Mondo Esoterica - Fabio Testi Film Reviews

Born in Italy, 1941, Fabio Testi always wanted to be in films. He initially tried to get into cinema based on his good looks, but found his strong regional accent to be a handicap. Instead, he worked as a stuntman with bit parts in a variety of Spaghetti Westerns, and brief appearances in Sergio Leone's Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) and Once upon a Time in the West (1968). His first starring roles came in 1970 with the Oscar winning, neo-realist film Giardino dei Finzi-Contini (1970) and another Western One Damned Day at Dawn... Django Meets Sartana! (1970), although in the latter film, he was credited onscreen as Stet Carson. After the sucess of another art-house film Addio, fratello crudele (1971) he was offered the chance to become an international star, but chose to remain in Italy. He secured Euro-cult fame with strong leading roles in two of the big genre films of the day, giallo entry What Have They Done to Solange? (1972) and the big crime thriller Revolver (1973). With these sucesses, he became a hot property and went on to star in several late Spaghetti Westerns including Lucio Fulci's curious Four of the Apocalypse (1975) and self-referencial If China 9, Liberty 37 (1978). With the decline of the Euro-Western, Testi moved easily into action films with lead roles in Enzo G. Castellari films The Big Racket (1976) and Heroin Busters (1977) and Lucio Fulci's ultra-violent Contraband (1980). With the decline of euro-cinema in the 1980s, he moved into television, and became a household name in Italy.

With about 60 films to his credit, Fabio Testi is not one of the biggest names in euro-cult cinema, but his strong leading performances and good looks have made him very popular with the fans, and he is always a joy to watch onscreen.

Four of the Apocalypse (1975) Anchor Bay USA Region 0 DVD	Testi plays the unlikely hero in this strange, twisted and viciously violent film with lots of good ideas, but poorly executed. Of interest to fans, but not recommended.
Revolver (1973) US Blue Underground Region 0 DVD	One of the most popular Italian Crime films, it boasts good direction, acting and with a strong lead performance from Fabio. Highly recommended to all.

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