Riziero Ortolani (; 25 March 192623 January 2014) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of

film scores A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty years. Internationally, he is best known for his

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

scores, notably his music for mondo,

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

, horror, and

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

films. His most famous composition is "

More More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka ...

," which he wrote for the infamous film '' Mondo Cane''. It won the 1964

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Theme The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (including its previous names) has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music (not an adaptation), first released during the eligibility year. I ...

and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

at the

36th Academy Awards The 36th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1963, were held on April 13, 1964, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Jack Lemmon. Best Picture winner ''Tom Jones'' became the only f ...

. The song was later covered by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie '' Mondo Ca ...

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

, and others. Ortolani received many other accolades, including four

David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). The ...

, three Nastro d'Argento Awards, and a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for Best Original Song. In 2013, he received a Lifetime Achievement from the World Soundtrack Academy.

Early life

Ortolani was born on 25 March 1926 in

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He was the youngest of six children. Ortolani's father, a postal worker, gave his son a violin at age 4. Ortolani later switched to flute after injuring his elbow in a car accident. He studied at the Conservatorio Statale di Musica "Gioachino Rossini" in his hometown of Pesaro before moving to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1948 and finding work with the

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

orchestra. Though the chronology is unclear, he also likely served as a musician in the Italian Air Force orchestra, formed a Jazz ensemble, and came to the United States as a Jazz musician in Hollywood, all before scoring his first film. Ortolani married Katyna Ranieri in 1956.

Career

In the early 1950s, Ortolani was founder and member of a well-known Italian jazz band. One of his early film scores was for Paolo Cavara and

Gualtiero Jacopetti Gualtiero Jacopetti (4 September 1919 – 17 August 2011) was an Italian documentary film director. With Paolo Cavara and Franco Prosperi, he is considered the originator of mondo films, also called "shockumentaries". Early life Gualtiero Jac ...

's 1962 pseudo-documentary '' Mondo Cane'', whose main title-song ''

'' earned him a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

and was also nominated for an Oscar as ''Best Song''. The success of the soundtrack of ''Mondo Cane'' led Ortolani to score films in England and the United States such as ''

The Yellow Rolls-Royce ''The Yellow Rolls-Royce'' is a 1964 British dramatic composite film written by Terence Rattigan, produced by Anatole de Grunwald, and directed by Anthony Asquith, the trio responsible for '' The V.I.P.s'' (1963). Apparently adapting an idea fr ...

'' (1964), '' The Spy with a Cold Nose'' (1966), '' The Biggest Bundle of Them All'' (1968) and '' Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell'' (1968). He also scored the 1972 film '' The Valachi Papers'', directed by Terence Young and starring

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...

. Ortolani scored all or parts of over 200 films, including

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

westerns like ''

Old Shatterhand Old Shatterhand is a fictional character in Western novels by German writer Karl May (1842–1912). He is the German friend and blood brother of Winnetou, the fictional chief of the Mescalero tribe of the Apache The Apache () are a g ...

'' (1964) and a long series of Italian

Eurospy film Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British Jame ...

Exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s and

mondo film Mondo films are a subgenre of exploitation films and documentary films. Many mondo films are made in a way to resemble a pseudo-documentary and usually depicting sensational topics, scenes, or situations. Common traits of mondo films include p ...

s. These include ''

Il Sorpasso ''Il sorpasso'' (, occasionally titled ''The Easy Life'') is a 1962 Italian cult comedy film co-written and directed by Dino Risi and starring Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Catherine Spaak. It is considered Risi's masterpiece and one ...

'' (1962), ''

Castle of Blood ''Castle of Blood'' ( it, Danza Macabra, links=no) is a 1964 horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti and Sergio Corbucci. The film stars Barbara Steele, Arturo Dominici and Georges Rivière. The film was initially commissioned to director Serg ...

'' (1964), ''

Africa Addio ''Africa Addio'' (also known as ''Africa: Blood and Guts'' in the United States and ''Farewell Africa'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1966 Italian mondo documentary film co-directed, co-edited and co-written by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Pr ...

'' (1966), '' Day of Anger'' (1967), ''

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Isl ...

'' (1968), ''

The McKenzie Break ''The McKenzie Break'' is a 1970 British war drama film starring Brian Keith as Jack Connor, an intelligence officer investigating recent disturbances at a prisoner of war (POW) camp in Scotland. The Nazi German POWs are led by the charismatic ...

'' (1970), '' The Hunting Party'' (1971), '' A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die'' (1972), '' Seven Blood-Stained Orchids'' (1972), ''

The Fifth Musketeer ''The Fifth Musketeer'' is a 1979 German-Austrian film adaptation of the last section of the 1847–1850 novel '' The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later'' by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the ...

'' (1979), ''

From Hell to Victory ''From Hell to Victory'' (Italian: ''Contro 4 bandiere'', French: ''De l'enfer à la victoire'', Spanish: ''De Dunkerke a la victoria'') is a 1979 Euro War film directed by Umberto Lenzi and produced by Edmondo Amati. The international cast stars ...

'' (1979), the controversial

Ruggero Deodato Ruggero Deodato (born 7 May 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and sometime actor. His career has spanned a wide-range of genres including peplum, comedy, drama, poliziottesco and science fiction, yet he is perhaps best known f ...

films ''

Cannibal Holocaust ''Cannibal Holocaust'' is a 1980 Italian found footage cannibal horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Gianfranco Clerici. It stars Robert Kerman as Harold Monroe, an anthropologist from New York University who leads a rescue ...

'' (1980) and ''

The House on the Edge of the Park ''The House on the Edge of the Park'' ( it, La casa sperduta nel parco) is a 1980 English-language Italian exploitation horror film written by Gianfranco Clerici and Vincenzo Mannino, and directed by Ruggero Deodato. It stars David A. Hess an ...

'' (1980), and the first series of ''

La piovra ''La Piovra'' (; en, The Octopus, referring to the Mafia) is an Italian television drama series about the Mafia. The series was directed by various directors who each worked on different seasons, including Damiano Damiani (first season), Flores ...

'' (1984). In later years he scored many films for Italian director Pupi Avati. His music was used on soundtracks for '' Grand Theft Auto: London 1969'' (1999), '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (2003), '' Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (2004), ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...

'' (2011) and ''

Django Unchained ''Django Unchained'' () is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson, with Walton Goggins, Dennis C ...

'' (2012). In 2013, he was awarded the

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

from the World Soundtrack Academy.

Death

Ortolani died on 23 January 2014 in Rome, aged 87.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* * *
Riz Ortolani at ''Epdlp''
(Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortolani, Riz 1926 births 2014 deaths People from Pesaro Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers Grammy Award winners David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners Golden Globe Award-winning musicians 20th-century Italian musicians Italian jazz pianists Italian male pianists 20th-century Italian male musicians Male jazz musicians Varèse Sarabande Records artists