Discoveries from Italy World Cinema

A psychotic small-time criminal realizes that the everyday robberies, rapes and murders he commits aren't profitable enough, so he figures to hit the big time by kidnapping the daughter of a rich man.

The story is the harried attempt of a Sicilian partisan, as part of the risorgimento, to reach Garibaldi's headquarters in Northern Italy, and to petition the revered revolutionary to rescue part of his besieged land. Along the way, the peasant hero encounters many colorful Italians, differing in class and age, and holding political opinions of every type. There is a key train scene, and the film ends on the battlefield, Italian unification a success, despite brutal losses.

Maria lives with her 18-year-old sister, Caterina in a small apartment, tutors her at home, lets her out only for dance classes. Yet Maria sees no reason to hide her work as a prostitute from her sister. Men come in and out of the apartment constantly, and Caterina turns up the volume on her music to drown out the sounds from the next room. The film soon reveals that the sisters are in love with each other, a situation that cannot stand, but exactly what prompts the characters' behavior is rarely clear. Soon after Caterina's belated discovery of her heterosexuality, she is invited into the bedroom with Maria and a client.

One morning, after nightmares and restless sleep, a man finds out he has a dark-skinned arm. His doctor explains that a skin mutation is in progress…

A university student, Mario Buongiovanni, tries to do various jobs to pay for his studies: selling encyclopedias, singing in night clubs, being a tour guide. He then became a science teacher in a female college, where he met Lisa, the daughter of a Lombard industrialist, whom he fell in love with. But Lisa's father, unfortunately, already has in mind for her a marriage with a very rich suitor ...

A homicide detective realizes that the brutal murders committed by a mysterious serial killer he's after have something to do with the late husband of a beautiful widow.

Humans fight mutants in a post-holocaust world.

The gorgeous young actress Ginette auditions for the lead role in the first long feature film of the controversial artist Alex Sherba and she's almost immediately submitted to a long series of harassing questions and indecent proposals. Alex quickly turns out to be a mentally unstable and potentially dangerous man, and when she finds an earring belonging to a missing friend of hers, Ginette even suspects that he might be a killer and starts her very own private investigation. Meanwhile, the torturing of other poor girls cheerfully continues in the dungeon of Alex' parental house.

A man is accused of murdering his childhood love and her entire family.

After growing up in Switzerland, 13-year-old Marta returns to a city in southern Italy with her mother and older sister. Independent and inquisitive, she joins a catechism class at a local church. However, the games and religious pop songs she encounters there do not nearly satisfy her interest in faith. Struggling to find her place, Marta pushes the boundaries of the class, the priest, and the church.

When barbarians invade his village and kill his father, a local man wages a one-man war against them.

Two teenagers fall in love, but their feuding families and fate itself cause the relationship to end in tragedy.

The British Admiralty is worried: several cargo ships carrying troops have mysteriously jumped off Gibraltar. The Admiralty calls in the Intelligence Service to find out the cause of the destruction before new units arrive. Lieutenant Jackson, of the Marine Infantry Regiment stationed in Gibraltar, spends all his duty time in Tangier, where he is attracted by his love of poker and a beautiful dancer, Lola. Despite the objurgations of his general and the tender friendship of Cathie, his general's daughter, he can't stop playing and loses a very large sum one evening.

When a crime boss is murdered while in hospital, a young woman sees the killers, but her room mate convinces her not to tell the police, fearing the consequences. Unfortunately the murderers realize that they have been seen, and kill both women. Catching the killers proves difficult as anyone who knows anything dies in unexplained circumstances. It becomes evident that a large and powerful criminal organization is behind the murders, and that they have links within the police force. It is up to Lt. Carmine to see that justice prevails, using any means necessary.

Italian TV movie. Based upon a novel by Anton Chekhov.

The Lady (or Signora) of the title is a mysterious matron who lives in a crumbling mansion. Six catering trainees are brought to the castle upon its conversion into a resort hotel. They are ordered to prepare a special meal for the old lady, whom none of them have ever seen for more than an instant. As the caterers grow in wisdom and sophistication, we learn that the lady may very well be an urbane ghost rather than a flesh-and-blood entity.

In a polluted future Venice researchers work to improve the situation. One day, unknown forces start killing them. A team of soldiers and a couple of civilians is sent to investigate. Soon, they encounter strange murderous creatures.

An unexpected pregnancy and premature birth become a burden that Maria is unprepared for. Lacking control over events for the first time in her life, she retreats into an emotional space where she is alone, until the day arrives when she must learn to live again for the sake of her vulnerable child.

