Lidia Mancinelli Movies
- 1986
One of the more difficult docudramas to come out of Italy in recent years, this is a fictionalized account of the murders that occurred in Florence once a year between 1970 and 1985. The difficulty lies in the fact that the movie was made without the criminal ever being caught. And so the director and writer do not have any idea who he is and have to postulate a young killer whose problems started in early childhood because of a traumatic sexual encounter he witnessed. This serial killer only murders lovers. Another difficulty lies in the fact that the victims' families understandably do not want their slain sons and daughters represented as gory corpses, or in the process of dying. Director Cesare Ferrario has therefore had to tone down his film, and trace the story by focusing mainly on the first and last murders. A fictional reporter named Andreas Ackermann (Leonard Mann) is followed as he tracks down leads in the developing story. The monster in fact turned out to be more than one man. In March, 1998, a 70-year-old ex-postal worker named Mario Vanni was sentenced to life imprisonment for five of the total of 8 double murders committed by the "monster of Florence." At the same time, 58-year-old Giancarlo Lotti was given 30 years for participating in the last four double murders. A third man was acquitted and a fourth convicted but then later released for lack of sufficient evidence. The last man, Pietro Pacciani, died in 1998 at the age of 73. All four men were friends. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonard Mann, Lidia Mancinelli, (more)
- 1973
The "Hamlet" in this well-mounted Italian spoof is the Danish prince, not a small town or village. The movie irreverently draws on both the Shakespeare play and the 1877 story by Jules Laforgue. In the story, Hamlet (Carmelo Bene) is a would-be playwright. He suffers from inept Freudian analysis by Polonius (Pippo Tuminelli), and Ophelia and Gertrude (Isabella Russo & Luciana Cante) are women conjured up in his erotic imagination. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This experimental film by the maverick Italian director Carmelo Bene is a free adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play Salome and is even more irreverent than the original. In this film, Bene carries the New Testament story beyond the incident with Herod, and pictures Christ nailing himself to the cross, unable (of course) to finish the task. This film uses many musical and filmic special effects and includes at least one pornographic sequence and a number of sadistic ones. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
This odd 1970 production is not, repeat not the famous opera by Wolfgang Mozart. In fact, it is a highly mannered (some would say pretentious) dig at the legend of the infamous "swordsman" and duellist, Don Juan, complete with bombastic music composed especially for the movie. Artful intercutting and other effects combine with a psychologically oriented story to delve deep into the inner workings of a man the director clearly thinks is very complex, very deep. The director himself plays the lead, and reviewers were not kind in their remarks about either his film or his acting. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmelo Bene, Lidia Mancinelli, (more)
- 1968
Independent filmmaker Carmelo Bene makes his debut in this feature that concerns the murder of the Saracens in the city of Otranto centuries ago. Our Lady appears at various time in the film, symbolic of the carnal desires and spiritual dreams of all men. Flashbacks and avant garde cinematic techniques provide passages of erotica and black humor on occasion. The story was taken from Bene's own novel as the author oversees all aspects of writing, production and direction in this experimental and provocative film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmelo Bene, Lidia Mancinelli, (more)
