Riz Ortolani Biography

Riz (Riziero) Ortolani (September, 4th, 1931 in Pesaro, Italy) is an Italian film composer.

In the early 1950s Ortolani was founder and member of a jazz band of national Italian renown. His first score he wrote for the 1962 Gualtiero Jacopetti pseudo-documentary Mondo Cane, whose main title-song More earned him a Grammy and also was nominated for an Oscar as Best Song. Another world famous track was his main-title for the movie O' Cangaceiro (1970).

Ortolani scored all or parts of over 200 films, including German westerns like Apache's Last Battle (Old Shatterhand, 1964) and a long series of Italian giallo, exploitation and mondo films.

Other films he has worked on include Il Sorpasso (1962), Io ho paura (1977), Danza macabra (1964), Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso (1972), Africa addio (1966), Addio Zio Tom (1971), and the infamous Cannibal Holocaust (1980).

Scores of Riz Ortolani have recently been featured in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)