Giancarlo Giannini Movies

In this atmospheric romantic drama, Keanu Reeves plays Paul Sutton, who has just returned home from a stretch in the Army during World War II. Still reeling from the horrors of war, Paul wants to settle down and start a farm, but his wife Betty (Debra Messing), whom he met and impulsively married shortly before shipping out, has arranged for him to take a job as a salesman peddling chocolates. While taking a sales trip to another town, he befriends a beautiful but distraught young woman, Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). While away at college, Victoria met and fell in love with a young man and soon became pregnant; however, when her boyfriend discovered she was expecting, he abandoned her. She returns home full of shame and fearful of her father's reaction. But Paul gets an idea -- he'll pose as her husband and leave after a day or two, so when she's left alone with the child, the disgrace will be on him, not her. Victoria agrees, and Paul joins Victoria as she arrives at her family's estate in the California wine country. Most of the Aragon family take to Paul readily enough, especially Grandfather Don Pedro (Anthony Quinn), but Victoria's father, Alberto (Giancarlo Giannini), senses something amiss between the young couple. A Walk In The Clouds was the first American film from director Alfonso Arau, who previously made the international hit Like Water For Chocolate. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Wildly disparate characters are not much balance for the lack of action and interaction in this film by director and co-writer Krishna Shah. A series of people go to a drive-in movie theater one night where not a lot happens until the final, inexplicable scene. These movie-goers include a local politician looking for drug dealers, a young couple harassed by bikers, two old biddies dealing in illegal substances right under the nose of the politician (not literally), and another couple in distinct disagreement about sex: what is too little for one is too much for the other. Throw in a prostitute, a dwarf, a few overeaters, a tipsy projectionist, some other characters, and a double-feature horror movie on the screen, and the 89 minutes of running time are filled, terminated by a climax that seems to come out of nowhere. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Apparently in the Italy of the 1920s, the only way to keep your home out of the maws of the tax collector was to steal and cheat from everyone in sight -- and the dupes you'd swindle wouldn't know the difference since all their attentions would be focused upon cheating you. That little bit of homespun philosophy is the only conclusion to be drawn from Arabella, a broad sex-farce enlivened with British comic Terry-Thomas appearing in a quartet of roles, and the sexy Virna Lisi as the title character, who is compelled into chicanery in order to prevent her mother's home from being taken away by the tax man. To raise funds, Arabella rooks money from Terry-Thomas, in various fake beard incarnations as a general, a duke, a hotel manger, and an insurance agent. But while she is busy conning the four Thomases, she steps on the toes of an equally tricky burglar (James Fox) and two young lovers -- Giancarlo Giannini and Melina Vukotic. Arabella ultimately becomes attracted to the burglar. Now she must hold her base animal urges in abeyance and concentrate on squeezing more cash out of the Terry-Thomases. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Siblings Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts appear in this old-fashioned saga about oppressed Sicilian wine-growers in 19th-century California. Giancarlo Giannini stars as Sebastian Collogero, the robust Italian patriarch who is battling with railroad mogul William Bradford Berrigan (Dennis Hopper) to prevent his land from being taken over by the rail company. Sebastian's spirited son, Marco (Eric Roberts), is in love with Angelica (Lara Harris), the daughter of a rival wine-grower's clan. Marco is not very concerned about the warfare about to erupt between the wine-growers and the railroad until Berrigan's thugs torture and kill Sebastian in front of his daughter Maria (Julia Roberts). Marco then gets his friends together and organizes a revolt against Berrigan and his railroad empire. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The feature debut of Roman Coppola (son of Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola) centers around an international film crew making a low-budget, Barbarella-like feature in Paris in 1969. The film is called Dragonfly and is being directed by Andrzej (Gérard Depardieu), who wishes to make a revolutionary work rather than the tacky fluff it is becoming. He is soon fired by the film's Italian producer Enzo (Giancarlo Giannini) when he can't produce a satisfactory climactic scene. After briefly replacing Andrzej with an American horrormeister named Felix DeMarco (Jason Schwartzman), the film's editor and second-unit director, the job is finally handed to Paul (Jeremy Davies). Paul is pleased with the offer, but more devoted to his 16 mm filming of his diary of daily life. He eventually begins to fall for the leading lady (Angela Lindvall), but must retrieve footage of the feature stolen by Andrezej and try to keep the troubled production together. CQ features Billy Zane, Massimo Ghini, and Dean Stockwell in supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

