Fulvio Lucisano Movies

A Roman warrior on a quest to uncover the truth about Jesus of Nazareth becomes enamored with an Israeli beauty after rescuing the woman from a violent mugger in this Biblical-themed period drama starring Dolph Lundgren, F. Murray Abraham, Max Von Sydow, and Mónica Cruz. A solar eclipse has cast darkness over the Roman Empire, and as the frightened population cowers in fear the earth beneath their feet begins to violently tremble. Having recently heard rumors about a mysterious Jewish savior who apparently transcended death, Emperor Tiberius sends fierce warrior Tauro to Jerusalem to solve a mystery that threatens to dissolve their empire. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Tauro rescues a young beauty named Tabitha and her frail grandmother from a menacing street criminal. But Tabitha is forbidden to look at Romans - much less speak to them - and now after entering into a forbidden romance with Tauro the end of an era fast approaches. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Carlos Saura, one of the finest and most distinctive filmmakers in the Spanish cinema, wrote and directed this biographical epic concerning one of Spain's greatest artists, the painter Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. On his deathbed, Goya (Francisco Rabal), attended by his mistress, Leocadia (Eulalia Ramon) and their daughter, Rosario (Dafne Fernandez), is plagued by hallucinations and frequent visions of the beautiful Cayetana (Maribel Verdu) as his mind reels through the events of his life. As a young man, Goya (played in his younger days by Jose Coronado) became the court painter to King Charles and the Royal Family, where he created technically skillful but uninteresting portraits and was invited to a number of royal functions. At one such affair, Goya first met Cayetana, the Duchess of Alba, and he was immediately smitten; they became lovers, and she was both the subject and inspiration of several major works, including "Desnuda" and "La Maja Vestida." Goya's work developed a dark undercurrent after Napoleon invaded Spain and he took up with Leocadia, creating disturbing images that alienated his patrons and frightened his children. In time, the decline of the court and a changing political climate forced Goya to seek exile in France in 1824, where he would die four years later. Goya In Bordeaux was a project that Saura had dreamed of filming for years, and he was ably assisted in recreating the look of Goya's paintings by master cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actor-director Pino Quartullo shot this Italian comedy amid the natural splendors of the Abruzzo National Park. The screenplay, with some situations reminiscent of Bette Midler in Ruthless People (1986), is by Quartullo and Claudio Masenza, based on their play. Stefania Sandrelli repeats her role from the stage production. Former actress Federica Birki (Sandrelli), now reduced to hosting a trash TV gameshow sponsored by a furrier, generates gimmicks for the paparazzi in an effort to get back in the limelight. She's kidnapped by park ranger Marco (Quartullo) and his brother Ruggiero (Ricky Memphis), animal lovers who demand the sponsor close down his fur farm and free the animals. However, Federica's past history of staging stories for press coverage works against her this time, and the abductors' threats are ignored. As the brothers try to heighten her consciousness regarding animals, she begins devising new headline grabbers -- until the corrupt sponsor (Rocco Barbaro) steps in with a different spin. The film includes clips from Sandrelli's Seduced and Abandoned (1963). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A young woman discovers the joys of independence and single living in this frothy Italian comedy. While their neighbors look on with interest, Margherita is first seen breaking up with Riccardo. While she then moves to a friends empty apartment on the bad side of Rome, Riccardo happily gets involved with the ditzy Titti. Margherita's new neighborhood is a cesspool of crime. One night she drives home from the shopping mall where she works and is nearly attacked by two bikers. Fortunately, they see the department store dummy she has stashed in the backseat, mistake it for a man, and race away. She tells no one her secret and soon all her friends begin believing that Margherita has a new man, whom she calls Bruno. This leads real manly prospects to slowly come her way, including Riccardo. But does she really want another man in her life, or is Bruno enough? