Dardano Sacchetti was born in Rome, Italy in 1944, and his fascination with cinema began at an early age, with American horror film imports being his introduction to the world of filmmaking. By the time he was 16, his favorite film was already "My Life to Live".
As a young adult, Sacchetti joined a local theater troupe, touring Italy, acting, and writing plays for their performances. It was during this time that he befriended prominent members of the Italian film industry, leading to opportunities to write screenplays for their films. In addition to his work in the film industry, Sacchetti also worked as a film critic for the newspaper "Cinema e Film".
In 1969, Sacchetti met Dario Argento, who was just beginning his directing career, and the two collaborated on several scripts that were never realized. However, after the success of Argento's "Bird with the Crystal Plumage", they worked together on the script for "Cat o Nine Tails". Sacchetti continued to work with Argento on several films, including "Inferno", "Demons", and "Demons 2".
Sacchetti's work also caught the attention of Mario Bava, who hired him to write the script for "Bay of Blood" in 1971. He continued to work with Bava until the director's death in 1980, also penning the scripts for "Shock" and "Anomalia", which was to be produced by Roger Corman before Bava's untimely death.
Sacchetti is perhaps best known for his work on Lucio Fulci's "Zombi 2" (1979),which he co-wrote with his wife Elisa Briganti, although she is not credited alongside him. Fulci also hired Sacchetti to write scripts for several other films, including "City of the Living Dead", "House by the Cemetary", "The Beyond", "The New York Ripper", and "Manhattan Baby".
In addition to his work with Argento, Fulci, and the Bavas, Sacchetti has also written scripts for other prominent Italian directors, including Umberto Lenzi, Ruggero Deodato, Stelvio Massi, Antonio Margheriti, Sergio Martino, and Damiano Damiani.
In recent years, Sacchetti's productivity has slowed due to the decline of the Italian film industry, but he continues to write scripts for Italian television and the occasional feature film. He also teaches screenwriting seminars at Florence's University's Faculty of Arts and writing courses at other schools, sharing his expertise with the next generation of screenwriters.
