Michele Massimo Tarantini (born 7 August 1942) is an Italian film director.

Life and career

Born in

Corato Corato ( Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Italy. It is located in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, in southeastern Italy. Founded by the Normans, it became subject to Alfonso V, king of Aragon, at the end of the 15th century, and later ...

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, at young age Tarantini was assumed by the production company Dania Cinematografica, for which he held various positions including secretary of production, set designer, film editor and assistant director for

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

Giuliano Carnimeo Giuliano Carnimeo (born Carmineo; 4 July 1932 – 10 September 2016) was an Italian director and screenwriter, sometimes credited as Anthony Ascott or Antony Ascot. Life and career Born in Bari, Carmineo started his career as assistant direct ...

Nando Cicero Fernando Cicero, better known as Nando Cicero (22 January 1931 – 30 July 1995), was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. Born in Asmara, Cicero debuted as an actor, working with directors such as Luchino Visconti ('' Senso'', 195 ...

and

Mariano Laurenti Mariano Laurenti (15 April 1929 – 6 January 2022) was an Italian film director and actor. Career He started as a script supervisor and later became an assistant director for, among others, Mauro Bolognini and Stefano Vanzina. He directed 50 f ...

. Tarantini made his directorial debut in 1973 with a

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

-crime film, '' Seven Hours of Violence'', but his first commercial success was the 1975 sexy comedy ''

La liceale ''La liceale'' (internationally released as ''The Teasers'', ''Under-graduate Girls'', ''Sophomore Swingers'' and ''Teasers'') is a 1975 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini. The film is considered the real breakout t ...

'', which launched the career of

Gloria Guida Gloria Guida (; born 19 November 1952) is an Italian actress and model. She is best known for starring in commedia erotica all'italiana, particularly the ''La liceale'' series, and also in erotic coming-of-age-drama films in the mid-1970s. Li ...

. Since then, Tarantini became one of the prominent and most successful directors in the

commedia sexy all'italiana The commedia sexy all'italiana (, lit. "sex comedy Italian style"), also known as commedia scollacciata or commedia erotica all'italiana, is a subgenre of Italian ''commedia all'italiana'' film genre. Style ''Commedia sexy'' is characterized typ ...

film genre. In 1983 Tarantini moved to Brazil, where he kept directing low-budget genre films, often under the stage name Michael E. Lemick. His last film is the 2001 comedy ''Se lo fai sono guai''.

Selected filmography

* '' Seven Hours of Violence'' (1973) * '' Teasers'' (1975) * ''

La professoressa di scienze naturali ''La professoressa di scienze naturali'' (Professor of Natural Sciences) is a 1976 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini. Cast *Lilli Carati: Stefania Marini *Michele Gammino: Baron Fifì Cacciapupolo * Giacomo Rizzo: ...

'' (1976) * ''

Confessions of a Lady Cop ''La poliziotta fa carriera'', internationally released as ''Confessions of a Lady Cop'', is a 1976 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini. It is an unofficial sequel of Steno's '' La poliziotta'' in which sex and nudity ...

'' (1976) * '' Crimebusters'' (1976) * ''

Taxi Girl Taxi Girl were a French New wave music, new wave band, adopting the New Romantic aesthetics of the time, such as clashing red and black clothing, synthesizer-led songs, and taking influence from mythology and literature. The group existed betwe ...

'' (1977) * ''

A Man Called Magnum ''A Man Called Magnum'' (in original Italian ''Napoli si ribella'') is a 1977 ''poliziotteschi'' film. This film by Michele Massimo Tarantini stars Luc Merenda. Plot Cast * Luc Merenda: commissario Dario Mauri *Enzo Cannavale: maresciallo Nic ...

'' (1977) * ''

The School Teacher in the House ''L'insegnante viene a casa'' (internationally released as ''The School Teacher in the House'') is a 1978 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini. The film is the third chapter in the "Schoolteacher" film series and the l ...

'' (1978) * ''

La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello ''La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello'' (The doctor is there with Colonel) is a 1980 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini, starring Lino Banfi with Nadia Cassini. The film is a late installment of the genre, combining ...

'' (1980) * ''

L'insegnante al mare con tutta la classe ''L'insegnante al mare con tutta la classe'' (''The teacher at the beach with the whole class'') is a 1980 Italian commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini. Cast * Anna Maria Rizzoli: prof. Lisa Colombi * Lino Banfi: co ...

'' (1980) * '' La moglie in bianco... l'amante al pepe'' (1980) * '' La dottoressa preferisce i marinai'' (1981) * '' L'assistente sociale tutto pepe'' (1981) * ''

A Policewoman in New York ''La poliziotta a New York'' (internationally released as ''A Policewoman in New York'') is a 1981 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini. It is the final chapter in the "poliziotta" trilogy directed by Tarantini and star ...

'' (1981) * '' Giovani, belle... probabilmente ricche'' (1982) * ''

The Sword of the Barbarians ''The Sword of the Barbarians'' ( it, Sangraal, la spada di fuoco/ ''Sangraal, the Sword of Fire'') is a 1982 sword and sorcery film written and directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini and starring Peter McCoy and Sabrina Siani. The film is also ...

'' (1983) * ''

Massacre in Dinosaur Valley ''Massacre in Dinosaur Valley'' ( it, Nudo e selvaggio, lit=Naked and Savage), also known as ''Amazonas'' and ''Cannibal Ferox II'', is a 1985 cannibal film directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini under the pseudonym Michael E. Lemick. An internat ...

'' (1985)

References

External links

* 1942 births Italian film directors People from the Province of Bari Italian film editors Living people Giallo film directors {{Italy-film-director-stub