Riz Ortolani - Riz Ortolani - The Essentials (2026)

The Essentials, released in 2026 by Cam Sugar and UME, is an authoritative cross-section of the fifty-year career of one of Italian cinema's most versatile and celebrated composers, Riz Ortolani (1926–2014). The compilation spans his work across exploitation cinema, giallo, mondo documentary, and crime thriller.
The collection opens with the main theme from Cannibal Holocaust (1980), directed by Ruggero Deodato — a darkly lyrical score that long ago attained cult status — before moving through reimagined gems from his earlier career: the exotic ethnographic tones of Malesia magica, the jazz-tinged idiom of Dino Risi's Il sorpasso (1962), and the romantic lightness of Appuntamento al mare. Pride of place goes to Modelle in Blu ("More"), co-written with Nino Oliviero for Mondo Cane (1962), the Grammy-winning theme that made Ortolani an international figure. The set also showcases his remarkable stylistic range: Italian funk-beat experiments (L'erotomane), disco-inflected pop (Don Getulio), symphonic tension (L'Etrusco Uccide Ancora), romantic orchestral writing (The Fifth Musketeer), and gothic horror atmosphere (La danza macabra). The vocal contribution of Katyna Ranieri — his wife and longtime artistic partner — on Il cappotto di legno, along with a collaboration with Benny Goodman and the driving disco of Charlie's Do It To Me, round out a portrait of a composer of extraordinary breadth. Mastered from the original CAM Sugar archives, the majority of the tracks appear in editions remastered in 2021–2022.

Tracklist:
1-1 Riz Ortolani - Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme / From "Cannibal Holocaust" Soundtrack) [2:57]
1-2 Riz Ortolani - Il sorpasso - M22 (From "Il sorpasso" / Remastered 2022) [1:47]
1-3 Riz Ortolani - La donna malese (From "Malesia magica" / Remastered 2021) [2:57]
1-4 Riz Ortolani - Appuntamento al mare (From "Le ore nude" / Remastered 2022) [2:30]
1-5 Riz Ortolani - Baci a Parigi (From "La donna nel mondo" / Remastered 2021) [2:31]
1-6 Riz Ortolani;Nino Oliviero - More - Modelle in blu (From "Mondo Cane" / Remastered 2021) [3:50]
1-7 Riz Ortolani - Le streghe (From "Il mondo di notte n. 3" / Remastered 2021) [1:39]
1-8 Riz Ortolani - L'Etrusco Uccide Ancora, Seq. 1 (Titoli) (From The "L'Etrusco Uccide Ancora" Soundtrack) [3:06]
1-9 Riz Ortolani;Benny Goodman - Phantom Of Love (Main Title) [2:42]
1-10 Riz Ortolani - La faccia violenta di New York (Pt. 5 / From "La Faccia violenta di New York" Soundtrack) [1:52]
1-11 Riz Ortolani - Main Title (From The "Si Può Essere Più Bastardi Dell’Ispettore Cliff?" Soundtrack) [2:03]
1-12 Riz Ortolani - L'erotomane (From "L'erotomane" Soundtrack / Beat) [2:50]
1-13 Riz Ortolani - Don Getulio (From "Non faccio la guerra faccio l'amore" Soundtrack / Versione disco) [2:21]
1-14 Riz Ortolani - The Fifth Musketeer (Seq. 1) (From "Il quinto moschettiere" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [4:13]
1-15 Riz Ortolani - Decimazione amanti (From "Paolo Barca, maestro elementare, praticamente nudista" Soundtrack) [2:06]
1-16 Riz Ortolani;Katyna Ranieri - Il cappotto di legno (From "Il cappotto di legno" / Remastered 2022) [1:29]
1-17 Riz Ortolani;Charlie - Do It To Me (From "La casa sperduta nel parco" Soundtrack) [5:27]
1-18 Riz Ortolani - Miele di donna (From "Miele di donna" Soundtrack / Titoli) [3:07]
1-19 Riz Ortolani - Contact (From ''Contratto carnale'' Soundtrack / Pt. 1) [2:27]
1-20 Riz Ortolani - La danza macabra, Seq. 12 (From "La danza macabra") [2:47]