Eva Grimaldi
- 1998
Christian De Sica co-scripted, directed and stars in this Italian satire about lower-class revenge at a snooty Roman rowing club. Ladies man Robert (De Sica) keeps his affairs secret from his wife Livia (Cinzia Mascoli), since her wealthy father is the source of his income. Unfortunately, Dolores (Beatriz Rico) can't keep mum, creating a cash-flow problem. Bank accounts determine the pecking order at the club, and members with wimpy wallets have go through such humiliations as auctioning away their furniture. With the club prez arrested for embezzlement, a waiter scoring with a top model, and the massage therapist winning the lottery, it becomes evident that the lower-class has the last laugh, perhaps explaining the popularity of this comedy in Italy. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian de Sica, Cinzia Mascoli, (more)
- 1995
Two men find themselves pulled away from their natures by otherworldly forces in this French comedy. While they're very different people, Antoine Carco (Gerard Depardieu), the owner of a strip club in Paris, and Father Tarain (Christian Clavier), a straight-laced man of the cloth, have one thing in common -- both are followed by guardian angels who guide them and tell them what to do. However, the good father's angel has a wild streak and likes urging him into trouble, while Carco's is very proper and a bit appalled with what he does for a living. When friend of Carco's is killed in Hong Kong, Carco honors the man's last request and flies to Hong Kong to bring his son back to Paris to be with his mother. Carco is also asked to fetch some money from members of the Triads (the Hong Kong Mafia), but this doesn't go over especially well with the mobsters. To insure the boy's safe return, Carco asks Father Tarain, who has been traveling, to take the boy back to Paris for him. The father agrees and takes the boy, not knowing that Carco stashed $40 million in Triad money in the kid's suitcase. Before long, Carso's conscience is bothering him about his recklessness, while Father Tarain's guardian angel is encouraging him to take a walk on the wild side. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, (more)
- 1994
- R
This Italian comedy, set in WW II, follows the road trip of a troupe of traveling boxers upon the roads of Tuscany. The story begins in August 1944 after Italy has been freed by the Allies. Dieci is a boxer living in Florence. He got his name (which means "Ten") because of his proclivity for being easily knocked out. Conditions in Florence are hard; Dieci decides to put together a travelling troupe to help make some money, and find food. Unfortunately no one in his troupe is a boxer. Followed by a lost dog, the group sets off in a broken down, brakeless bus. They are joined by an African-American army deserter and a Shaved Head woman who lost her hair after being caught consorting with a German. They are finally joined by Wilma who seeks revenge upon the partisan who did her wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Villaggio, Massimo Ceccherini, (more)
- 1992
An honest cop in Genoa has watched the gang leaders of his city's underworld escape any form of retribution for their many and heinous crimes. After years of this, he is near the end of his rope and is about to retire from crime fighting. When a waitress who has suffered at the hands of the mobsters takes justice into her own hands and then confesses to the straight-arrow policeman, he joins her rather than turning her in for her (in his view) entirely reasonable crimes, and the two are soon hard at work decimating the ranks of the underworld. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tahnee Welch, Eva Grimaldi, (more)
- 1992
Reviewers barked that this erstwhile sex satire attempted (unsuccessfully) to emulate the fervid taboo-breaking style of Pedro Almodóvar, but they may have been disappointed because of their fondness for the director's comedy commentary on Italian television, none of which appears in this film, the first for director Roberto D'Agostino. In the story, four young women, all of them with some connection to the entertainment industry, are attempting or being made to attempt to sleep their way to improved career opportunities. Pretty Alessia's mother and aunt are stage-struck and have shoved her into a sexual relationship with a producer, hoping that he will cast her in something, it doesn't matter what. Well-endowed Stefania has previously starred in soft-porn films and is scheming to get a role in a film which doesn't revolve around her having simulated sex all the time: the filmmaker she is wooing generally makes cheesy "B"-grade action films. Amalia is a star in the daytime soaps but she thinks the Chief Executive for the network she works for might be persuaded to have her cast in a more prestigious evening show if she puts the make on him. Even Beatrice, who appears to be free from such ambitions, has a plan and a man. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Guerritore, Eva Grimaldi, (more)
- 1991
When Berenice Rondi (Eva Grimaldi) learns of her father's death from a heart attack, she also learns that the police are looking to find his last girlfriend. Before now, she had not imagined that her businessman dad Marcelo (en Gazzara) was much of a womanizer, but as she participates in the police's inquiries, she gets acquainted with how he conducted his life and is distressed to learn of and meet his many lady friends. As the mystery unfolds through a series of flashbacks, it becomes clear that she herself is at the center of it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Gazzara, Eva Grimaldi, (more)
- 1991
Originally titled Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride, this 2-part TV movie stars supermodel Carol Alt as Nancy, the ward of Mafia don Frank Latella (Eli Wallach). Part One gets off to an explosive start when Nancy witnesses her father's murder. Raised by Latella, our heroine lives for the day that she can avenge her dad's death. Little does she know that her own fiancé (Eric Roberts) was the man who pulled the trigger. Syndicated to local TV stations, Family Matter was first made available on May 13, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Despite being busy with his profession of soldiery, Brantome (Richard Bohringer) manages to find much more time for amorous dalliances with the ladies of the 16th-century French court than for battles. Unfortunately for him, his true love, Victoire (Isabella Rossellini), is beyond his reach most of the time. He more than compensates for this in the arms of others. Reviewers found little merit in this uninspired drama, except for the gorgeous period settings and costumes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Bohringer, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
- 1989
Tea (Eva Grimaldi) is a model for a lingerie company, and although she has a regular job as a waitress, and a regular (and quite decent) boyfriend, she is constantly being besieged by Karl, who tries to put the moves on her wherever she works. Eventually, his persistent "you're missing the best" come-on succeeds, and she gets a chance to sample his lovemaking prowess. Before long, however, she tires of his pretenses and returns to her old life. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eva Grimaldi, Leonardo Treviglio, (more)
- 1989
Henry Miller's novels were almost entirely autobiographical, and concerned not only his environment and friends, but also recorded his many sexual exploits - which he apparently viewed with something like spiritual awe. Despite his sexual obsessions, his novels are respected worldwide for their brilliant depictions of time and place, and have occasionally been made into movies. This 1990 film by Claude Chabrol makes a reportedly poor effort to bring the novel Quiet Days In Clichy to the screen, and transforms the seedy exploits of a penniless expatriate in Paris to the boyish pleasures of a couple of sweet-faced middle class lads who hang out in expensive whorehouses and go to cocktail parties with fashionable people. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew McCarthy, Nigel Havers, (more)
Stelvio Massi directed this Italian-made action film, a copy of George Cosmatos' Cobra with Fred Williamson in the Stallone role. As a tough NYPD detective, Williamson protects photographer Eva Grimaldi, who witnessed a murder by the leader of the vicious Black Cobras biker gang. Fans of Italian genre movies will recognize Sabrina Siani as the kidnapped daughter of the police commissioner. Antonio Margheriti's Black Cobra 2 was next. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Eva Grimaldi, (more)
- 1987
During his lifetime, the noted Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio was considered to be a genius, a daring adventurer, and a major Italian nationalist. During the Mussolini era, he was still considered to be a major figure in Italian literature, and many schoolchildren were required to study his tamer books. Several movies based on his life were made prior to this one, and they focused on his association with the Mussolini regime. Since then, his reputation has declined considerably, and this biographical drama certainly reflects his new status as a historically important but repugnant and artistically insignificant figure. In this story, the journalist-turned-author is a foolish-looking dandy who is just beginning to make his mark as a central figure in Italy's art-world. His little group would win the descriptive title of "the decadents." Here, he is shown as being the sort of man who would exploit the women he has affairs with to further his career. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Stefania Sandrelli, (more)
Intervista has been termed a semi-documentary: This is in fact the filmed autobiography of Italian director Federico Fellini, framed in the form of an interview conducted by a Japanese film crew. As the interview progresses Fellini's mind wanders to his earliest days (the reenacted events conflict with several of the "official" stories of his life). His fascination with filmmaking is manifested in the "wonderland" atmosphere of the old Cinecitta studios. With the cooperation of Fellini's loyal co-workers, we are permitted to see tantalizingly brief excerpts (some self-mocking) of Fellini's modus operandi. A visit by Fellini and guest-star Marcello Mastroianni to Anita Ekberg's home leads to a lavish (and poignant) "reliving" of the 1961 Fellini/Mastroianni/Ekberg effort La Dolce Vita. The climax of Intervista scene invokes Fellini's previous inward-looking classic 8 1/2, with a novel twist calculated to send the director's disciples home with a knowing smile. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Federico Fellini, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1986
As directed by sleaze cinema guru Joe D'Amato (Emmanuelle in America) under the pseudonym Dario Donati, the trash film Convent of Sinners weaves the tale of an unfortunate young woman who is raped by her stepfather, then shuttled off to a convent. Therein, she experiences kinky and sordid sexual activity with the other members of the order, and indulges in copious amounts of self-flagellation. Per his typical style, D'Amato packs the picture with wall to wall sexual violence and as many acts of bizarre sexual blasphemy as he can dream up. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
