Renzo Montagnani Movies

Isabella is the much-loved child of a movie producer, growing up in the 1950s. Key moments in her life are seen as she returns each summer to her family's vacation home on the seaside in Tuscany. The argumentative family has its ups and downs, some of them as a result of successes or reverses in the father's moviemaking career. Practically the only member of the family who doesn't fuss and quarrel all the time is Isabella's mother, her father's second wife. All her siblings are the children of the first wife. Isabella has a "toy" that any movie buff would love to play with: a movieola, a machine usually reserved for film editors who can view the film or films they are working on at their own pace, stopping or reversing the action and running it at any speed. The films she plays on hers indicate what stage she is at in her life, as she grows from an insecure girl to a confident woman. This family drama and coming-of-age story is based on the recollections of filmmaker Fiorella Infascelli, who grew up in the household of her producer father Carlo Infascelli. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Millionaire Volpone (Paolo Villaggio) recruits his new butler Mosca (Enrico Montesano) to fool three heirs to the family fortune in this engaging comedy. Gathering around the deathbed, the potential heirs compete for favors of Volpone. One man offers the keys to his Maserati, a married friend offers his beautiful wife and the local mayor (Eleanora Giorgi) for a final night of passion, and another signs over his luxury yacht, hoping it will be returned by Volpone after his death. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In an irreverent send up of politicians and feminists and others, director and co-writer Lina Wertmuller has a Minister of the Interior locked inside his impermeable luxury car with only his broken computer to keep him company. Unfortunately, this accident happens at the villa of a conservative party deputy (Ugo Tognazzi) whose wildly eccentric wife Maria Teresa (Piera Degli Espositi) is in a panic about hiding her lover (Enzo Jannacci) in the basement -- he is an escaped terrorist. While the authorities arrive to make one futile effort after another to get the Minister out of his car, the Minister's assistant deadpans his way through the household chaos, and the granny is busy smoking pot. Out of the entire crew, the conservative deputy is limned with sympathy and the flighty, witless feminist is not -- a state of affairs bound to raise the shackles of some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The Gift was based on Bankers Also Have Souls, a play by Valme and Terzolli. To honor retiring co-worker Gregoire (Pierre Mondy), a group of bank employees pool their money and purchase a farewell gift: gorgeous prostitute Barbara (Clio Goldsmith). Since Gregoire is married to the luscious Antonella (Claudia Cardinale), one wonders what planet his friends have been on the past few years. Though it promises a great deal, The Gift is basically harmless and, at times, humorless. The film works best when it eschews sniggling sexiness and concentrates on personalities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this farcical comedy of errors, Marcello (Renzo Montagnani), a man devoted to his glorious single life, finds out that he can only receive an inheritance from his mother if he marries - and that is just out of the question. Meanwhile, he must somehow make his father - now a bishop living in Brazil - believe that he plans to soon tie the knot. That is where Amelia (Barbara Bouchet) enters the picture. As Marcello works on his deception, many loopy characters weave in and out of the story: Amelia's brother who loves to wear any great costumes he can find, a gardener obsessed by the subject of bombs, an Arab sheik, and other unlikely figures. Meanwhile, Amelia's real boyfriend Stefano (Gianni Cavina) is always a force that cannot be ignored. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Salvini (Jean-Pierre Cassel) is an orchestra conductor of some renown. While rehearsing for a performance of Verdi's Othello he has a psychological crisis, brought on by his recognition of the man playing tympani in his orchestra. Near the end of World War II, Salvini took a false identity and hid in a remote monastery. While there, he encountered Romualdi, a funny, blustering buffoon who thought of himself as a true musical genius. Salvani and an actress, who was also hiding nearby, had some mean-spirited fun with Romualdi, pretending that the man was in fact a genius, and encouraging him in his delusions. Seeing Romualdi years later, humbly playing the least prestigious position in the orchestra, gives him pause, and causes him to rethink his career. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The title of the Italian At Last, At Last refers to sex. In fact, virtually every line of dialogue in this domestic comedy has an erotic tinge. The plot concerns a newlywed couple's attempt to cure the husband's impotence. You guessed it: "outside specialists" are brought into arouse hubby's libido. Carroll Baker, Edwige French, Renzo Montagnani and Ray Lovelock star. Originally titled La Moglie Vergine, the film has also been released as The Virgin Wife and You've Got to Have Heart. Though At Last, at Last couldn't get it up on American TV screens, it stood firm and proud on cable television, where it premiered in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This raw Italian political melodrama investigates the underbelly of Rome in the early '70s, exposing drugs, crime and sexual scandal. Many of the characters and episodes are based on incidents which made Italian newspaper headlines in that period. Throughout, it implies that one important behind-the-scenes personage ("number one") is pulling the strings of the characters. The film's tone of outrage clearly differentiates it from a more easygoing film exploring the similar nightlife of 1960s Rome, La Dolce Vita. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide