Michele Soavi, sometimes known as Michael Soavi (born 3 July 1957)Baldassarre, Angela (1999) "The Great Dictators: Interviews with Filmmakers of Italian Descent", Guernica Editions, is an Italian

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

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 (), lit ...

, and

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. ...

best known for his work in the horror film genre, working alongside directors like

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and critic. His influential work in the horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ''giallo'', has led him ...

and

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he ga ...

Career

Michele Soavi was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. As a teenager, Soavi enrolled in creative arts classes and worked at becoming an actor. He took acting lessons at Milan's Fersen Studios, and also served as a cameraman.Buchanan, Jason
Allmovie Biography
, allmovie.com, Macrovision Corporation Soavi's directorial career began when he was offered an assistant director job by Marco Modugno after appearing as an extra in Modugno's 1979 film ''Bambule''. Soavi continued to act in films such as '' Alien 2: On Earth'' and Lucio Fulci's '' City of the Living Dead'', and served as an

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 ...

to Aristide Massacessi (

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, ...

), and occasionally appeared in bit parts in some of D'Amato's films. Soavi later came into his own when he started his collaboration with famed Italian horror director

, who used him as second assistant director on the film '' Tenebrae''. Soavi continued to work with Argento for several years; with his first credit as director being the documentary ''

Dario Argento's World of Horror ''Dario Argento's World of Horror'' ( it, Il Mondo dell'orrore di Dario Argento) is an Italian documentary film that chronicles the career of Italian director Dario Argento. Release ''Dario Argento's World of Horror'' was released in West German ...

'', followed by a pop promo for

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

. He directed his first feature film with 1987's ''

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

'' for producer Joe D'Amato.Pyke, Jim
The Films of Michele Soavi
He worked as assistant director to

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

on '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' in 1988, and followed this with his second feature film as director, 1989's ''La Chiesa'' ('' The Church''). His third feature, ''The Sect'' (a.k.a. "The Devil's Daughter"), followed in 1990. Soavi has been credited as continuing the traditions of Italian horror in the 1990s, directing the zombie love story ''

Dellamorte Dellamore ''Cemetery Man'' ( it, Dellamorte Dellamore) is a 1994 comedy horror film directed by Michele Soavi and starring Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro and Anna Falchi. It was produced by Tilde Corsi, Gianni Romoli and Soavi and based on the nove ...

'' (a.k.a. ''Cemetery Man''). The film was based on

Tiziano Sclavi Tiziano Sclavi (born 3 April 1953 in Broni) is an Italian comic book author, journalist and writer of several novels. Sclavi is most famous as creator of the comic book ''Dylan Dog'' in 1986, for Italian publishing house Sergio Bonelli Editore. M ...

's novel of the same name, and the author was also known for being the creator of the Italian comic book ''

Dylan Dog ''Dylan Dog'' is an Italian horror comics series created by Tiziano Sclavi and published by Sergio Bonelli Editore since 1986. The series features the eponymous character, a paranormal investigator who takes on cases involving supernatural e ...

''. "Dellamorte Dellamore" also starred Rupert Everett in the lead role. Soavi retreated from the film industry in the mid-1990s to care for his ailing son, before returning to work in Italian television. In 2008, it was announced that Soavi was working on a new feature film, ''The Catacombs Club''.

Filmography

As director

*''

'' (1985) documentary *''The Valley'' (1985 short) *''

'' (1987) *'' The Church'' (1989) a.k.a. ''Demons 3'' *'' The Sect'' (1991) a.k.a. ''The Devil's Daughter'' or ''Demons 4'' *'' Cemetery Man'' (1994) a.k.a. ''Dellamorte Dellamore'' *'' Ultimo 2 - La sfida'' (1999) *'' Uno bianca'' (2001) *''

Il testimone ''The Testimony'' (Italian: ''Il testimone'') is 1946 Italian crime film directed by Pietro Germi and starring Roldano Lupi, Marina Berti and Ernesto Almirante. It is one of several films regarded as an antecedent of the later giallo thrillers ...

'' (2001) *'' St. Francis'' (2002) *'' Ultima pallottola'' (2003) *'' Ultimo 3 - L'infiltrato'' (2004) *'' The Goodbye Kiss'' (2006) *'' Political Target'' (2006) *'' Nassiryia - Per non dimenticare'' (2007) *''

Blood of the Losers ''Blood of the Losers'' ( it, Il sangue dei vinti, also known as ''The Blood of the Victims'') is a 2008 Italian war drama film directed by Michele Soavi. It is based on a book by Giampaolo Pansa. Plot Cast * Michele Placido as Franco Doglian ...

'' (2008) *'' Adriano Olivetti: La forza di un Sogno'' (2013) *'' Sfida al cielo - La narcotici 2'' (2015) *'' Rocco Chinnici'' (2017) *'' The Legend of the Christmas Witch'' (2018)

As assistant / second unit director

*''

2020 Texas Gladiators ''2020 Texas Gladiators'' ( it, Texas 2000) is an Italian science fiction action film co-directed by Joe D'Amato and George Eastman. Plot After bitter wars and natural disasters, the earth is devastated, depopulated, and chaotic; morality and law ...

'' (1982) *'' Tenebrae'' (1982) *''

A Blade in the Dark ''A Blade in the Dark'' ( it, La casa con la scala nel buio, lit=The House with the Dark Staircase) is a 1983 Italian ''giallo'' film directed by Lamberto Bava. Originally planned for television, the film was made as a nearly two hour piece split ...

'' (1983 - actor) *'' Endgame'' (1983) *'' Blastfighter'' (1984) *''

Phenomena A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried ...

'' (1985 - also actor) *''

Demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime ...

'' (1985) *''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'' (1987) *'' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988) *''

The Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

'' (2005)

As actor

Soavi makes cameos in all the films he directed and assistant directed prior to 2000. He has also acted, usually uncredited, in numerous films from other Italian horror directors. *''

The Greatest Battle ''The Greatest Battle'' ( it, Il grande attacco, lit=The Great Attack) is a 1978 Euro War film co-written and directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring an all-star ensemble cast, including Giuliano Gemma, Helmut Berger, Stacy Keach, Ray Lovelock, S ...

'' (1978) *''Little Lips'' (1978) *'' Alien 2: On Earth'' (also known as ''Alien Terror'') (1980) *'' City of the Living Dead'' (also known as ''The Gates Of Hell'') (1980) *''

Day of the Cobra ''Day of the Cobra'' ( it, Il giorno del Cobra) is a 1980 Italian ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. Production Director Enzo G. Castellari initially approached Vasile with a script written by Vasile's son. The boxing film ...

'' (1980) *'' Absurd'' (a.k.a. ''Anthropophagus 2'') (1981) *''Caligula II: The Untold Story'' (1982) *'' The New York Ripper'' (1982) *'' The Atlantis Interceptors'' (also known as ''Atlantis Inferno'') (1983) *''

Dèmoni ''Demons'' ( it, Dèmoni) is a 1985 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava, produced by Dario Argento, and starring Urbano Barberini and Natasha Hovey. Its plot follows two female university students who, along with a number of random p ...

'' (1985) a.k.a. ''Demons'' *''The Black Cat'' (1989) a.k.a. ''De Profundis'' or ''Demons 6''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soavi, Michele 1957 births Italian male actors Italian film directors Giallo film directors Horror film directors Living people Film people from Milan