Bruno Corbucci Movies

Gildo (Paolo Villaggio) is a moralistic magistrate who shuts down red light districts in this sex comedy. His enemies conspire to photograph him in a compromising position with sex goddess Lola (Serena Grandi). Laura Antonelli plays a wealthy woman who believes her husband has drowned. A priest is forced to put his mouth on a topless nun as the battle of morality verses misbehavior unfolds. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

A 14-year-old boy working in a secondhand store after school finds a magic lamp in this comical fantasy adventure. The genie (Bud Spencer) grants Alan his wishes when he asks for a Rolls Royce, vanquishes the local bullies, and becomes a star basketball player. The genie helps get rid of local mobster Siracusa, who is putting the squeeze on local merchants as well as on Alan's mom (Janet Agren). ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Hoping to cash in on the lucre generated by the American hit Flashdance, which was released about 11 months earlier, director Vittorio de Sisti put together Dance Music, but its hurried production is evident in the script and the acting. The story centers on a group of young performers living in a combination of large apartment and dance studio, where they practice with hopes of making it to New York for a special audition. In the meantime, they do menial labor at restaurants and car washes in order to support themselves. Various artful filming techniques enhance the dance numbers, some shot in aesthetically stunning locations -- though this is not enough to bury the film's flaws. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This undistinguished comedy in two acts features Lino Banfi as Altomare, the owner of an appliance store, who is obsessed with superstition, spells, and amulets to fight the "evil eye" that bedevils him, and Gaspare (Johnny Dorelli) a charlatan magician who through serendipity, encounters a real witch and is the happy recipient of her magic powers. Gaspare can retain those powers only on the condition that he bring her a pistachio ice cream when she asks for it. But even magic cannot do much for Altomare or Gaspare as long as they do not pay attention to the very practical, mundane matters in their lives. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Banana Joe (Bud Spencer) lives in paradisiacal bliss in a tropical village that is untainted by hard-nosed corporate and bureaucratic types, or by corruption, drugs, gangs, and other ills of modern society. When Banana Joe takes his banana boat to the trading post, he is informed he needs a permit in order to operate the boat. Quite willing to comply with this seemingly simple formality, he treks off to the big city to find this important piece of paper. On his way to obtaining the permit, he runs into television for the first time, crooks as well, and a pretty nifty nightclub singer who greatly opens up his limited knowledge of feminine charms. After more than one contretemps, in which he proves his strength and moral fiber, Banana Joe gets the permit and heads back to the village -- only to find that a tacky gambling casino has been set up in his absence. It looks like he has his work cut out for him again, as his shackles rise at this insult to his idyllic home and he gears up for battle. A toe-tapping tropical rhythm lightens the action in the film, aimed for the younger set rather than their parents. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this Italian police drama, a hippie cop goes to Milan to look into a murder. He is called because he grew up in the same neighborhood as the prime suspect. The suspect's alibi was that he was hiding beneath a bed when the murder occurred. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The main character in this comedy-detective story is Riccardo Finzi, played to the hilt by the real main character, comic Renato Pozzetto. The apparently plodding, Sad Sack-type P.I. has just gotten licensed and arrives in Milan with high hopes, however high they are in his case, of launching his investigative career. A trip to a night spot lands him a place to live in, a nubile young woman, and a murder case when he finds out the next morning that the nymphet has been killed. Finzi has a voluntary assistant in the form of a retired cop (Enzo Cannavale) who helps him make progress in spite of himself. Contempo subjects like left-wing students or terrorism pop up here and there in one-liners, providing humor at unexpected moments. Especially made for an Italian audience familiar with Renato Pozzetto's style and the local references in the script, this fun comedy may still amuse other audiences as well. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this African adventure, a greedy fortune hunter endeavors to get his hands on the untold riches lying buried in Central Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Familiar Italian character actor Giancarlo Prete (here using the pseudonym "Timothy Brent") helps a trio of Texas Rangers escort a spy (Karin Schubert) to Mexico in this routine spaghetti Western from Bruno Corbucci who wrote the far superior genre classic Django. Future porn star Schubert has a nude scene, and the cult cast may draw some (co-star Luigi Montefiore later starred as Antropophagus for Aristide Massaccesi), but this one is for devotees only. With Eduardo Fajardo, Cris Huerta, and Carlo Rustichelli, who also composed the peculiarly eclectic score. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In this remake of his own La Danza Macabra, director Antonio Margheriti casts Anthony Franciosa as writer Alan Foster, who accepts a bet from Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski) and his friend Thomas Blackwood (Enrico Osterman). No one has ever survived a night in Blackwood's castle, but the skeptical Foster gladly accepts the dare. The castle is striking and scary, which soon begins to affect Foster's mind. He meets Blackwood's sister Elisabeth (Michele Mercier) and the jealous Julia (Karin Field). Julia's portrait had intrigued him earlier, but it is Elisabeth whom Foster beds, only to see her stabbed by a stranger. The attacker's body vanishes after Foster kills him, and he quickly realizes that the castle is inhabited by vampiric ghosts. Foster must survive the horrors of the night and hold on to not only his life, but his sanity as well. This is an atmospheric film, full of crypts, skulls and mist, and Margheriti's direction is assured. The acting is solid all around, with a fine supporting cast including Peter Carsten, Raf Baldassare, and Silvano Tranquilli, though fans of the original might miss Barbara Steele just a little. Overall, this is a worthy remake with some spooky moments and a well-written script by Bruno Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi. The music was composed by the prolific Riz Ortolani. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi