FantastiCozzi
Director: Felipe M. Guerra
Year: 2016
Starring: Luigi Cozzi
Review by @SkiesChloe. To discuss this film and genre cinema contact her on Twitter.
Synopsis:
In 2010, Luigi Cozzi was invited to attend the Fantaspoa film festival in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The festival is the largest of its kind in South America, dedicated exclusively to 'fantasy' genre films (fantasy, science fiction, horror and thriller). At the festival, a short documentary was screened chronicling some of Cozzi's filmography. In the audience was a budding Brazilian filmmaker, Felipe M. Guerra, who decided Cozzi's body of work deserved a more in-depth appreciation and set out to make a feature-length documentary on the self-decreed 'Spaghetti Ed Wood' of the Italian film industry. This is that documentary!
Review:
Opening with archive footage from 1980, we see Luigi himself seated in front of a typewriter, apparently at work on his latest screenplay. We hear his voice, muffled behind a gas mask, telling us this is his 'inspiration setting'. His hands are encumbered beneath two novelty monster gloves as they bash away on the keys. Fast forward to 2015, and we follow Luigi through the streets of Rome and into Profondo Rosso, the store he co-owns with Dario Argento and the place he has called his 'sanctuary' for the past twenty-plus years.
From the off it is apparent that this is Cozzi's story. He is the sole voice that guides us through the years and the myriad of strange places & faces he has helped to create. He leads us through his body of work in chronological order, with a quick summary of his origins in Milan to the beginnings of his directorial career with 1969's THE TUNNEL UNDER THE WORLD. From there we are taken from project to project, with Cozzi regaling us of his experiences and how the genesis of each film came about. There are some great behind-the-scenes anecdotes and revelations that will likely surprise even the most die-hard Cozzi fans.
In one segment, we are shown a string of clips from FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET where a big yellow arrow points out Cozzi whenever he pops up in the background of a shot- he certainly got around on that set! There are several other gems of behind-the-curtain insight, such as when Cozzi explains how he tricked Lou Ferrigno into starring in HERCULES II in order to avoid paying him his full salary. How many directors can claim to have shot a feature film without their main star being aware of it! Also, if you've ever wondered why Cozzi chose to forgo Harryhausen-style monsters of mythology and instead populated Ancient Greece with giant robots- all is revealed here!
A fair amount of time is spent on Cozzi's career from 1969 through to 1989's THE BLACK CAT (at which point Cozzi tells an amusing story of how Dario Argento reacted after learning Cozzi was making a film with the same title as his current project). However, the lions share is dedicated, unsurprisingly, to STARCRASH (1978), the sci-fi B-movie epic that owes as much to Harryhausen as it does to George Lucas.
There was apparently enough footage of Cozzi discussing STARCRASH that the director briefly considered making a second documentary on that film alone and we are shown rare concept art and archive footage of Cozzi demonstrating the magic behind the special-effects of the film. It's nice to see his younger and current self-display such enthusiasm and love for his craft- which has not waned with the passing of time. The focus of the documentary then shifts back and forth from 1978 Cozzi to modern day seamlessly in which time he also manages to briefly explain how he assembled each member of the main cast, though I still am none the wiser how he managed to get Christopher Plummer involved!
Cozzi always displays a spirited sense of self-awareness, but frustratingly tends to flip-flop between self-aggrandizing and self-depreciation in equal measure. It would have been nice to see him field questions from the director and perhaps be probed on some of the more dubious claims he makes, such as denying STARCRASH was in any way influenced by STAR WARS. Guerra shows a rare sense of sly wit at this point, as he edits the segment in a way that juxtaposes Cozzi's narration with side-by-side shots highlighting a slew of blatant examples of scenes that suggest otherwise. A few more incisive nods like this would have been welcome. Another instance is when the narrative inevitably reaches the late '80's and the fall of the Italian film industry. Here, Cozzi seems to lay the blame entirely on Italy's inability to compete with Hollywood's advanced special effects and lavish budgets, along with the rise of CGI. However, anyone who is even passingly familiar with Cozzi's work will know his special effects were never on par with Hollywood (and that's an understatement!), but that their charm was in their innate Italian flair and creativity. The fact that the director doesn't engage Cozzi in this subject and just lets the matter rest is infuriating.
The film ends up in 2016, with a scene taken from Cozzi's long awaited return to the director's chair, BLOOD ON MÈLIÉS MOON, in which Cozzi both directs and stars as himself. It's disappointing that no further insight is provided on the project, especially considering it was Cozzi's first film in over twenty-five years. All we learn is that it was filmed in Cozzi's spare time, and even during his day job hours behind the counter at Profondo Rosso!
FANTASTICOZZI is a lovingly-crafted and well-constructed look at a genre director who has always struggled to step outside the shadow of his contemporaries. The fact that Cozzi is such a friendly and likable presence really helps to engage the audience and his anecdotes from a bygone era of cinema are genuinely fascinating. Guerra's enthusiasm for the subject matter is obvious from the start, but his presence is so unobtrusive that it's curious how the documentary would have played out if we were witness to a little more human interaction with the main star himself. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the director in some scenes presumably shot at the Fantaspoa festival in 2010, but he plays no part in the on-screen proceedings. The fact that Cozzi is the sole narrator of the piece is restricting and unfortunately this results in a one-dimensional, albeit well-intended, bio documentary.
Find out more about the film and how you can see it on the official Facebook page or read our interview with director Felipe M. Guerra here.
To discuss this film and other cult gems contact Chloe on Twitter @SkiesChloe
Version Reviewed:
Chloe reviewed an online screener of the documentary.
