Alberto De Martino
| Alberto De Martino | |
|---|---|
| Born |
12 June 1929 Rome, Italy |
| Died | 2 June 2015 (aged 85) Rome, Italy |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1959–1985 |
Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervisor. De Martino's films as a director specialised in wellcrafted knock-offs of Hollywood hit films. These films were specifically created films in Western, horror and mythology genres which were developed for the international market.The Telegraph stated that his best known of these film was probably The Antichrist.The Antichrist capitalized on the box-office appeal of The Exorcist (1973) and in its first week in the United States earned a greater box office than Jaws. Horror film fans also remember him for The Blancheville Monster, Blood Link, Formula for a Murder, Medusa vs the Son of Hercules and Holocaust 2000.
Alberto De Martino was born on June 12, 1929 in Rome. De Martino was the son of a film make-up artist. He started his career as a child actor. By then, the golden age of Italian cinema was fading, but there was still plenty of work to be had from more commercial projects. The first film that he directed, known in English as The Invincible Gladiator (1961), was part of the "sword-and-sandals" craze, after which De Martino turned his hand to the newly fashionable spaghetti Western, notably with Ringo (1965).
On attending University, De Martino studied law. Martino returned to a career in cinema working as an editor, screenwriter and as an assistant director. Martino stated he was encouraged to be a director by Federico Fellini for whom he supervised the dubbing for La Dolce Vita. De Martino was also very active in the field of dubbing, and he was dubbing director for more than 1,500 films.
De Martino was one of the active directors in the Italian genre cinema between 1960s and mid-1980s; his films spanned different genres, including Spaghetti Western, poliziotteschi, Peplum films and horror. A real life friend of Sergio Leone, he was second unit director in Duck, You Sucker! He was often credited as Martin Herbert.
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