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This gentle Italian drama is based upon the 1919 autobiographical novel by Federico Tozzi. The film tells the story of teenagers Ghisola and Pietro whose closeness is born of the pain the two experience in their daily lives. Ghisola, only 14-years old, must work in the fields away from her family. Pietro is emotionally abused by his father. When his father discovers their mutual affection, he sends Ghisola away. Pietro does not see her again until he is an adult. She has changed. Now pregnant and alone, Ghisola tries to seduce Pietro so he will marry her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this lively, slapstick Italian comedy, poor Roberto has grown up to be a loser. As a child he was deeply traumatized when he saw his best friend pushed out of a theater window by another faceless child during a school practice for Pinnochio. His best friend died, and the only thing Robert can remember about the killer is that he was wearing canary yellow shoes. Now as a grown man, Roberto is about to inherit a fortune from his rather strange, and aged aunt. But the only way he can inherit the money is if he can get over his subsequent fears and successfully stage a performance of Hamlet. In addition to his own bugaboos, poor Roberto must deal with an avaricious, jealous butler who is determined to get the fortune for himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This biographical costume drama from director Franco Zeffirelli covers the early life of Arturo Toscanini and stars C. Thomas Howell as the famous composer. When Arturo lands a job with the orchestra of Claudio Rossi (John Rhys-Davies), he soon finds himself bound for a tour of South America and lands in idyllic Rio. Arturo is given the task of convincing the famed prima donna diva Nadina Bulichoff (Elizabeth Taylor) to rehearse for an upcoming show with the orchestra, but in the process, Toscanini attempts to change the minds of both Nadina and her lover, Brazilian Emperor Don Pedro II (Philippe Noiret) on the issue of slavery. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Filmed in Italy, The Inquiry uses the Bible as a launching pad for speculative fiction. Shortly after the Crucifixion, Roman investigator Titus Valerius Taurus (Keith Carradine) is dispatched to the Holy Land. His mission: to find out who removed the body of Jesus Christ. Carradine is hampered in his investigation by governor Pontius Pilate (Harvey Keitel), who is anxious to keep the details of Jesus' last moments on Calvary from becoming public knowledge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy/thriller, starring writer/director Alberto Sordi, Pietro (Sordi) and his wife (Anna Longhi) are Romans through-and-through. In their whole lives, they have never traveled far from their beloved city, though once they traveled to Bologna. Somehow, their son, the apple of their eye, has enrolled in New York University, in Manhattan. In this film, they decide to visit him there, and when Pietro witnesses a mafia killing, the police set him up in his own taxi and give him a phony identity. Since he doesn't know the city at all and doesn't speak English, this probably puts him an equal footing with a lot of other taxi drivers, so he fits right in. Eventually, in order to flush out the killers, the police use him as bait in a sting operation set in Miami. Meanwhile, the hapless fellow must cope with the peculiar culture he finds in America, (a country where everyone evidently speaks fluent Italian, as that is the language the film is shot in). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Mario (Enrico Montesano) works as a hospital orderly whose lucky win in a lottery for a new luxury car turns out to be his greatest misfortune. His first mistake was to hide the car from his wife (Edwige Fenech) in an effort to hang on to it, rather than sell it off for the money as she would want. His next mistake was to inadvertently pose as a doctor when seen with the car. And from that point onward, the mistakes multiply until he is even accused of terrorist activities and brought into the police station, where he is led in confusion through a bureaucratic labyrinth. By now, Mario's four-wheeled conveyance has lost a lot of its original sheen. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A daring idea gets an ambivalent treatment in this typical Italian comedy about an unfunny subject. The teaching and events in the life of Christ are presented here from the viewpoint of the Palestinian thief who was crucified next to him. Among the miracles that Christ performs is curing the leprosy that afflicts poor Deborah (Edwige Fenech), a prostitute. Given the nature of the comedy, Deborah's attractive hide gets a lot more exposure than Christ's miracles, as the film vacillates between sexual innuendo and parody. Viewers unaccustomed to free-wheeling Italian spoofs may take offense at the way religious subjects are used for comic fodder. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi