Marco Valsania Movies

Success brings one man's worst impulses to the surface in this drama based on a true story. Marco Baldini (Elio Germano) studied finance at the urging of his family and was expected to pursue a career in the banking industry, but his heart was never in it, and when he was offered a job as an announcer at a radio station in Milan, he jumped at the chance, despite the misgivings of his father (Antonio Buonomo). Baldini soon found himself teamed up with impulsive funnyman Rosario (Corrado Fortuna) on the station's morning show, and to his surprise he quickly becomes one of the nation's most popular on-air personalities. Baldini now has his afternoons and evenings free and an impressive salary, allowing him to indulge his passion for betting on the horses. But Baldini's luck with the ponies isn't very good, and the more he loses, the more he bets; before long, Baldini is no longer capable of covering his gambling debts, and turns to crime in a desperate effort to make up the difference. Il mattino ha l'oro in bocca (aka The Early Bird Catches The Worm) was based on the autobiography of radio personality Marco Baldini, in which he shared the behind-the-scenes story of his rise and fall in broadcasting in the early 1990's. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

To the public, Marco Baldini (Elio Germano) has virtually everything that one could want - including tremendous fame and a lucrative job as one of Italy's most sought-after radio hosts, in early 1980s Florence. In reality, his status and career convey little to him; he reels in his greatest charge after hours, from barside bets on horse races with punters. That hobby bears an unsurprising side effect: a massive tidal wave of gradually-accumulating debt that puts him in scalding water. For a time, the risk subsides when Baldini is summoned to a Milan-based job as a national DJ - with a much higher salary - that takes care of his debts and temporarily relieves the urge to put more on the line. But in time, Baldini heads straight back into the gambling cesspool. Director Francesco Patierno approaches the material not as a thriller (as one might expect) but as a biting, acerbic comedy. Laura Chiatti, Corrado Fortuna and Carlo Monni co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Directed by Carlo Mazzacurati, A Cavallo Della Tigre (Riding the Tiger) is a remake of Luigi Comencini's 1961 film of the same name. It begins in a Milanese parking lot where protagonist Guido (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) falls for Antonella (Paola Cortellesi), who works for a television show. After forming a fast partnership, the two combine wits in order to steal 190,000 dollars in a holdup, but the plan goes horribly askew, and Guido is sent to prison. While in jail, Guido becomes the target of a mean-spirited Turkish convict known among prisoners only as "Tiger" (Tuncel Kurtiz) and his flunkie (Boubker Rafik). When Guido inadvertently finds out about their escape plan, Tiger finds it necessary to have him transferred to his cell, where he can monitor Guido closely enough to ensure that his plans aren't revealed. Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, Guido is forced to escape along with them. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A pair of would-be criminals get more than they bargained for during a robbery of a Catholic church in this satiric comedy from Italy. Willy (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) is a salesman who has been fired from his job, while his friend Antonio (Antonio Albanese) is a football player whose career has hit the skids. Short on money and with no immediate prospects, Willy and Antonio decide to steal the donation box at a church in a prosperous neighborhood. The burglary turns disastrous, but as they flee, Antonio grabs a jeweled curio, which turns out to be a holy relic containing the tongue of Saint Antonio, the patron saint of the humble and needy. Thinking he may have found a gold mine, Antonio demands a ransom from the Vatican in exchange for the safe return of the tongue. When the church refuses to pay, the novice thieves pry some of the rubies from the relic and try to sell them to a pack of gypsies. But the gypsies turn out to be big fans of Saint Antonio, and are horrified when they discover the source of the jewels. Krondano (Toni Bertorelli), the gypsy leader, takes the story of the stolen relic to the media, who have a field day with it, and Maritan (Giulio Brogi), a successful businessman who believes he owes his good fortune to Saint Antonio, steps forward to offer a bounty for the safe recovery of the saint's tongue. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A best-selling French novel by Alina Reyes is the source for this erotic Italian drama that changes the novel's heroine from butcher-shop cashier to an art-gallery owner (Italian TV hostess Alba Parietti), married to a famed orchestra conductor (Lorenzo Majnoni). Her husband is away when her doctor tells her to eat more red meat. She visits the butcher (Yugoslav actor Miki Manojlovic), and a wild affair begins -- with explicit sex scenes intercutting concert-scene crescendos with orgasmic sighs and rhythms. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This road movie is the second feature spin-off from the popular Italian TV comedy series Never Say Goal. Three hardware store sales clerks (Aldo Baglio, Giovanni Storti, and Giacomo Poretti) travel from Milan to southern Puglia. Aldo and Giovanni are married to the daughters of their boss Eros (Carlo Croccolo), and Giacomo is on the brink of wedding the third. On the road, they carry Eros' pet dog and a valuable sculpture of a leg. Unfortunately, they accidentally kill the dog. After they pick up vacationing Chiara (Marina Massironi), Giacomo falls for her. There are more misadventures with the leg -- while Eros becomes furious over the delays. The film includes parody sequences satirizing vampire tales, gangster movies, and Italian neo-realism. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Fast-paced, funny and bursting with erotic joie-de-vivre, this outing from the always irreverent Catalan filmmaker Bigas Luna follows the lusty adventures of the bouncy Bambola and her peroxide-blond, gay brother Flavio. Their fun begins shortly after the death of their Mamma Greta, the owner of a ramshackle trattoria located beside the Po River on Italy's northern plains. Following the funeral, the two siblings decide to fix up the cafe, but first they need money. Their quest leads them to fatso financier Ugo. Barely able to control his lust for the buxom Bambola, he helps them, but when she starts batting eyes at the handsome swimmer Setimio (whom Flavio also desires), a tragedy ensues that results in Ugo's death and Setimio's incarceration. Brother and sister visit him in prison and one day, she attracts the attention of the beastly inmate Furio. Jealous of her relationship with Setimio, Furio orders him gang raped. The event is life changing for Setimio who suddenly looks at Flavio with new, wanting eyes. At the same time, Bambola goes to Furio's cell to engage in a fast, furious coupling that leaves her crazy for more. Upon his release, Furio heads for the trattoria to continue the affair. But trouble comes when Furio refuses to move the relationship beyond their beastly wrangling. He goes too far one night when he comes to bed with a live eel for Bambola to play with. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide