R.I.P. Ermanno Curti

Ermanno Curti might not be the best known of figures in the English speaking world, but he was a hugely significant figure in the history of Italian genre cinema.  As well as being a producer – he was the mover and shaker behind most of Fernando Di Leo’s films, including the trilolgia della mala (Calibre 9, The Boss and Manhunt) as well as a handful of other films such as Star Pilot (66) and Liberi, armati, pericolosi (76) – he was also an important distributor.  He founded Milanese production company Daunia 70in the early 70s, which later became Gruppo Minerva International, and later becoming an honourary president of Minerva Pictures / RaroVideo in the 2000s (which explains why most of his films were released by Raro on DVD).  He was married for many years to Eleonora Ruffo, and died on August the 18th.