'I Capolavori' - The 4 and 5 star Italian classics, according to the Morandini dictionary
by stefanobarletta | created - 27 May 2012 | updated - 30 Mar 2018 | PublicThe “Dizionario dei Film” (Italian for: “Dictionary of Films”) – written and updated on a year-by-year basis by Laura, Luisa and Morando Morandini – is one of the highest-praised collection of film-reviews in Italy. Its purpose is to give the readers a short summary and a brief critical view for every film ever shown in our Country (even if available just on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.). Currently, about 27’000 films are reviewed on it. At the end of every article, there is a star-based rating, which works like this: * (one star), * 1/2 (one star and a half), * * (two stars), * * 1/2 (two stars and a half, * * * (three stars), * * * 1/2 (three stars and a half), * * * * (four stars), * * * * * (five stars). The four-star rating is generally given to film regarded as masterpieces, while the five-star rating is assigned to those films that are considered to be fundamental in the history of cinema or that represent the highest achievement of a great director.
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101. Placido Rizzotto (2000)
110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The real story of Placido Rizzotto, a trade union leader murdered by the mafia in Sicily in 1948
Director: Pasquale Scimeca | Stars: Marcello Mazzarella, Vincenzo Albanese, Carmelo Di Mazzarelli, Gioia Spaziani
Votes: 237
102. The Profession of Arms (2001)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, History, War
The history of the first victim of modern artillery and its moving agony, amidst conspiracies and betrayals of the powerful. Life and death of Giovanni De' Medici, a young brave captain in ... See full summary »
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Christo Jivkov, Sergio Grammatico, Dimitar Rachkov, Fabio Giubbani
Votes: 1,909
103. The Son's Room (2001)
R | 99 min | Drama
A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba-diving accident.
Director: Nanni Moretti | Stars: Nanni Moretti, Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca, Giuseppe Sanfelice
Votes: 21,446 | Gross: $1.01M
104. Carlo Giuliani, ragazzo (2002)
75 min | Documentary
Documentary about the death of Carlo Giuliani, who was shot by a police officer in Genoa on July 20, 2001 during a peaceful protest.
Director: Francesca Comencini | Stars: Heidi Gaggio Giuliani, Carlo Orlando
Votes: 134
105. My Mother's Smile (2002)
105 min | Drama
A celebrated painter receives a visit from a cardinal's assistant, who informs him that his mother could become a saint.
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Sergio Castellitto, Jacqueline Lustig, Chiara Conti, Gigio Alberti
Votes: 1,978 | Gross: $0.04M
106. I'm Not Scared (2003)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A young boy accidentally discovers a deep hole in the ground, where another boy is kept prisoner.
Director: Gabriele Salvatores | Stars: Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Dino Abbrescia, Giorgio Careccia, Riccardo Zinna
Votes: 15,553 | Gross: $1.62M
107. The Best of Youth (2003)
R | 374 min | Drama, Romance
An Italian epic that follows the lives of two brothers from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana | Stars: Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Jasmine Trinca, Adriana Asti
Votes: 23,213 | Gross: $0.27M
108. The Keys to the House (2004)
PG | 111 min | Drama
Meeting his disabled son for the first time, a young father attempts to forge a relationship with the teenager.
Director: Gianni Amelio | Stars: Kim Rossi Stuart, Andrea Rossi, Charlotte Rampling, Alla Faerovich
Votes: 2,472
109. Oh! Man (2004)
71 min | Documentary, War
From the emblem of totalitarianism to individual physical suffering, this is a representation of man's rampaging violence to draw up an anatomical inventory of the damaged body and examine the consequences of the conflict on children.
Directors: Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi | Star: Benito Mussolini
Votes: 91
110. Golden Door (2006)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama, History, Romance
A Sicilian peasant begins the journey to the promised land and meets a beautiful Englishwoman. But neither is prepared for the harsh realities of Ellis Island. Can they make it through the golden door to the America of their dreams?
Director: Emanuele Crialese | Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato, Vincent Schiavelli, Aurora Quattrocchi
Votes: 5,198 | Gross: $1.06M
111. The Wedding Director (2006)
97 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A film director falls in love with the daughter of a prince.
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Sergio Castellitto, Donatella Finocchiaro, Sami Frey, Gianni Cavina
Votes: 851
112. La stella che non c'è (2006)
103 min | Drama
Labourer Vincenzo travels from Italy to China in search of a machine with a deficiency that was produced in the now defunct establishment at which Vincenzo worked for years.
Director: Gianni Amelio | Stars: Sergio Castellitto, Ling Tai, Angelo Costabile, Hiu Sun Ha
Votes: 923
113. One Hundred Nails (2007)
92 min | Drama
An Italian professor seeks refuge in the quiet, peaceful ruins of an old building.
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Raz Degan, Luna Bendandi, Andrea Lanfredi, Amina Syed
Votes: 779
114. Il Divo (2008)
Not Rated | 110 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Italian politician Giulio Andreotti, who has served as Prime Minister of Italy seven times since the restoration of democracy in 1946.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino | Stars: Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, Giulio Bosetti, Flavio Bucci
Votes: 19,012 | Gross: $0.24M
115. Gomorrah (2008)
Not Rated | 137 min | Crime, Drama
Scampia Vele is the Corbusian architecture which has become a stronghold for Mafia of Naples, Italy.
