Carla Gravina Movies

The seemingly endless chain of assassinations of judges who seek to end (or at least curtail) the pervasiveness of organized crime and deep corruption in Italian political life, is the topic of this political thriller. As the film opens, Carla (Carla Gravina) is the gynecologist wife of a judge (Jacques Perrin) who is determined to prosecute the country's gang lords with the help of an informant. His life is constantly under threat. Despite the pervasive presence of police bodyguards, the inevitable happens, and he and his informant are killed. Carla, infused with his mission and angry at his death, takes the notes he had hidden and contacts the widow of the informer. With that material, she produces a television documentary featuring the widows of assassinated judges. Of course, this puts her and many others in danger also. Despite this, it begins to appear that she has roused the women of the country to action. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Perhaps a little over-ambitious for the casual audience unfamiliar with the Italian world of entertainment and politics, La Terrazza involves a total of eight main protagonists and how they have changed or are changing. All eight are sitting on a terrace talking, while flashbacks and flashforwards fill in their past, present, and future relationships. Enrico (Jean-Louis Tritignant) is a burnt-out screenwriter, Amedeo (Ugo Tognazzi) is a self-made producer, Mario (Vittorio Gassman) is a communist member of parliament who is having an affair with the married Giovanna (Stefania Sandrelli) and is otherwise having a hard time trying to tow the tough, virtuous line the party demands. Giovanna, as well as the other women on the terrace, have all the spirit of people looking forward to the future while the men have been there and found it wanting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Alain Delon stars in this French/Italian prison-break film. When his son is falsely imprisoned, Delon contrives to bust the boy out. As the title indicates, what comes around goes around in this tense programmer. Delon also cowrote and co-produced. The film was released in Europe as Comme Un Boomerang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alberto De Martino's imitative occult horror film, photographed by Aristide Massaccesi (aka Joe D'Amato), is probably the best of numerous Italian copies of The Exorcist which flooded theaters in the mid-1970s. Carla Gravina stars as Hipolita, a paralyzed young woman with serious mental problems stemming from the death of her mother. Her crisis of faith and the intervention of a well-meaning psychologist lead Hipolita to remember her past life as a witch during the Inquisition. Eventually, Hipolita becomes possessed and starts seducing local men, only to break their necks. Eventually, she sleeps with her brother, makes a local sorceror lick vomit from her hand, and levitates out the window. It takes an exorcism performed by an aging monk (George Coulouris) and the family housekeeper (Alida Valli) to restore order. De Martino and the talented cast manage a few chilling moments despite the predictable storyline, and Gravina is quite good in the lead. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Murder, industrial espionage, political intrigue and Jean-Paul Belmondo are the strengths of this French thriller. Cordell (Belmondo) is the heir of a French industrialist, who dies in an air crash. When someone almost succeeds in framing Cordell with a case of drugs, he begins to suspect that his father's death was not accidental. He hires a private detective and finds that a reporter working for his father's magazine (one of the many companies he owned) was looking into plans by another multinational to take over the company. Also, Cordell's father-in-law, a former Italian fascist, may not have given up his old loyalties. As these facts emerge, his enemies become even more determined to get him out of the way. This film caused some controversy in France where it was viewed as a sharp commentary on the society by the director, a former journalist. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The progressive transformation of a young industrialist's heir from youthful radicalism to compliance with the system is the theme of this Italian film by first-time director Massimo Antonelli. The most interesting thing about this film is the number and range of traditional and experimental filmmaking techniques it uses, along with its unusual soundtrack. The story is told using fantasy episodes and footage of bloody strikes interspersed with more down-to-earth and uneventful moments. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This hard-boiled French crime thriller begins with the bold murder of a well-heeled Frenchman. The detective assigned to the case is most puzzled for there seems to be no motive. Then a old man and an astrologer are killed in exactly the same way, leaving the detective to figure out how the three disparate victims are linked. All he has to go on is a mysterious diary given to him by the step daughter of the first victim. The diary belonged to him and contains a list of the man's lovers. One of those women was once the lover of the detective and he calls upon her. She, not knowing that he is on a case, hopes that he will renew their love. During their tryst, he learns that she knows all three of the victims, but before he can call her on it, she too is gunned down. Eventually it is the lover of the step-daughter who leads the detective to the mystery's surprising, shocking conclusion. Despite the film's noir-ish content, director Philippe Labro chose to film it in gay, sunny Nice, a technique that actually enhances the grimness of the suspenseful story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Franco (Antonio Salines) tries to avoid bloodshed by mediating a dispute between government officials and peasants in a mythical country in South America. The film is a shameless ode to revolutionary leaders like Mao Tse-tung, Ho Chi Mihn and Che Guevara. Franco refuses to give in to military and political interest groups as he seeks justice for all and warfare for none. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This film is a social commentary about the mindless violence that is perpetuated on impressionable youth by television. Lorenz (Carla Gravina) has three young children who are victims of a media who wishes to turn out terrorists. She contends with her monstrous offspring and student revolts until she can't take it anymore. Lorenz takes matters into her own hands by planting a bomb in the factory of her estranged husband. The director attempts to illustrate the effect that Big Brother has on the lives of people and how they are subjected to behavioral conditioning beyond their control. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this war drama, a band of Italian soldiers, elated to hear that the war is finally over, promptly desert and head for home. Only two soldiers remain loyal to the army and they promptly begin heading back to the main forces. En route they are enticed by partisan soldiers who want the two to join them. Later they are joined by more soldiers. One of them is arrested by the Fascists for concealing an American paratrooper. When the two finally return, the Germans force them to work on a road gang. They are attacked by partisans, and one of the soldiers escapes. His partner is shot so the soldier joins the rebels. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Even though this period drama is leisurely to especially slow in parts, it tells an entertaining story about Policarpo (Renato Rascel), a sincere and honest, low-level clerk in the government bureaucracy. Policarpo, dissatisfied with his salary, is moving through the labyrinth of paperwork necessary to justify and obtain a raise. Even though he refuses to go outside the bounds of the complex system, he begins to take heart when his daughter finally makes a good choice between two suitors. She chooses his boss's son. Though as Policarpo soon finds out, that union may not help him after all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A mix of young men and women fall in love for the first time in this standard romantic comedy by Mario Camerini. Parents also enter into the picture since their own hang-ups and virtues combine to affect their offspring's attitudes and behavior. Sometimes parents inadvertently do the wrong thing, as when the mother of a love-struck daughter ends up causing her daughter's boyfriend to fall for her -- the mother. Other teens are working out issues of self-esteem, always exacerbated when someone interesting comes along. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide