Franco Rossi (director)

Franco Rossi (19 April 1919, Florence - 5 June 2000, Rome) was an Italian film screenwriter and director, mainly known for having directed the six-hour-long Italian-German-British-Swiss TV mini-series Quo Vadis? in 1985.

Rossi was born in Florence. He studied law and then began to work on theatre. He was assistant director of Mario Camerini, Luis Trenker, Renato Castellani, Aldo Vergano. He made his debut as a director with the film Camicie rosse (Anita Garibaldi, 1952), taking over from leading director Goffredo Alessandrini after he abandoned the production. His first success was Il seduttore starred by Alberto Sordi. Other films were The Woman in the Painting (Amici per la pelle, 1955), Odissea Nuda (1961), Three Nights of Love (1964), an episode of Le bambole (1965), and Porgi l'altra guancia with Bud Spencer in (1974).

He was one of the first established Italian film directors also doing work for television, being one of the three directors for the 1968 mini-series L'Odissea. His largest TV undertaking was directing the international co-production of the six-hour-long mini-series Quo Vadis? in 1985.

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