# Riz Ortolani

Riziero Ortolani (Italian pronunciation:; 25 March 1926 – 23 January 2014) was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. 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 scores, notably his music for mondo, giallo, horror, and Spaghetti Western films. His 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 received many other accolades, including four David di Donatello Awards, three Nastro d'Argento Awards, and a Golden Globe Award 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, 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.

## 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'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.

## Death

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

## Selected filmography

| Year | Film | Directed by | Singles | Latest CD / Digital Release |
| 1961 | Ursus in the Valley of the Lions | Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia | | Digitmovies / CDDM209 / 2012 |
| 1962 | Mondo Cane | Paolo Cavara, Franco Prosperi, Gualtiero Jacopetti | | CAM Sugar / 2021 |
| 1962 | Il Sorpasso | Dino Risi | | Milan / 399 552-2 / 2014 |
| 1962 | Mediterranean Holiday | Hermann Leitner, Rudolf Nussgruber | | Avanz Records / SP/CR-20049 / 2009 |
| 1963 | The Fall of Rome | Antonio Margheriti | | |
| 1963 | The Virgin of Nuremberg | Antonio Margheriti | | Quartet Records / QR231 / 2016 |
| 1963 | Three Ruthless Ones | Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent | | Beat Records / CDCR148 / 2023 |
| 1964 | Castle of Blood | Antonio Margheriti, Sergio Corbucci | | Digitmovies / CDDM242 / 2014 |
| 1964 | Old Shatterhand | Hugo Fregonese | | |
| 1964 | Brandy (film) | José Luis Borau, Mario Caiano | | |
| 1964 | The 7th Dawn | Lewis Gilbert | | Film Score Monthly / FSM BOX 03 / 2008 |
| 1964 | The Yellow Rolls-Royce | Anthony Asquith | | Quartet Records / SCE061 / 2013 |
| 1964 | The Naked Hours | Marco Vicario | | CAM Sugar / Digital / 2022 |
| 1965 | The Glory Guys | Arnold Laven | | Film Score Monthly / FSM BOX 03 / 2008 |
| 1965 | Red Dragon | Ernst Hofbauer | | |
| 1965 | Berlin, Appointment for the Spies | Vittorio Sala | | Saimel Bandas Sonoras / 3998911 / 2009 |
| 1966 | Africa Addio | Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | Melody / ARG 196: Africa Addio / Cape Town | Master Classics Records / 2011 |
| 1966 | Lightning Bolt | Antonio Margheriti | | |
| 1966 | Maya | John Berry | | |
| 1966 | The Spy with a Cold Nose | Daniel Petrie | | |
| 1966 | Make Love, Not War | Franco Rossi | CAM / AMP 13: Non Faccio La Guerra, Faccio L'Amore (3:50) / Don Getulio (2:21) | Digitmovies / DGST044 / 2019 |
| 1967 | Requiescant | Carlo Lizzani | | Beat Records / CDCR148 / 2023 |
| 1967 | Woman Times Seven | Vittorio De Sica | | Quartet Records / SCE061 / 2013 |
| 1967 | Tiffany Memorandum | Sergio Grieco | | Beat Records / CFS007 / 2023 |
| 1967 | The Chastity Belt | Pasquale Festa Campanile | CAM / AMP 30: Le Notti Di Tobia / Tema D'Amore | Digitmovies / CDDM275 / 2014 |
| 1967 | Day of Anger | Tonino Valerii | | GDM / GDM 2076 / 2006 |
| 1968 | The Biggest Bundle of Them All | Ken Annakin | | Chapter III Records / CH 37503-2 / 2001 |
| 1968 | Sardinia Kidnapped | Gianfranco Mingozzi | | GDM / GDM 4313 / 2013 |
| 1968 | Bandits in Milan | Carlo Lizzani | | |
| 1968 | Beyond the Law | Giorgio Stegani | | GDM / GDM 2085 / 2007 |
| 1968 | Anzio | Edward Dmytryk, Duilio Coletti | | |
| 1968 | The Girl Who Couldn't Say No | Franco Brusati | | GDM / GDM 4340 / 2014 |
| 1968 | The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom | Joseph McGrath | | |
| 1968 | Emma Hamilton | Christian-Jaque | | GDM / CD CLUB 7077 / 2010 |
| 1968 | Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell | Melvin Frank | | |
| 1968 | Dead Men Don't Count | Rafael Romero Marchent | | |
| 1968 | The Last Roman | Robert Siodmak, Sergiu Nicolaescu/ Andrew Marton (2nd unit) | | |
| 1969 | One on Top of the Other | Lucio Fulci | | Beat Records Company / CDCR 134 / 2017 |
| 1969 | So Sweet... So Perverse | Umberto Lenzi | | Quartet Records / QR481 / 2022 |
| 1969 | Night of the Serpent | Giulio Petroni | | Digitmovies / CDDM145 / 2009 |
| 1969 | Viva Cangaceiro | Giovanni Fago | | Beat Records / CDCR148 / 2023 |
| 1970 | Andrea Doria-74 | Bruno Vailati | | Quartet Records / QR385 / 2019 |
| 1970 | The Unholy Four | Enzo Barboni | | |
| 1970 | Invasion | Yves Allégret | | Quartet Records / QR443 / 2021 |
| 1970 | A Girl Called Jules | Tonino Valerii | | GDM / GDM 4340 / 2014 |
| 1970 | Un caso di coscienza | Giovanni Grimaldi | | CF Soundtracks / CFS003 / 2019 |
| 1970 | The Adventures of Gerard | Jerzy Skolimowski | | |
| 1970 | Say Hello to Yesterday | Alvin Rakoff | | |
| 1970 | The McKenzie Break | Lamont Johnson | | |
| 1970 | Madron | Jerry Hopper | | |
| 1970 | The Lovemakers | Giovanni Grimaldi | | Digitmovies / CDDM266 / 2014 |
| 1971 | Confessions of a Police Captain | Damiano Damiani | | Quartet Records / QR566 / 2025 |
| 1971 | The Hunting Party | Don Medford | | |
| 1971 | Web of the Spider | Antonio Margheriti | | Quartet Records / QR467 / 2021 |
| 1971 | Goodbye Uncle Tom | Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | RCA / SS-2160: Oh My Love (2:48) / Addio Zio Tom (2:32) | Quartet Records / QR564 / 2024 |
| 1971 | Il merlo maschio | Pasquale Festa Campanile | CAM / AMP 93: Il Merlo Maschio (2:08) / Fotografie (3:06) | Digitmovies / CDDM266 / 2014 |
| 1971 | The Statue | Rod Amateau | | Quartet Records / QR205 / 2015 |
| 1972 | Do Not Commit Adultery | Giulio Petroni | | CF Soundtracks / CFS003 / 2019 |
| 1972 | Seven Blood-Stained Orchids | Umberto Lenzi | | |
| 1972 | The Dead Are Alive | Armando Crispino | | Digitmovies / CDDM250 / 2014 |
| 1972 | Shadows Unseen | Camillo Bazzoni | | |
| 1972 | The Assassin of Rome | Damiano Damiani | | |
| 1972 | Don't Torture a Duckling | Lucio Fulci | | Beat Records / CDCR 134 / 2017 |
| 1972 | A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die | Tonino Valerii | | Digitmovies / CDDM293 / 2018 |
| 1972 | The Valachi Papers | Terence Young | | |
| 1972 | Brother Sun, Sister Moon | Franco Zeffirelli | | |
| 1973 | One Russian Summer | Antonio Calenda | | |
| 1973 | Dear Parents | Enrico Maria Salerno | | GDM / CD CLUB 7077 / 2010 |
| 1973 | Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye | Antonio Margheriti | | |
| 1973 | Super Bitch | Massimo Dallamano | CAM / AMP 116: L'Intoccabile Mr. Cliff (3:26) / Love Break (1:55) | Chris' Soundtrack Corner / CSC 024 / 2018 |
| 1973 | Hospitals: The White Mafia | Luigi Zampa | CAM / AMP 114: Mafia Bianca (2:55) / Joe 5 (2:41) | GDM / GDM 4313 / 2013 |
| 1973 | No, the Case Is Happily Resolved | Vittorio Salerno | | |
| 1973 | Counselor at Crime | Alberto de Martino | | Chris' Soundtrack Corner / CSC 009 / 2011 |
| 1973 | Contact | Giorgio Bontempi | CAM / AMP 123: Contact (2:26) / Fei Nye Mi (4:40) | Quartet Records / QR240 / 2016 |
| 1973 | One Way | Jorge Darnell | | Beat Records / BCM 9515 / 2012 |
| 1973 | Teresa the Thief | Carlo Di Palma | | |
| 1973 | Mean Frank and Crazy Tony | Michele Lupo | | |
