Mariangela Melato Movies

Panni Sporchi is a satiric comedy from veteran director Mario Monicelli about the public and private squabbles of a family-owned cough drop company. The Razzi family's business has been the economic backbone of a small Northern Italian city for years, but when Amedo (Paolo Bonacelli), the aging head of the company, is fast-talked into financing an expensive commercial set in ancient Rome by his nephew Camillo (Francesco Guzzo), war breaks out among the family. Furio (Michele Placido), husband of Amedo's daughter (Mariangela Melato) and second in command of the company, is outraged at the cost of the spot and the bad publicity it receives; he's even more upset when Amedo drops dead and the inept Camillo is handed control of the business. Panni Sporchi stars several noted Italian comic actors, many of whom have worked with Monicelli before; the cast also includes Gigi Proietti and Ornella Muti. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Giuseppe Bertolucci (younger brother of Bernardo Bertolucci) has created a movie unusual for its all-female cast of well-known Italian actresses and for a script that gives them latitude to develop their individual characters. The story is about Laura (Lina Sastri) a young terrorist who commits a rash act of cold-blooded murder which introduces the other women in this story. Laura is in Venice when she kills a judge and a gang member who was vacillating in his commitment. The dead terrorist's mother (Rosanna Podesta) and sister (Giulia Boschi) attend his funeral in Avellino, an area devastated after a severe earthquake -- a particularly dramatic backdrop for a funeral. Back home, Laura's former nanny (Alida Valli) still lives with the family and is as astute as ever -- she figures out what Laura has done and leaves for good. Laura's mother (Lea Massari) is not as perceptive about her own daughter and can hardly believe Laura has done anything wrong, even after the police come to take her away. The effect this has on the devoted mother is totally devastating. Meanwhile, Laura is brought before a judge (Mariangela Melato) for questioning, made all the more difficult because of her critical emotional state and the judge's own personal problems. The wisdom of Laura's confession and the many "secrets" she reveals is another matter entirely. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

As a young boy, Tommaso's (Gerard Darier) interest in women and in his cousin Marta (Mariangela Melato) in particular, inspired him to bore peep holes into her wall and vicariously partake of her forbidden private life, including her wedding day. Time goes by, and after living through many changes going on around him, Tommaso has grown up and is now a soldier in the military. When he sees cousin Marta at a train station one day, he jumps off his train, talks to her for awhile, and tries to give her some strength to face the various problems in her life. Both Marta and Tommaso suffer deceptions over the next crucial period -- Marta becomes estranged from her husband, and her daughter is more distant with each passing day. Tommaso's faith in humanity is dealt a few sharp blows as he watches a friend stoop to embezzlement and then is seduced by the same friend's wife. The youthful dreams of both cousins seem to deteriorate with time, perhaps leading the way to another stage in the "growing up" process. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The time is WW II in the Emilia-Romagna countryside in Italy, and an American pilot's plane has just broken down near the farmhouse of a middle-aged widow, Francesca (Mariangela Melato) and her three young daughters. The widow has recently come back to her family's land and is picking up where she left off with long-lost friends and neighbors. The downed pilot, Ray (Anthony Franciosa), finds a safe refuge in the widow's farmhouse -- he needs a place to hide until the war ends and it is safe for him to join his military unit. Ray's presence brings out the wild dreams Francesca and her daughters and friends have had about a magical America, a country celebrated in song and dance -- not just in American films, but right there in the farmhouse and its vicinity. Ray is regaled with hearty interpretations of "Pennies from Heaven" and "Jeepers Creepers", and the neighbors and daughters have a riotous good time with the dancing and singing. In-between the light-hearted portrayal of America and its image, Francesca begins to fall in love with Ray, while suffering her own personal anguish as she tries to hide the death of her husband from her three daughters by saying he is in America. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A surreal and often abstruse tale about a woman and her innermost feelings, Oggetti Smarriti starts out with Marta (Mariangela Melato) and her husband taking a long train ride to go pick up their daughter from grandmother's house. Theory and practice are immediately at odds when the husband gets off the train to buy something to read and it starts chugging out of the station. Marta jumps off to go look for him, but he thinks the train has left with her on it, and he leaves the station. As Marta wanders around in search of her husband, she comes across a German (Bruno Ganz) whom she thinks she met while still a child. The two strike up a relationship, and Marta indulges in both alcohol and drugs on her way to falling in love with the mysterious "stranger." Stranger yet is the continuation of her saga as she may -- or may not -- find herself at last. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Marco is a composer and singer who has somehow survived a suicide attempt. As he recovers, he attempts to find out when his political protest music began to lose its impact with the young. He was the "in" singer in 1968, a true rebel, admired and emulated. Now, just 10 years later, he is a has-been. He gains admittance into the bedrooms of a romantic threesome living in the house next to his, but their inarticulateness, or perhaps his own, maddens him, and he commits a heinous crime. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this zany romantic comedy, a financially comfortable woman, bored with her life, follows the intriguing sound of a saxophone to its source, which is being played by Renato Pozzetto. Imagining him to be poor, she seeks to win his heart not only by her ardor, but by a judicious use of her checkbook. Happily, even though he is not impressed with her finances, he finds the prospect of a romantic alliance acceptable. As the main story progresses, many humorous vignettes throw a surreal light on everyday life. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this intellectual drama, Ras (Eli Wallach) is a ruler or dictator who, somewhat like the Biblical King David, covets another man's wife as his own. Unlike David, however, Ras wants to humiliate Marcello (Nino Manfredi), a dedicated musician whose life he has already ruined. He forces Marcello to seek an annulment to his marriage through the Vatican. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Originally filmed for British television as a six-hour miniseries, Moses appeared in the U.S. in 1975 as a 2 1/2-hour theatrical release. God's lawgiver (Burt Lancaster) is chosen by God to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and into the promised land of Canaan. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Also known as Nada, The Nada Gang is a lesser effort from director Claude Chabrol. A group of European terrorists calling themselves the Nada kidnaps an American ambassador. Their hideout is besieged by a sadistic police official and his minions. Thanks to the official's eagerness to pull the trigger, everyone winds up dead, including the ambassador. The Nada Gang was based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Italian crime drama, Bertone (Enrico Maria Salerno) is a moderately honest homicide cop. Unfortunately, the court system is so inept and corrupt that many more-or-less honest policemen have begun taking the law into their own hands. Between his efforts to thwart the growth of crime and to control his vengeful co-workers, homicide-chief Bertone has his hands full. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide