Vittorio Zarfati Movies
- 1994
- R
Grossly mistaken identity provides the impetus in this Italian farce. Loris is an anti-social fellow with a high sex drive. During a party he is pointed towards an "easy mark." Unfortunately he approaches the wrong woman. When he discovers his mistakes, he nervously apologizes for the attempted liberties. A run-away chain-saw becomes involved and the frightened woman ends up filing a police report. Her report leads police boss Frustalupi that he has finally found the crazed sex killer the "Mozart of vice" whom Frustalupi has hunted for the last 12 years. Situations go from bad to worse as the police begin surveillance upon Loris whose every action becomes misconstrued by them. Things get even stickier when they put policewoman Jessica on the case as undercover bait. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, (more)
- 1989
- R
Set during the Mussolini years, Open Doors stars Gian Maria Volonte as an old-line judge. Volonte tries to remain faithful to the letter of the law, despite the "improvements" made by the Fascists. His insistence upon justice over dogma results in government reprimands, and ultimately poses a threat to Volonte's well-being. The honesty vs. corruption theme transcends the film's period settings, resulting in an allegorical masterpiece that has significance in any country, any time. Open Doors was a nominee for the "best foreign picture" Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gian Maria Volontè, Renato Carpentieri, (more)
Adapted from Umberto Eco's best-selling novel, director Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a 14th century murder-mystery thriller starring Sean Connery as a Sherlock Holmes-esque Franciscan monk called William of Baskerville. When a murder occurs at a secluded Benedictine Abbey, William is called in to investigate. As he and his apprentice, Adson von Melk (Christian Slater), delve deeper and deeper into the case, more dead bodies begin to turn up. Eventually, Bernardo Gui, an inquisitor played by F. Murray Abraham gets involved, but he may not have the best intentions. Sean Connery's performance earned him the award for Best Actor at the 1988 British Academy Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, (more)
- 1982
- R
Sergio (Carlo Verdone) and Nadia (Eleonora Giorgi) are door-to-door sales reps for a recording company that features the popular Italian singer Lucio Dalla. Nadia is attractive and interested in a bigger and better life for herself. Sergio is well-fed and undistinguished, and together they make a most unlikely romantic pair. Still, the romantic sparks ignite for awhile, and then they separate, leaving Sergio determined to capture Nadia's heart. His method for winning over the fair lady is an ancient one -- he does so by pretending to be super-rich. That leads him up more than one blind alley, creating a maze of incidents that can only be resolved in a final series of twists at the end. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleonora Giorgi, Carlo Verdone, (more)
- 1981
The stage comedian Carlo Verdone directed and stars as the three main characters -- Furio, Mimmo, and Pasquale -- in this classic Italian comedy. All three men are driving back to their hometowns to vote on election day, and each has a different story and a different though easily recognizable personality type. Furio drives his wife nuts with his unceasing chatter -- in a switch of gender stereotypes -- and is obsessed with perfection. When his car gets a flat, he dashes off to phone the Automobile Club for help, but then finds that in his brief absence his tire has already been changed by a generous motorist. Perfectionist to the letter, he takes off the good tire and replaces it with the flat one so the Automobile Club will get the flat they expect. Mimmo is a Mama's boy from Trastevere who rides along with his oversized Grandmama, and the third character, Pasquale, suffers from socialization never succeeded in taking firm hold. As he re-enters Italy, driving back from Munich where he now lives, parts of his car get stolen one by one. The moral seems to be that Italy is filled with all types of people, from those who will replace your tire to those who walk off with it. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carlo Verdone, Elena Fabrizi, (more)
- 1980
- R
Sunday Lovers is a fitfully amusing study of weekend romantic techniques as practiced in four different cultures. Each episode was filmed by a separate unit in the country where the story was set. "The French Method" (directed by Eduoard Molinaro) finds a businessman (Lino Ventura) trying to secure an important contract through the sexual allure of his secretary (Catherine Salviat)--only to give up the whole enterprise when he discovers that the secretary would be more valuable as a business partner. "An Englishman's Home" (directed by Bryan Forbes) is all about a chauffeur (Roger Moore) who poses as his boss in order to impress a series of sexy stewardesses. "Armando's Notebook" (directed by Dino Risi) finds a middle-aged Italian husband (Ugo Tognazzi) arranging an affair when his wife leaves town. And "Skippy" stars Gene Wilder (who also directed the segment) as an American psychiatric patient who falls in love with the equally neurotic Priscilla Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Lino Ventura, (more)
Based on a novel by Gabriele d'Annunzio, The Innocent (L'Innocente) is set amongst the aristocracy of 19th-century Italy. Wealthy Tullio (Giancarlo Giannini) thinks nothing of squiring his mistress (Jennifer O'Neill) in full view of his friends and the public. But when Giannini's cast-off wife (Laura Antonelli) begins an affair with a young novelist (based, it is said, on author d'Annunzio), it is too much for the philandering aristocrat. Outside of Erich von Stroheim, few directors were as masterful at combining lavishness with depravity as Luchino Visconti. The Innocent turned out to be Visconti's last film; he died in 1976, shortly before the picture's premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Antonelli, Giancarlo Giannini, (more)