| 1973 | War Goddess | Terence Young | CineDisc / M-19: Una Ragione Per Vivre (3:38) / La Battaglia Delle Amazzoni (3:09) | Quartet Records / QRSCE029 / 2011 |
| 1974 | There Is No 13 | William Sachs | CAM / AMP 142: There Is No 13 (3:08) / 13th Floor (2:14) | |
| 1975 | How to Kill a Judge | Damiano Damiani | | |
| 1975 | Mondo Candido | Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | Seven Seas / FM-1087: Un Amore Cosi Tenero (3:05) / Mondo Candido (2:46) | Dagored / Red 113-2 / 2000 |
| 1975 | Portrait of a Veiled Woman | Flaminio Bollini | | Beat Records / BCM 9579 / 2017 |
| 1976 | Submission | Salvatore Samperi | | |
| 1977 | Death Steps in the Dark | Maurizio Pradeaux | | |
| 1977 | Casanova & Co. | Franz Antel as Francois Legrand | | |
| 1977 | I Am Afraid | Damiano Damiani | | |
| 1977 | The Pyjama Girl Case | Flavio Mogherini | | Quartet Records / QR155 / 2014 |
| 1977 | Sahara Cross | Tonino Valerii | | Volcano / CPC8-1216 / 2003 |
| 1977 | Double Murder | Steno | | |
| 1978 | Red Rings of Fear | Alberto Negrin | | |
| 1978 | First Love | Dino Risi | | |
| 1978 | Gegè Bellavita | Pasquale Festa Campanile | | Digitmovies / DGST046 / 2019 |
| 1978 | Cyclone | René Cardona Jr. | | |
| 1978 | Brutes and Savages | Arthur Davis | | Quartet Records / QR527 / 2023 |
| 1979 | Tigers in Lipstick | Luigi Zampa | | |
| 1979 | The Fifth Musketeer | Ken Annakin | | Quartet Records / QR268 / 2017 |
| 1979 | Neapolitan Mystery | Sergio Corbucci | | |
| 1979 | Mimi | Florestano Vancini | | Digitmovies / DGST048 / 2019 |
| 1979 | From Hell to Victory | Umberto Lenzi | | Beat Records / CDCR 118 / 2012 |
| 1980 | Cannibal Holocaust | Ruggero Deodato | | Beat Records / DDJ 047 / 2019 |
| 1980 | House on the Edge of the Park | Ruggero Deodato | | Beat Records Company / BCM 9586 / 2020 |
| 1981 | Madhouse | Luigi Zampa | | |
| 1981 | Help Me Dream | Ovidio G. Assonitis | | |
| 1981 | Fantasma d'amore | Dino Risi | WEA / PROMO 129: Phantom Of Love (2:38) / Unforgettable Love (3:16) | Quartet Records / QR241 / 2016 |
| 1981 | Nessuno è perfetto | Pasquale Festa Campanile | aka Nobody's Perfect | Beat Records / DDJ059 / 2023 |
| 1982 | The Girl from Trieste | Pasquale Festa Campanile | | Beat Records / CDCR145 / 2021 |
| 1982 | Valentina, Crónica del Alba (part 1) | Antonio José Betancor | | Quartet Records / QR239 / 2016 |
| 1983 | Zeder | Pupi Avati | | GDM / 4334 / 2021 |
| 1983 | 1919, Crónica del Alba | Antonio José Betancor | | Quartet Records / QR239 / 2016 |
| 1984 | Warriors of the Year 2072 | Lucio Fulci | | Beat Records Company / BCM 9586 / 2020 |
| 1984 | Tuareg – The Desert Warrior | Enzo G. Castellari | | GDM / 4336 / 2014 |
| 1984 | A Proper Scandal | Pasquale Festa Campanile | | Cinevox / CD OST-PK 037 / 2018 |
| 1985 | Miranda | Tinto Brass | | |
| 1986 | The Inquiry | Damiano Damiani | | Digitmovies / CDDM279 / 2016 |
| 1987 | Capriccio | Tinto Brass | | |
| 1987 | The Last Minute | Pupi Avati | | |
| 1989 | Killer Crocodile | Fabrizio De Angelis | | Kronos Records / KRONCD020 / 2013 |
| 1989 | Massacre Play | Damiano Damiani | | |
| 1990 | The Dark Sun | Damiano Damiani | | Beat Records / BCM9614 / 2023 |
| 1991 | Paprika | Tinto Brass | | |
| 1992 | Angel with a Gun | Damiano Damiani | | Beat Records / BCM9614 / 2023 |
| 1993 | Magnificat | Pupi Avati | | GDM / GDM 4338 / 2014 |
| 1994 | The Voyeur | Tinto Brass | | |
| 1994 | Nefertiti, figlia del sole | Guy Gilles | | |
| 2007 | The Hideout | Pupi Avati | | |
| 2010 | A Second Childhood | Pupi Avati | | |