''Excellent Cadavers'' is a
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...
by American author
Alexander Stille
Alexander Stille (born 1 January 1957 in New York City) is an American author and journalist. He is the son of Ugo Stille, a well-known Italian journalist and a former editor of Italy's Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper. Alexander Stille g ...
about the
Sicilian Mafia, concentrating on
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
's fight against the Mafia and his
1992 assassination.
Book title
The name of the book comes from the phrase "excellent cadavers" (''cadaveri eccellenti'') or "illustrious corpses", used in Italy when referring to high-profile victims of the Mafia such as politicians, judges and police chiefs (as opposed to less public victims claimed by day-to-day Mafia business).
Cadaveri_Eccellenti''_(''Illustrious_Corpses''_in_English)_was_made_in_Italy_in_1975_in_film.html" "title="llustrious_Corpses.html" ;"title=" fictional movie bearing the title ''Illustrious Corpses">Cadaveri Eccellenti'' (''Illustrious Corpses'' in English) was made in Italy in 1975 in film">1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, directed by Francesco Rosi and starring Lino Ventura.
Stille's 1995 book ''Excellent Cadavers'' was made into Excellent Cadavers (film), a television movie in
.
. Produced in Italy, where the work is known as ''In un altro paese'', the documentary is based on, and to some extent updates, Stille's book. Stille, one of the
s, serves as narrator and tour guide on the scenes of crimes and explains their causes and consequences.
, a photojournalist and anti-Mafia activist, plays the role of survivor and passionate eyewitness.