vanilla and Chocolate'' (''Vaniglia e cioccolato'') (2004)

Actor

* ''Class of Iron'' (''Classe di ferro'') (1957) * ''Augustine of Hippo'' (''Agostino d'Ippona'') (1972) * ''La Badessa di Castro'' (1974) * ''

Flavia the Heretic ''Flavia the Heretic'' (Italian: ''Flavia, la monaca musulmana'', lit. "Flavia, the Muslim nun") is a 1974 Italian-French nunsploitation film directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi. Plot Set in Apulia during Ottoman invasion of Otranto, the film tells ...

'' (''Flavia la monaca musulmana'') (1974) * ''

Blue Belle ''Blue Belle'', also known as ''Annie'', is a 1976 drama film directed by Massimo Dallamano and starring Annie Belle, Felicity Devonshire, and Maria Rohm. Its Italian title is ''Fine dell'innocenza'' (). Premise A young woman meets up with her ...

'' (''La fine dell'innocenza'') (1976) * ''Napoli... la camorra sfida e la città risponde'' (1979) * ''Lacrime napulitane'' (1979) * ''Arrapaho'' (1984)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ippolito, Ciro Italian film directors Italian film producers Italian screenwriters Italian male screenwriters Film people from Naples 1947 births Living people