What if you could answer any question and eliminate all doubts before making the most important decision of your life? What if, by some sort of magic, you could live your life pursuing your wildest and deepest desires? That’s what’s about to happen to Andrea, a thirty-year-old man on the eve of his wedding with Laura, the girl he met in college and with whom he built a life together. Andrea starts waking up everyday in a different life and a different self, in realities where he and Laura never got together in the first place. Exploring the many paths his life could have lead him on to, from unapologetic womanizer to acclaimed musician, Andrea will have to face the void Laura’s absence left in his many different “iterations”. Will he try to break the spell?

Leo Vincey receives a map from his late father, leading him to the legendary city of Kor in search of an explanation for his mysterious ancestry.

When his destituite widowed sister-in-law—whom he had never stopped harbouring feelings for—and her ne'er-do-well son come to live with him after World War II, a mentally-ill farmer who spends all his time destroying unexploded ordnance scattered across the countryside finds a new purpose in his lonely life.

When a horror film based on the same source material as Suspiria and Inferno goes into production, the evil witch the story is based upon manifests herself and not only begins to terrorise the actress set to portray her on screen, but reveals plans to wreck havoc and bloodshed throughout the world.

Eva Braun takes inspiration from the actual sex scandals in the Italian Parliament and the 120 Days of Sodoma by Marquis De Sade. This mix create a grotesque journey through power, sex and will of people who does everything to be successful. Pier is a powerful and important Mogul who keeps the power in his country. Elegant, ironical and well educated, he has a bizarre sexual instinct which is satisfied by her mistress, Romy, who collect people, men and women (musicians, directors, writers and businessmen) which agree to satisfy his weird fantasies for getting his help to the way to success. Like a Decameron, a group of people in a house meet their pride and greed for power and sex.

Caleb, "son of nobody" (Enrico Montesano) lives in Galilee in Jesus' day and struggles as a thief and con-man, pretending to be a magician. When he witnesses Jesus turning water into wine, he thinks he's found a competitor. So Caleb goes on, convinced that Jesus is a fake just as he is, always trying to figure out his tricks. In the meantime, he gets involved with a prostitute (played by Edwige Fenech), but also with the wife of a Roman patrician (played by the equally alluring Bernadette Lafont), he steals a few goats and cons a few people, he befriends a lovable dog and gets in trouble with some Roman soldiers.

Bari, the last chills of a very cold winter. A gang of petty criminals rummages through the day and night of the suburbs, searching for a precious package sent from the Balkans and destined never to reach its final destination. What does the package contain? Important material for our characters; for the viewer, a passe-partout that opens the door to a jagged and surprising urban undergrowth.

Ulisse, Fulvio and Domenico decide to rent an apartment together in order to live with their modest work. However the three encounter any difficulties that have forced them to always be one step away from starvation. Ulisse has to maintain his wife and daughter selling recordings of important foreign singers, Fulvio has the task of reviewing silly scandals of celebrities instead of writing articles for major artists, while Domenico must keep his wife and children going to make love with old single pensioners.

How the Italian Fascist Party managed to turn the physical elimination of a political enemy into a test of strength fundamental for the ascent into the totalitarian regime.

Harry is a married writer who has an affair with a woman whose husband knows that she is unfaithful. As a result of his work, Harry has trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality leaving us to wonder whether the affair is real or just a figment of Harry's imagination.

There are a number of inheritors to a fortune who are getting killed by a mysterious somebody whom we do not see. Each death is novel, but not terribly graphic. Who did it?

The life and times of Armando Feroci, a fortyish year old, who's been everything, a divorced husband, a careless father, an unreliable brother. The story is told in flashback by his friends while Armando has been mysteriously kidnapped in an Arab country by an integralist group and condemned to death.

Carlo and Giulia are grappling with new problems regarding the division of their respective tasks within the family. Since Giulia has started working again, it is Carlo who takes care of the children and the household chores. However, he starts to find the role of “Mr. Mom” a bit tight-fitting. Just when he decides to get back into the game and look for a job, Giulia reveals to him that she is up for a promotion that would lead her to move to Sweden. As if that weren’t enough, she will have to take the interview on December 24 in Stockholm. Everything seems to threaten the family unity. What should they do? Carlo comes up with a "brilliant" idea… To recover the old camper and drag the family into an adventure that will lead them on a journey to the North to spend Christmas all together lovingly. Unexpected events along the way and a hilarious encounter/confrontation with a self-styled Santa Claus will make the trip unforgettable.

Francesco, a young man who wants to be a comedian, insults his girlfriend to make his public laugh; she will break up with and so he will think of a crazy plan to win her back.

Right after she moves in with him, Frederico's new girlfriend Francesca sends him back to her former boyfriend's apartment to fetch her something she forgot - but he's surprised to find him lying there - dead. Assuming that Francesca killed him and sent him for cleaning up, he cuts him up in pieces, puts him in a suitcase and tries to get rid of it... but he has a hard time finding a suitably quiet place. Unfortunately there's a witness, who comes back on him. One thing leads to another, and the normally shy and overly fearful Frederico has to rid himself of more and more corpses until this black comedy ends.

Salvo and Valentino are two happy Sicilian friends, who do not want to work, because they know that if they find a permanent job, their girlfriends will ask them to marry them.

Opera is an inherently theatrical medium that does not lend itself readily to the realism of film treatment. The shining exception is Puccini's Tosca, an action-packed melodrama that unfolds in three taut and gripping acts like the meatiest of Hollywood films noir. And unlike most operas, these three acts are set in three very specific Roman locales. Thus this 1976 film takes place in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle (Act 1), the Palazzo Farnese (Act 2), and the Castel Sant'Angelo (Act 3).

Macedo, bloodthirsty leader of a gang of Confederates shoots the captain of the Northerners, Jeff Mallighan, known as "Fast Hand", shattering his right hand. Jeff, wounded on the ground, could not see the face of the villain, but his silver spurs have stuck in his mind as well as his unique gun. Some time after this event Macedo continues with his misdeeds, however, a mysterious horseman dressed in black will stand in his way.

Contract killer Manuel is in possession of incriminating documents that someone is willing to kill for. He takes refuge at a brothel run by his ex-lover, but when he happens across an intriguing prostitute named Victoria, Manuel's life begins to spiral out of control...

The high spirited daughter of the village lord and her mother have been living in the forest for seven years near her wise grandmother. They wait for her father to come home, meanwhile, her literally heartless uncle rules. He sells his soul for the aid of an enchanted wolf who turns himself human in order to spy. As the tyranical lord begins to see his niece as a threat, he sends the wolf to deal with her.

Shipwrecked on a tropical island, partying biker Daniel finds an increasingly threatening family living in the forest.

A psychiatrist tries to help a suicidal woman who despises her grown daughter.

Four episodes – Christmas, May 1st (Labour Day), August 15th (Ferragosto), Halloween – to tell four stories that delve into the human soul.

At the beginning of the century, in Italy, a wealthy woman Francesca (Loren), adopts a poor little girl named Nunziata. The years pass, Nunziata falls in love Federico (Bova), her adoptive brother, son of Francesca.

This is the story of a broken family, of egotistic and manipulative parents, a two-headed monster that devours every hope of freedom on the part of the children. Desirè is the only one who can save her brother Claudio and will go on fighting against everything and everyone in the name of the only love she knows, in pursuit of a bit of happiness.

Study of a man whose basic sense of inferiority leads him from worse to worse.

A young writer is invited to stay in a religious hostel run by a sinister, manipulative nun who plays deadly psychological games with the inhabitants.

Franco Elica is a film director casting a remake of a pious melodrama in Rome. He's melancholy, heading south for a break. On a beach, he meets a man who films weddings and is roped into helping film the wedding of the daughter of a severe and imperious prince. The wedding is one of convenience - the prince needs money, the groom is a mama's boy. Elica is attracted to the bride, Boda, and tries to convince her not to marry. No matter how outrageous his behavior, the prince keeps Elica on as the wedding director. As the wedding approaches, what's real blurs with Elica's imagination. Is he mad?

A biopic of jazz pianist Luca Flores.

A young hippie kills a man, and seeks refuge at the lakeside house of three beautiful sisters, who seem to be hiding a dark secret.

Tommaso Scalia is a man who commits three murders: he kills his superior who sacked him, the man who replaced him and his wife. He wants a quick trial and an early execution, but an earnest, principled assistant judge looks for a way to save the murderer from being shot, because he does not belive in capital punishment.

1936. In a village in the Bassa Padana, a beautiful and shapely forty-year-old girl is aunt of some boys in the middle of their sexual maturity.

A childless couple struggle in the aftermath of a sexual assault leaves the woman pregnant.

After eighteen years of psychiatric care, the former bank manager Augusto Scrivani returns home from his daughter-in-law Carla. Dino Risi directs a melancholy and scratchy Gassman.

A divorced high school PE teacher falls in love with a single mom before learning that her daughter is the student who's been hitting on him between classes.

A U.S. intelligence general recalls three Cold War cases of Soviet, French and Italian spies.

A youth who has recently graduated can't find a job. One day he unintentionally snatches a bag from a girl and buys a motorbike with the "proceeds" of the theft. Then he begins to work as a mail express courier. At first the girl denounces him then falls in love with him.

In 1950s Italy, a government official arrives in a rural town to investigate a grisly child murder. The culprit is a young boy who claims he acted in order to kill the Devil itself.

A man masquerading as a dead soldier seeks to desert his post and join the enemy in their struggle.

Two family clans have always been enemies; they spend their time hating and killing each other. The daughter of the Campos family and the son of the Mounter family fall in love, thus causing further hatred and deaths.