Ugo Conti Movies
- 2003
Italian filmmaker Luca Barbareschi co-writes, directs, and stars in the political comedy Il Trasformista (The Chameleon). Family man Augusto Vigno (Barbareschi) is a small business owner in northern Italy. While participating in a local environmental protest, he is picked up by influential government dealers who clean him up and prepare him for office. He finds his idealistic values compromised by the big-time political scene in Rome and the advances of a single woman (Catherine Wilkening). The Chameleon was shown at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival as part of the Horizons program. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Luca Barbareschi, Rocco Papaleo, (more)
- 2002
Directed by Gabriele Salvatores, Amnesia takes place in the Spanish island of Ibiza, where an odd mix of commercialism, ex-hippies, fisherman, and artists co-exist. Town locals Sandro (Diego Abatantunono), a pornographic film director, and Angelino (Sergio Rubini), the manager of a beachside watering hole, find their very different lives overlapping. Meanwhile, the island police chief (Juanjo Puigcorbe), who is currently at odds with his rebellious son Jorge (Ruben Ochandiano), is investigating the death of a drug dealer (which was accidentally brought on by Angelino). Jorge's plans to move to America have so far been thwarted by his father, but when he finds out about the affair his dad had been having with a male nightclub dancer, he uses it as blackmail fodder.
~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Sergio Rubini, (more)
- 2000
Francesco Calogero directs this crime thriller about erratic behavior brought on by a tedious, stressful job. Irascible Paolo (Diego Abatantuono) constantly clashes with his fellow security guards. One night, after loudly arguing with someone else, Paolo discovers one of his colleagues shot dead in front of the home of a gorgeous Russian woman (Anna Safroncik) -- the same woman whom he has been quietly stalking for months. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Flavio Insinna, (more)
This Italian road comedy gets a jump-start when unemployed Dominico (Silvio Orlando) robs a bank, taking businessman Tommaso (Diego Abatantuono) hostage. Since debt-plagued Tommaso has a dead-end marriage, he takes advantage of the situation, leaking news of his abduction in a diversion tactic that sends police hunting in Switzerland. He then steers Domenico to Puglia, past plains of cactus, volcanic vistas, red cliffs, and salt fields. In Taranto, Tommaso romances Orfeo (Flavio Insinna), but the arrival of his daughter Rita (Valentina Cervi) creates problems for the secret lovers. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Silvio Orlando, (more)
- 1997
- PG
In a northern Italian province, townspeople prepare for the wedding of wealthy, balding businessman Edgardo (Dario Cantarelli) and beautiful Francesca (Ines Sastre), pressured into marriage by her family. Angelo (Diego Abantantuono), who went to America when he was young, returns with a fortune. When Francesca sees him, she realizes she can't marry Edgardo. She flees the altar, is talked into returning, secretly says her vows as though marrying the stranger, and then later reveals this secret to him, saying, "You came to save me." Angelo tells her the facts behind his wealth; he was a failure in America, inheriting his fortune from his dying brother. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival, this film was a Golden Globe nominee and Italy's submission to the 1998 Academy Awards. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Ines Sastre, (more)
- 1997
This Italian crime drama, based on the book Io il Tebano (I, the Theban) by Antonio Carlucci and Paolo Rossetti, alters names in dramatizing the lives of real-life Milan gangsters. In prison in 1980, Michele Croce (Claudio Amendola) tells his story to an investigator as he looks back on his life, seen in flashbacks. Avoiding a regular job, the kid from Southern Italy teamed with his buddy Salvatore (Tony Sperandeo) to pull off small-time crimes, aggressively edging his way to the top of the heap as one of Milan's main gangsters. Independent Italian producer Claudio Bonivento turned to directing with this film. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Claudio Amendola, Ennio Fantastichini, (more)
- 1996
- R
A young woman discovers the joys of independence and single living in this frothy Italian comedy. While their neighbors look on with interest, Margherita is first seen breaking up with Riccardo. While she then moves to a friends empty apartment on the bad side of Rome, Riccardo happily gets involved with the ditzy Titti. Margherita's new neighborhood is a cesspool of crime. One night she drives home from the shopping mall where she works and is nearly attacked by two bikers. Fortunately, they see the department store dummy she has stashed in the backseat, mistake it for a man, and race away. She tells no one her secret and soon all her friends begin believing that Margherita has a new man, whom she calls Bruno. This leads real manly prospects to slowly come her way, including Riccardo. But does she really want another man in her life, or is Bruno enough? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
A computer virus endows Solo (Diego Abatantuono), the hero of a virtual reality game, with human consciousness, thereby creating all kinds of headaches for his creator Jimi (Christopher Lambert). The trouble begins in the futuristic metropolis of Northern Agglomerate three days before Christmas. With little time left, video-game designer Jimi has no choice but to give his newest game, "Nirvana," to his powerful bosses. Unfortunately, the virus strikes just before the deadline. At first Solo doesn't know he is a graphic image, but when he finds out, he fervently pleads with Jimi to destroy every existent copy of the game so that he will not have to live the same sequence of events over and over for eternity. Jimi, vulnerable after the mysterious and sudden disappearance of his lover Lisa (Emmanuelle Seigner), agrees to honor Solo's wishes, but is unable to simply erase the program because his every move, on and off the job, is monitored by a giant, Orwellian computer. He therefore takes off for the Arab quarter and enlists the aid of two hackers, Joystick (Sergio Rubini), an expert at sabotaging databases, and Naima (Stefania Rocca), a woman with the skills to destroy the prototype of the computer game. With the company's henchmen hot on their heels, the threesome set off on a colorful journey through real and virtual worlds to destroy Solo before it is too late. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Diego Abatantuono, (more)
- 1995
