Claudio Amendola Movies

Smitten Italian schoolgirl Melissa (María Valverde) falls into a dangerous cycle of sexual experimentation after developing a crush on a handsome classmate (Primo Reggiani) who uses her for sex. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmed in France, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, and Canada, this ambitious biographical TV miniseries chronicles the life and times of the "Little Corporal" from Corsica who managed to conquer nearly all of Europe within a period of a dozen years. The narrative begins in the mid-1790s, as Napoleon Bonaparte (played, curiously enough, by comic actor Christian Clavier) makes his mark on posterity with spectacular victories in Austria and Egypt. On the home front, Napoleon woos and wins the lovely (and considerably older) Josephine (Isabella Rossellini), but finds time for extracurricular romances with other women, notably Countess Marie Walewska (Alexandra Maria Lara). Ultimately, Bonaparte's ambitions destroy him, first in Russia, then at Waterloo, consigning the general-cum-emperor to live out his life in humiliation and exile. When originally broadcast in France in October 2002, Napoleon ran six hours (plus commercials), with four episodes. For its American presentation on the A&E cable network beginning April 8, 2003, the production was literally sliced in half, shown in two installments with a running time of three hours. What remained was all highlights and few insights, though a few brilliant moments remained, many of these supplied by the supporting cast, which included Gérard Depardieu (who also produced) as Fouche, and John Malkovich as Talleyrand. Thankfully, the full six-hour version was made available in the U.S. on DVD and VHS in 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this broad comedy from Italy, five buddies -- the owner of a cafe (Carlo Buccirosso), his best friend (Emilio Solfrizzi), a mama's boy schoolteacher (Gennaro Nunziante), a one-time professional soccer player (Claudio Amendola), and a bus driver (Alessandro Di Carlo) -- buy lottery tickets as a group, assuming that the more tickets they buy, the better their chances of winning, with the group sharing the prize if they hit the number. However, when their lucky day finally arrives and they have the right number for a $43 million jackpot, it's discovered that someone has pocketed the winning ticket and plans to keep the money for himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Veteran filmmaker Luigi Magni helms this gorgeously-photographed work set during the tumult of mid-19th century Rome. The film focuses on vivacious Cecilla (Lucrezia Lante Della Rovere), innkeeper and creator of renowned spaghetti, and on the Carbonari secret society that agitates against the Vatican for a unified Italy. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In 1974, many died when terrorists bombed the Piazza del Loggia in Brescia, Italy. The incident was part of a series of politically-motivated terrorist attacks (some of which may or may not have been covertly government sponsored) that threatened to tear Italy apart during the 1970s. Adapted from the events surrounding the Brescia bombing, this tense thriller begins almost 20 years afterward in the office of Claudia, a psychoanalyst whose sister was killed in the blast. Her newest client is Tancredi. He says that he is a journalist and that he suffers from having witnessed numerous atrocities in Bosnia. The events he describes sound just like those of Brescia, and Claudia, who still grieves for her sister, begins to wonder if Tancredi is telling the truth. Her investigation proves that he is lying, but it leads her to wonder why he has chosen her as his psychoanalyst. After talking to her husband, Claudia visits her old mentor who suggests she continue working with Tancredi but warns her not to call in the police. After that the story frequently jumps to 1998. By then Claudia and her newborn baby have become part of the witness protection program and she is preparing to testify against those involved in covering up government-sponsored terrorist activity. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A courageous man stands up to the Mafia and ends up paying a terrible price. This Italian drama is based on a true story and begins in 1990 when Milanese salesman Piero Nava witnesses the mob killing of a prominent magistrate. A man of integrity, Nava reports the crime and later testifies against the killers in court. In order to protect himself and his family, Nava enters the convoluted, bureaucratic government witness protection program. The traumatic experiences he suffers leaves the disillusioned Nava wondering whether he would have been better off remaining silent. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A police captain plays a mental game of cat and mouse with a convicted terrorist as they cross Italy in an armored car. The story is set in 1983 and takes place over a 24-hour period. The prisoner Braccio, serving the fourth year of a 30-year sentence, is told that he is going to Milan where he can spend one month visiting with his lover Giulia. His guard is known only as the Captain. As they travel, the kindly captain encourages Braccio to speak of the past and the events that led to his conviction. Braccio doesn't know that the Captain is really after the names of his former cohorts. Along the way, the two have several key encounters that eventually lead Braccio, who will get a reduced sentence if he rats, to make a painful decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this beautifully mounted historical drama, Angelo Pardi (Olivier Martinez), an Italian soldier, is fleeing his country in 1832. After the fall of Napoleon, Austria is swooping down on Italy to take control of the nation, and like many patriots, Pardi is hoping to escape to France and fight for their freedom abroad rather than submit to Austrian rule. However, as Pardi discovers upon arival, an epidemic of cholera is sweeping the land, leaving death in its wake and causing most people to be fearful of strangers, who may well be infected. As he tries to outrun a trio of mercenaries who have been hired to take him back to Italy, he finds himself accused by a group of villagers of infecting their water supply. Trying to escape would-be captors on all sides and searching for refuge in a rainstorm, Pardi finds a house and takes shelter inside. Unknown to Pardi, Pauline (Juliette Binoche), the lady of the house, is at home, but to his pleasant surprise, she welcomes him cordially rather than sending him away. It seems that Pauline's husband is missing, and as she desperately wants to find him and Pardi needs to escape to friendlier circumstances, they travel together through the French countryside, hoping to avoid both the disease and the tragedy travelling in its wake. Reportedly the most expensive French production ever made at the time of its release, Le Hussard Sur Le Toit (released in the United States as The Horseman on the Roof) was nominated for ten Cesar Awards (the French Oscar); it won two, for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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

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

Serafina, Pulcinella and Isabella are three lusty, beautiful members of a traveling theatrical troupe touring the French countryside in the 17th century, leaving in their wake a crop of broken hearts. This picaresque romantic comedy is based on the 1863 novel Le Capitaine Fracasse by Theophile Gauthier. In the story, the company stops at a castle owned by the scruffy young Baron de Sigognac (Vincent Perez), who is deeply smitten with the charms of the middle-aged (and somewhat morose) beauty Serafina (Ornella Muti). He decides to travel with the company, and Serafina perversely tries to get him to woo the youngest of the company, the newly bereaved Isabella (Emmanuelle Béart). When the company plays before a group of noblemen, the three women make yet more conquests, a few of them unwelcome, and a series of competitions and duels for the hearts of the lovely ladies follows, before everyone settles down with the "right" person. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Forever Mary was based on Aurelio Grimaldi's novel Mery Per Siempre, which was also the original Italian title of this powerfully gripping film. Michele Placido plays an idealistic teacher who goes to work at the Rosapina School, a hellhole boy's reformatory. Though almost overwhelmed by the hopelessness and pessimism surrounding him, Placido tries to introduce his classroom of habitual troublemakers to the glories of poetry and history. Some of the more intelligent students begin responding, but the system in which they are trapped is a crushing, debilitating one. Nearly defeated, Placido is about to ask for a transfer, but changes his mind upon realizing that he has come closer to reaching his charges than any of his predecessors. Offering no easy answers, and populated with some of most realistically pathetic hard-case types you're likely to see in a film of this nature, Forever Mary somehow ends on an inspiring (or at least hopeful) note. Filmed in 1989, Forever Mary received an American release three years later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi