Riz Ortolani
Sound
Riziero "Riz" Ortolani (25 March 1926 – 23 January 2014) was an Italian film composer. Ortolani scored over 300 films working mostly within the Italian genres of Mondo, Giallo, and the Spaghetti Western. Ortolani also scored many Hollywood films and has had some of his compositions reused in films like Drive and Django Unchained. Ortolani's most famous composition is More, which he wrote for the infamous film Mondo Cane. It won the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Theme and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 36th Academy Awards. The song was later covered by Frank Sinatra, Kai Winding, Andy Williams, Roy Orbison, and others. Ortolani was born on 25 March 1926 in Pesaro, Italy. 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 in 1948 and finding work with the RAI 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. 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's 1962 pseudo-documentary Mondo Cane, whose main title-song More earned him a Grammy 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 (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. Ortolani scored all or parts of over 200 films, including German westerns like Old Shatterhand (1964) and a long series of Italian giallos, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurospy films, Exploitation films and mondo films. These include Il Sorpasso (1962), Castle of Blood (1964), Africa Addio (1966), Day of Anger (1967), Anzio (1968), The McKenzie Break (1970), The Hunting Party (1971), A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972), Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972), The Fifth Musketeer (1979), From Hell to Victory (1979), the controversial Ruggero Deodato films Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and The House on the Edge of the Park (1980), and the first series of La piovra (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 (2011) and Django Unchained (2012). In 2013, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Soundtrack Academy. Ortolani died on 23 January 2014 in Rome, aged 87. Source: Article "Riz Ortolani" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Water and Sugar – Carlo Di Palma: The Colours of Life
as Self
Age 91 (now 87)
The Importance of Being Uncomfortable: Gualtiero Jacopetti
as Self
Age 86 (now 87)
Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered - Volume 1
as Self
Age 81 (now 87)
A Dinner for Them to Meet
Original Music Composer
Age 80 (now 87)
In the Jungle: The Making Of Cannibal Holocaust
as Himself
Age 77 (now 87) In the Jungle: The Making Of Cannibal Holocaust
Original Music Composer
Age 77 (now 87)
Una fredda mattina di maggio
Original Music Composer
Age 64 (now 87)
The Story of Boys and Girls
Original Music Composer
Age 63 (now 87)
Più bello di così si muore
Original Music Composer
Age 55 (now 87)
House on the Edge of the Park
Original Music Composer
Age 54 (now 87)
Maria - Nur die Nacht war Zeuge
Original Music Composer
Age 53 (now 87)
Fangio: Una vita a 300 all'ora
Original Music Composer
Age 53 (now 87)
Atrocious Tales of Love and Death
Original Music Composer
Age 53 (now 87)
Mimì Bluette... Flower of My Garden
Music
Age 50 (now 87)
Paolo Barca, Elementary School Teacher, Practically a Nudist
Music
Age 48 (now 87)
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
Original Music Composer
Age 47 (now 87)
Hospitals: The White Mafia
Original Music Composer
Age 47 (now 87)
No, the Case Is Happily Resolved
Original Music Composer
Age 47 (now 87)
Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye
Original Music Composer
Age 47 (now 87)
A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die
Conductor
Age 46 (now 87) A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die
Original Music Composer
Age 46 (now 87)
Girolimoni, the Monster of Rome
Original Music Composer
Age 46 (now 87)
Seven Blood-Stained Orchids
Original Music Composer
Age 45 (now 87)
Confessions of a Police Captain
Original Music Composer
Age 45 (now 87)
With What Love, With How Much Love
Original Music Composer
Age 43 (now 87)
The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
Original Music Composer
Age 42 (now 87)
Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell
Original Music Composer
Age 42 (now 87)
The Girl Who Couldn't Say No
Original Music Composer
Age 42 (now 87)
The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom
Original Music Composer
Age 42 (now 87)
The Biggest Bundle of Them All
Original Music Composer
Age 41 (now 87)
On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...
Original Music Composer
Age 41 (now 87)
Special Code: Assignment Lost Formula
Music
Age 39 (now 87)
Ursus in the Valley of the Lions
Original Music Composer
Age 35 (now 87)
That Awful Mess on Via Merulana
Music
Age 57 (now 87)
Gathering insights...
Also Known As
Riziero Ortolani, Roger Higgins, Ritz Ortolani
IMDB
nm0006221