''The Scorpion with Two Tails'' ( it, Assassinio al cimitero etrusco, lit=Murder in the Etruscan Cemetery) is a 1982 film directed by

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 ...

Plot

Joan has nightmares of Etruscan sacrifices. She knows very well the Etruscan language and her husband Arthur is an archeologist studying Etruscan tombs. In a nightmare she foresees her husband's death. And Arthur is then killed in the same way the Etruscans killed their sacrifice victims, convincing her that someone (or something) may be after her as well.

Cast

Production

''The Scorpion with Two Tails'' originally started life as an 8-part television series to be titled ''Il mistero degli Etruschi'' or ''Lo scorpione a due code''. Two original scripts are located in the SIAE archives, one signed by

Ernesto Gastaldi Ernesto Gastaldi (born 10 September 1934) is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films. Gastaldi worked within several popular gen ...

and one by

Dardano Sacchetti Dardano Sacchetti (born 1944 ) is an Italian screenwriter who often worked with Italian directors Lamberto Bava and Lucio Fulci. Screenwriting Sacchetti was born in 1944,in Italy. His first screen credit was for Dario Argento's film ''The Cat o' Ni ...

in 1982. The French film producer Jacques Leitienne is also listed in the credits as a co-writer, but this was purely for bureaucratic reasons. Shooting lasted for four months in

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volter ...

Cerveteri Cerveteri () is a town and ''comune'' of northern Lazio in the region of the Metropolitan City of Rome. Known by the ancient Romans as Caere, and previously by the Etruscans as Caisra or Cisra, and as Agylla (or ) by the Greeks, its modern name de ...

Formello Formello is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome. It is located southwest of the Monti Sabatini, within the Regional Park of Veii. The communal territory is mostly composed by tuff, and is intensively cultivated. History The are ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and at R.P.A. Elios Studios in Rome. Although originally made for television, the film was shot on 16mm and blown up to 35mm for its theatrical release.

Release

''The Scorpion with Two Tails'' was distributed theatrically in Italy by Medusa on 17 September 1982. It was distributed in France as ''Crime au cimetière étrusque'' on 24 August 1983. In the late 1980s the series was purchased by Reteitalia to be shown as a two-part feature for

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...

. This abridged version was re-edited by

Claudio Lattanzi Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most important m ...

but was never shown on Canale 5. Sergio Martino later regretted the film saying "it didn't add anything to my career, not even from an economic standpoint."

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* 1982 horror films Italian thriller films Films directed by Sergio Martino Films scored by Fabio Frizzi Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in Tuscany 1982 thriller films 1982 films Films with screenplays by Ernesto Gastaldi Films produced by Luciano Martino 1980s Italian films {{1980s-horror-film-stub