In 1945, filmmaker Roberto Rossellini released the daring Rome, Open City, a film that sharply criticized the Nazis and became a cornerstone of the Italian Neorealist movement. This Italian drama tells the fascinating true story of the film's genesis. Originally Rossellini and his screenwriter wanted the film to chronicle and comment upon the Nazi occupation of Rome. After finding a suitable cast they began making the film and then showed a few rushes to outspoken producer Pepino Amato who was so upset by the radical message that he walked out, taking his financial backing with him. Fortunately, the director manages to find backing from an enigmatic countess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A successful Italian man living in Paris returns to Italy to exact financial revenge upon his cruel half-brothers in this Italian-French drama. Gabriele now runs a successful antique appraisal company in Paris. He lives in a fine, automated apartment which his lover Claire compares to an impenetrable box. Gabriele is haunted by his troubled youth, which is presented through flashbacks. He and his baby brother Martino were bastards. Their father was the wealthy Giancarlo Giannini who already had a family. After Gabriele's feisty and independent mother died, he and his brother were taken into their father's home. Though living in luxury's lap, the now adolescent Gabriele was mistreated by his two hateful half-brothers. He eventually ran away from that house. This is the motive behind his revenge. But to get it he must return home and therefore, must face his past. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Drawing its basic story from author Ian Gibson's investigation into the real-life murder of Andalusian poet Federico Garcia Lorca at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War, this English-language thriller begins in 1935 as exiled Spanish journalist Ricardo and his family resettle in Puerto Rico. For most of his life Ricardo has been obsessed with the poet. In 1954, Ricardo returns to Spain to look closely into the circumstances of Garcia Lorca's death. His father advises Ricardo not to go, but the writer, who wants to do a book about the poet, disregards him. Ricardo is also driven by his desire to ease his guilt about a close friend who was shot by the Nationalists. While doing battle with tight-lipped government officials, Ricardo is followed by Centeno, a member of Franco's security team. He is also followed by an amiable taxi driver who has an uncanny knack for showing up when Ricardo needs him most. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dracula's Curse is a television miniseries directed by American filmmaker Roger Young, based on the famous novel by Bram Stoker. Set during contemporary times, the story involves American investment banker Jonathan Harker (Hardy Krüger Jr.) who lives in Budapest with his Italian fiancée Mina (Stefania Rocca). In order to secure a lucrative real estate deal of Carfax manor, Harker is called to Romania to visit the creepy Count Vladislav Tepes (Patrick Bergin). Looking to recruit more vampires, Tepes moves to Budapest and starts biting all of Harker's colleagues. Research scientist Dr. Enrico Valenzi (Giancarlo Giannini) tries to stop the vampires. Dracula's Curse was broadcast on Italian television in 2002. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The Sci-Fi Channel's first miniseries production adapts Frank Herbert's esteemed futuristic novel Dune into a six-hour epic. When House Atreides lead by the noble Duke Leto Atreides (Academy award-winner William Hurt) gains control of the universe's most powerful commodity -- Spice -- rival House Harkonnen begins plotting their revenge. As a result, Duke Atreides' mistress (Saskia Reeves), a magical Bene Gesserit witch, and their son Paul (Alec Newman) must flee into the dangerous, worm-infested dunes where they find help from an ancient civilization that engages in guerilla warfare. As the political agenda of the reigning emperor unfolds, Paul is enlightened about his powers in the world and those of the mysterious Navigators of Spacing Guild. The series is written and directed by John Harrison who had considerable help from an award-winning production team including three-time Academy award-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (The Last Emperor, Apocalypse Now). ~ Jessica Frost, All Movie Guide

After a beautiful woman's husband is murdered by the Sicilian Mafia, she is romanced by both an attorney and a local crook while maintaining her proper image. This Italian film stars Sophia Loren, Giancarlo Giannini and Marcello Mastroianni. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

A mother who thinks of marriage in terms of business butts heads with a daughter who has her own unusual ideas about love in Lina Wertmuller's screen adaptation of Maria Orsini Natale's historical novel. Francesca (Sophia Loren) was a woman of common birth whose beauty and charm so entranced Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini) that he took her hand in marriage in the 1890s. Francesca and the Prince had a baby, Federico, and when the boy became seriously ill, Francesca pledged to the Lord that if her son was spared, she would adopt a needy orphan. Federico recovered, and true to her word, Francesca and the Prince adopted a nine-year-old girl, Nunziata. Years later, Nunziata has grown to become an attractive young woman, and Francesca watches over the Prince's financial affairs, having learned a thing or two about business from helping her father manage his thriving pasta company. Francesca does a fine job of handling the royal accounts, but when one business deal goes spectacularly sour, the Prince decides he should mind the books from now on; he proves to have no skills for the task, and the royal family is soon in dire financial straits. Eager to put the family back on its feet, Francesca begins to broker a marriage between Federico (Raoul Bova) and the daughter of a wealthy shipping tycoon. However, Federico is less than enthusiastic about the idea, largely because he's fallen in love with his adopted sister Nunziata. Francesca is appalled at this and overrules his objections, but after Federico goes to the altar, Nunziata begins arranging a lucrative wedding of her own; Nunziata's plan is to collect a large dowry, and use the money to fund a competing pasta company that will put her mother's firm out of business. Francesca e Nunziata was produced for Italian television, but received theatrical release abroad. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide