Illustrious Corpses (1976)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Made in between, Lucky Luciano and the much acclaimed Christ Stopped at Eboli, this is a fabulous, very impressive tale of the power of corruption and paranoia. The wonderful Lino Ventura is spot on as the laconic detective investigating, first the assassination of judges and then to what lies behind. Not everyone is so keen, of course, and as the plot thickens we begin to join up the dots that represent, the church, the judiciary, the mafia and the government. Maybe its all the fault of the hippies and students or maybe the corrupted officials will inadvertently fan that flame. Measured, beautifully photographed and never too explicit, we journey with mr Ventura and just hope he is on the right track. Fantastic opening with long corridor and religious artefacts and mummies that wouldn't look amiss in a Luis Bunuel film leading us to the first brutal killing. Surely a candidate for best film opening ever.

I rarely watch Italian movies. I just don't have the opportunity and time. I found this movie by friend's recommendation . I didn't expected much. Boy , was I wrong ! This is a movie about a detective that is trying to figure out who kills the judges.It's a great movie . There is a dark atmosphere , but not Hollywood dark atmosphere . It's more of an European pessimistic feeling that covers the whole movie . The mystery is very intriguing and engaging . The pacing is very good . Acting is good too. Not your usual Hollywood type of ending. The death scenes are actually very scary . The movie doesn't say anything original about corruption and politics , but it's still a great movie .I give it 8/10.

The good news first: Cadaveri eccellenti is now out on DVD. Which is how we came to see it again last night. - Second, my own two cents since I've just read the negative comments on the discussion boards, where people are actually wondering if this is the worst movie ever. No way! OK, my own approach to it was an uphill journey. First saw it ages ago because Tre fratelli and Cristo si è fermato a Eboli had impressed me. This one is quite different, and I didn't get a thing. Years later, I stumbled over the story it's based on: "The Context. A parody" by Leonardo Sciascia. Even readers only passingly familiar with Sciascia will realize that the baddies are never caught in his books, reflecting the realities of his native Sicily. Of all the books of his I've read, this one was the toughest, because evil is omnipresent and not identified with individuals. A parody perhaps, but a bitter one, and one he took a long time to finish because writing it distressed him. Rosi read it on a long journey and it hit him like lightning. Like Sciascia, he was interested in the ways power corrupts people. So that's what we have here: a relentless gallery of corrupt officials in every walk of life. Not only in the Mafia but also in the realms of politics, justice, the military and religion. Max von Sydow's character is as repellent as anything I've ever seen. The whole caboodle is not meant to be fully understood, and that's where a large part of that all-pervading sense of menace comes from. The locations are gorgeous - wish I knew where that bus stop was where Rogas watches the procession of high-and-mighties drive by. And those catacombs! Someone here said the location wasn't clearly identified, but given that both Sciascia and Rosi were Italian, and that the film features a map of Sicily rather prominently in one shot, I beg to differ. IMHO this is indeed Sicily. And bella Italia. Berlusconi may look more benign than certain of his predecessors but... oh, all right, all right, this ain't the Speaker's Corner. The rest is silence.

Near perfect political thriller, with a perfectly cast Lino Ventura in the leading role. Supporting roles, cinematography, direction and score, it's all very close to perfection. This film has this unique dark, typical European 70's-movie atmosphere, of which these French-Italian productions seem to have the copyright.A big 8.