Luigi Batzella (San Sperate, 1924 – San Sperate, 2008) also known as Paolo Solvay was an Italian film director, editor, screenwriter and actor. He made numerous low-budget genre films.

Life and career

Luigi Batzella was born in

San Sperate San Sperate, Santu Sparau in Sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari. It has a population of 8 323 and an area of .All demographics ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

in 1924. After what film historian and critic Roberto Curti described as "a nondescript career as an actor," Batzella began his career as a director in 1966 with the war film '' Tre franchi die pietà''. After directing a few low budget

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

, Batzella directed his first horror film ''

The Devil's Wedding Night ''The Devil's Wedding Night'' ( it, Il plenilunio delle vergini, lit=Full Moon of the Virgins) is a 1973 Italian horror film. Plot Two rival brothers are looking for the magic ring of the Nibelungen, a mystical jewel that confers all power to th ...

'' which was directed with an uncredited

Joe D'Amato Aristide Massaccesi (15 December 1936 – 23 January 1999), known professionally as Joe D'Amato, was an Italian film director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter who worked in many genres (westerns, decamerotici, peplum, war films, ...

. Following the release of his next horror film ''

Nude for Satan ''Nude for Satan'' ( it, Nuda per Satana) is a 1974 Italian horror film directed by Luigi Batzella. Plot Late at night, Dr. Benson drives through the countryside and stumbles upon a car crash where he finds a wounded young woman named Susan. Dr. B ...

'' in 1978, Batzella directed two

Nazisploitation Nazi exploitation (also Nazisploitation) is a subgenre of exploitation film and sexploitation film that involves Nazis committing sex crimes, often as camp or prison overseers during World War II. Most follow the women in prison formula, only r ...

films ''Kaput Lager – Gli ultimi giorni delle SS'' and ''

La Bestia in calore ''La Bestia in calore'' () is a 1977 Italian exploitation film starring Macha Magall, and directed, written, and edited by Luigi Batzella. Plot A beautiful yet nefarious female SS officer/doctor, Ellen Kratsch (Magall), creates a genetic, incubu ...

'' for which he was credited as Ivan Kathansky. His next feature would be the sex comedy '' Probito erotico'' starring

Ajita Wilson Ajita Wilson (January 12, 1950 – May 26, 1987) was an American transgender actress who starred in European exploitation and hardcore films in the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Wilson was born in Brooklyn a biological male. She started out as a ...

where he is credited as Paul Selvin. His final official film credit was for the film ''

Strategia per una missione di morte ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' where he is credited as Kathansky in some prints and as A.M. Frank in the French version. Curti has stated that some sources claim Batzella was involved with the

Bruce Le Bruce Le (; born June 5, 1950, Burma), birth name Huang Jianlong (), a.k.a. Wong Kin-lung, is a Macao-established Burmese (or Taiwanese; there are conflicting reports) born (British descent/Macao descent and half-Chinese/half-Burmese)

production ''

Mie ju que que Mie may refer to: Places * Mie, Ōita (), a former town in Ōita Prefecture, Japan * Mie District, Mie (), a district in Mie Prefecture, Japan * Mie Prefecture (), a prefecture of Japan * Mie University (), a national university in Tsu, Mie Prefe ...

''. Batzella died in San Sperate in 2008 at the age of 84.

Partial filmography

Footnotes

References

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Batzella, Luigi Italian film directors 20th-century Italian screenwriters People from the Province of Cagliari 1924 births 2008 deaths Horror film directors Spaghetti Western directors Italian male screenwriters 20th-century Italian male writers