Some things never change as this Italian comedy which spoofs government corruption, sports, night clubs, and the Mafia, amply proves. It is set in Rome, circa 71 B.C. and features comic actor Leslie Nielsen as a character similar to those in his Naked Gun series. Just as magistrate Antonio Servilio is arriving in Rome filled with ambition. Whilst travelling via the Appian Way, his chariot is run into by the chariot of Cesare Atticus, a dishonest senator with a love of women. So begins the grudge between the two who with every meeting find reasons to despise each other further. Judge Servilio places Atticus under observation after he receives evidence and information from Atticus's former mistress of his dishonest dealings. To discredit the magistrate, Atticus enlists the help of right-winger Cinico who sets the judge up with a buxom beauty who involves him in an orgy. The publicly humiliated Servilio is banished to Sicily where he encounters the early Mafia. Eventually Servilio and Atticus join forces to expose Cinico, the real villain. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1995
In this quirky comedy, a farmer living in a remote, primitive Mexican village finds a downed plane and assumes the fine, white powder inside is fertilizer. The tale begins as the villagers are celebrating a football victory with their star soccer player, Quintino, who scored the winning goal. The town leaders hold a meeting and then sternly instruct Quintino to go home and rest before the next big game. Unfortunately, when Quintino meets the coach's lovely daughter, he and she end up spending the entire night making mad love. The day of the big game arrives; because there is no lime available to mark the field boundaries, the villagers convince the cranky farmer, Don Alvaro, to donate some of his white fertilizer. The exhausted Quintino arrives and tries to play. He does terribly until he falls face first and gets a snootful of "fertilizer." Suddenly he is tremendously energetic and runs off to win the game. Later, he convinces Alvaro to show him where the plane went down. Real trouble ensues when the inept drug lord, the pilot, a petty drug dealer, and the federal police come to town. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1995
Four hard-working, under-appreciated waiters must deal with the rude, demanding middle-class at a wedding anniversary in this Italian comedy. The story is set at Eden, a run-down restaurant that has just been bought by Azzaro. The restaurant staff do not know whether or not they will still have jobs. The new owner brings his family, friends, and some cheesy musicians to celebrate his parent's 50th wedding anniversary. These nouveau riche, who outwardly seem so refined, quickly reveal their true nature once the party gets started. The new boss is a boor, and his father an adulterer, whose wife is severely depressed and becomes increasingly morose. The four waiters have their own problems. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1994
This Italian heist-comedy movie is a revision of Mario Monicelli's 1958 film Big Deal on Madonna Street. This version is set in modern Milan. TV technicians Fabio and Enzo have been unable to find decent jobs. They decide to crack a safe at a Tony Milan jewelry store instead. To help them they enlist a beautiful but unsophisticated young woman to get the layout of the store. To help them find underground access to the store, they get help from a sewage worker. Finally to disarm the store alarms, they find an obese trapeze artist. A clever hotelier is also involved. Will they succeed? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Claudio Amendola, Monica Bellucci, (more)
- 1994
- R
This feel-good movie, which offers American audiences spectacular views of Central European landscapes, uses gentle humor to tell the story of two common men who place themselves in an uncommon situation. Franco, a recently laid-off co-op stud farmer whose company jilted him out of his settlement money, returns to break into the main offices to look for proof that he was wronged. Instead he ends up stealing their prize bull Corinto with the thought of selling Corinto for a great profit in Hungary. Franco enlists the aid of his quiet friend Loris. Together the three set off on their obstacle-filled journey. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Roberto Citran, (more)
Thriller about a new prosecuting magistrate in Sicily, who replaces his assassinated predecessor only to find himself the new target of corrupt killers within the government. Score by Ennio Morricone. ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi
- Starring:
- Claudio Amendola, Enrico Lo Verso, (more)
- 1991
- R
Gabriele Salvatores' antiwar story Mediterraneo is set during World War II on a seemingly deserted island in the middle of the Aegean Sea. After their ship is sunk by the British, a unit of Italian soldiers finds refuge on the island, where they soon realize that the area is not deserted after all--its citizens have merely gone into hiding after believing they were under German attack; indeed, the Germans have already imprisoned all of the village's young men. As the brigade of soldiers, led by one Lt. Montini (Claudio Bigagli), becomes ingrained into island life, they begin repainting the church's frescoes, starting soccer teams, even finding romance. Time passes until an Italian pilot (Antonio Catania) touches down on the island, and relates the news of the world since the soldiers' arrival in 1941. Ultimately, a British rescue party comes for the soldiers, bringing with them the men who were captured by the Germans years before. Four decades later, Montini returns, re-joining the few other men who could not bring themselves to leave their island refuge. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Claudio Bigagli, (more)
- 1990
Dario (Diego Abatantuono) is a lively, loyal friend, and a good trouper who can recover cheerfully from even the worst onstage disasters. He needs to be, because he is constantly onstage with his best friend Federico (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), who is a barely adequate actor. In everyday life, Federico somewhat timid and unassertive. It's too bad that Dario is having an affair with Federico's wife, but in every other regard, Dario works hard to look after his friend while they are on tour together, playing shows in one small town after another. When Federico discovers the ruse, at first he is hurt, but in the end, both men have become disgusted with Federico's wife's inability to choose between them. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, (more)
- 1989
Caterina (Isabella Ferrari) grieves for her father who died in Brussels when British soccer fans from Liverpool rioted in 1985. In a vivid, reoccurring nightmare, she sees her father and sees the murderer administer the deadly blow. When she is visited by a Liverpool police inspector (John Steiner), he shows her pictures of suspects and points out the killer with absolute certainty. She drives her late father's car to Liverpool to seek vengeance in this uneven melodrama. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Isabella Ferrari, John Steiner, (more)
