''Excellent Cadavers'' (, and also known as "Falcone") is a 1999

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

directed by

Ricky Tognazzi Riccardo "Ricky" Tognazzi ( born 1 May 1955) is an Italian actor and film director. He has appeared in 50 films and television shows since 1963. His film '' The Escort'' was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. In 1991, he won the Silver ...

. The film is based on the book with the same name by

Alexander Stille Alexander Stille (born January 1, 1957, in New York City) is an American author and journalist. Early life and education He is the son of Elizabeth and Michael U. Stille. Michael was a Russian-born journalist who was the longtime American corr ...

and tells the real life events of judge

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 ...

. It was filmed in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The TV movie was broadcast by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

October 16, 1999.

Plot

In 1978, Judge

, while in

Favignana Favignana () is a ''comune'' including three islands (Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo) of the Aegadian Islands, southern Italy. It is situated approximately west of the coast of Sicily, between Trapani and Marsala, the coastal area where the ...

attending a

mattanza , literally 'slaughter' or 'killing' in Italian, also known as in Spanish and in Portuguese, is a traditional tuna fishing technique that uses a series of large nets to trap and exhaust the fish. There are traditions linked to Trapani in Sic ...

, learns that he has been transferred from the court of

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

to that of

. There, the investigating judge Gaetano Costa, a friend of Falcone, is assassinated just two months before retirement. After the death of his colleague, Falcone is assigned a bodyguard, Mario Fabbri. In 1984, he interrogates

Tommaso Buscetta Tommaso Buscetta (; 13 July 1928 – 2 April 2000) was a high-ranking Italian mobster and a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He became one of the first of its members to turn informant and explain the inner workings of the organization. Buscetta p ...

. Falcone would then have to fight, alongside his friend and colleague

Paolo Borsellino Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 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 ...

, against

Totò Riina Salvatore Riina (; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called Totò ( sicilian diminutive of Salvatore), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the early 1990s with ...

and

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...

, but also against the growing hostility directed at him—even from other magistrates. Both Sicilian judges would lose their lives in two separate attacks, both in 1992.

Cast

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
. Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an America ...

* F. Murray Abraham as

Tony Sperandeo Tony Sperandeo (born 8 May 1953) is an Italian actor of cinema and television. Sperandeo is notable for frequently playing the roles of tough characters from his native region, Sicily. As of 2011, he was working on ''La Nuova Squadra'', a police ...

as Stefano Bontate *

Anna Galiena Anna Galiena (born 22 December 1949) is an Italian actress, best known to English-speaking audiences for her appearances in '' Le Mari de la coiffeuse'', ''Jamón jamón'', '' Being Human'' and '' Senso '45''. Career She was born in a family t ...

as Francesca Morvillo * Andy Luotto as

Lina Sastri Pasqualina "Lina" Sastri is an Italian actress and singer. Life and career Born in Naples, Lina Sastri started acting in amateur dramatics at very young age. She made her professional debut with the theatrical company Teatro Libero, and had her ...

as Agnese Borsellino *

Arnoldo Foà Arnoldo Foà (24 January 1916 – 11 January 2014) was an Italian actor, voice actor, theatre director, singer and writer. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1938 and 2014. Biography Foà was born in Ferrara, Italy, to a Jewish f ...

as Judge

Antonino Caponnetto Antonino Caponnetto (5 September 1920 – 6 December 2002) was an Italian Antimafia magistrate. Biography Caponnetto was born in Caltanissetta in 1920. His career began in 1954 in Florence, but he became famous only in 1983, after Rocco ...

Ivo Garrani Ivo Garrani (6 February 1924 – 25 March 2015) was an Italian actor and voice actor. In films since 1952, Garrani is possibly best known for his role as Prince Vajda in Mario Bava's '' Black Sunday'' (1960). Biography Born in Introdacqua, ...

as Judge Gaetano Costa * Gianmarco Tognazzi as

Antonino Cassarà Antonino may refer to: * Antonino (name), a given name and a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Antonino, Kansas, an unincorporated community in Ellis County, Kansas, United States See also * Antoniano (disambiguation) * Antoñi ...

Pierfrancesco Favino Pierfrancesco Favino (; born 24 August 1969) is an Italian actor and film producer. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three David di Donatello, five Nastri d'argento, two Globi d'oro, three Ciak d'oro and a Volpi Cup. Favino ...

as Mario Fabbri *

Mattia Sbragia Mattia Sbragia (born 17 April 1952) is an Italian character actor. The son of the actor and stage director Giancarlo Sbragia and the actress Princess Esmeralda Ruspoli. He made his motion picture debut in 1974, in Franco Rossetti's ''Nipoti ...

as Judge Quinzi *

Francesco Benigno Francesco Benigno (born 4 October 1967), is an Italian actor, director, singer and television personality. Early life Benigno was born in Palermo, Sicily, the twelfth of thirteen children. He grew up in Via Cataldo Parisio located in the densel ...

Giuseppe Greco Giuseppe Greco (; 4 January 1952 – September 1985) was an Italian hitman and high-ranking member of the Sicilian Mafia. A number of sources refer to him exclusively as Pino Greco, although ''Giuseppe'' was his Christian name; ''Pino'' is a fr ...

*Mario Erpichini as Judge Rocco Chinnici *

Paolo Paoloni Paolo Paoloni (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2019) was an Italian actor. Biography A close friend of director Luciano Salce, Paoloni is best known for portraying the role of the Galactic Mega-director in the '' Fantozzi'' film saga. Despite bein ...

Salvo Lima Salvatore Achille Ettore Lima (; 23 January 1928 – 12 March 1992), often referred to as Salvo Lima, was an Italian politician from Sicily who was associated with, and murdered by, the Sicilian Mafia. According to the '' pentito'' (Mafia de ...

Victor Cavallo Victor Cavallo (birth name Vittorio Vitolo; 8 May 1947 in Rome – 22 January 2000 in Rome) was an Italian actor and underground writer. He started his acting career on stage in 1974, in cinema worked for directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci ...

* Giuseppe Cederna as Judge Giuseppe Ayala *Stefano Benassi as Inspector *Bruno Bilotta as

Salvatore Inzerillo Salvatore Inzerillo (; 20 August 1944 – 11 May 1981) was an Italian member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio (a diminutive for Salvatore). He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family. A prolific heroin traffic ...

* Luigi Maria Burruano as

Luciano Liggio Luciano Leggio (; 6 January 1925 – 15 November 1993) was an Italian criminal and leading figure of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone. He is universally known by the ...

* Monica Scattini as Francesca's Colleague *

Andrea Tidona Andrea Tidona (born 30 November 1951) is an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Modica, Sicily, Tidona formed at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici and later worked several years at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, under Giorgio ...

as Mayor *

Riccardo Salvino Riccardo Salvino (29 March 1944 – 12 January 1999) was an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Born in Palermo, Salvino made his film debut at 23 years old, with a main role in Franco De Rosis' ''Il magnaccio''. In the 1970s he ...

as Magistrate *

as Prison Director

References

External links

* 1999 films 1999 drama films Films about the Sicilian Mafia Films set in Italy HBO Films films Films directed by Ricky Tognazzi Films scored by Michael Tavera Italian drama films 1990s English-language films American drama television films 1990s American films 1990s Italian films {{1990s-US-drama-film-stub