Director: Matteo Garrone | Stars: Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abbruzzese, Toni Servillo, Simone Sacchettino
Votes: 51,218 | Gross: $1.58M
116. La bocca del lupo (2009)
Not Rated | 68 min | Documentary, Romance
The story of a criminal Vincenzo and his trans lover Mary, who waited for him for many years while he served his prison sentence.
Director: Pietro Marcello | Stars: Vincenzo Motta, Mary Monaco, Franco Leo, Stefano Carappa
Votes: 676
117. Lo spazio bianco (2009)
96 min | Drama
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 ... See full summary »
Director: Francesca Comencini | Stars: Margherita Buy, Gaetano Bruno, Giovanni Ludeno, Antonia Truppo
Votes: 400
118. Terra madre (2009)
78 min | Documentary
A documentary about the slow food movement.
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Ampello Bucci, Stefano Gatti, Maurizio Gelati, Nicholas Paganessi
Votes: 104
119. The Man Who Will Come (2009)
115 min | Drama, War
In the winter of 1943 a young girl named Martina stays silent following the death of her brother several years before. Her mother's pregnancy gives her hope, but as her brother is born the Nazis begin rounding up civilians.
Director: Giorgio Diritti | Stars: Greta Zuccheri Montanari, Claudio Casadio, Alba Rohrwacher, Maya Sansa
Votes: 1,813
120. Vincere (2009)
Unrated | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of Mussolini's secret lover, Ida Dalser, and their son Albino.
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi, Fausto Russo Alesi, Michela Cescon
Votes: 5,915 | Gross: $0.62M
121. We Believed (2010)
205 min | History
The stories of three young men who, in the wake of the ferocious repression by the Bourbon reign in 1828, decide to join Giuseppe Mazzini's Young Italy movement.
Director: Mario Martone | Stars: Raffaele Di Florio, Francesca Inaudi, Andrea Bosca, Edoardo Natoli
Votes: 631
122. Le Quattro Volte (2010)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama
An old shepherd lives his last days in a quiet medieval village perched high on the hills of Calabria, at the southernmost tip of Italy. He herds goats under skies that most villagers have ... See full summary »
Director: Michelangelo Frammartino | Stars: Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano, Artemio Vallone
Votes: 4,274 | Gross: $0.15M
123. Riviera (1954)
102 min | Comedy, Drama
Annamaria, an ex-prostitute, takes her young daughter from convent school with her on a summer vacation. She introduces herself like a widow just to be accepted by people in the Italy of ... See full summary »
Director: Alberto Lattuada | Stars: Martine Carol, Raf Vallone, Mario Carotenuto, Carlo Romano
Votes: 289
124. Anger (1963)
Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary
"La Rabbia" employs documentary footage (from the 1950s) and accompanying commentary to attempt to answer the existential question, Why are our lives characterized by discontent, anguish, ... See full summary »
Directors: Giovanni Guareschi, Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Giorgio Bassani, Renato Guttuso, Gigi Artuso, Carlo Romano
Votes: 539
125. I cento cavalieri (1964)
85 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Don Fernando, the son of El Cid, rallies peasants and townspeople to overthrow Moorish occupiers in medieval Spain.
Director: Vittorio Cottafavi | Stars: Mark Damon, Antonella Lualdi, Rafael Alonso, Manuel Gallardo
Votes: 212
126. Con il cuore fermo Sicilia (1965)
Documentary
A short subject, originally intended to be fleshed out as a feature, about the fear created in Sicily by the Mafia.
Director: Gianfranco Mingozzi
127. Youth March (1969)
108 min | Drama
Ferrara, 1936-1941. Giordano and Mariuccia, brother and sister, form a consolidated trio of friends with Giulio. The first two belong to the agrarian middle class, while the third is of ... See full summary »
Director: Franco Rossi | Stars: Alain Noury, Roberto Lande, Leonard Mann, Katia Moguy
Votes: 27
128. Bronte: cronaca di un massacro che i libri di storia non hanno raccontato (1972)
109 min | Drama, History
The revolt of the people of a Sicilian village further to the Expedition of the Thousand which, in 1860, enables Garibaldi to liberate Sicily.
Director: Florestano Vancini | Stars: Ivo Garrani, Mariano Rigillo, Ilija Dzuvalekovski, Rudolf Kukic
Votes: 79
129. Diario di un maestro (1973– )
135 min | Drama, Reality-TV
A new teacher in a poor Rome suburb tries innovative methods to reach troubled students, but his efforts are opposed by the school administration.
Stars: Bruno Cirino, Massimo Bonini, Luciano Del Croce, Romano Di Mascio
Votes: 112
130. Le cinque stagioni (1976– )
55 min
Stars: Alberto Sorrentino, Carlo Romano, Laerte Ottonelli, Andrea Municchi
Votes: 11
131. Il piccolo Archimede (1979 TV Movie)
83 min | Drama
Director: Gianni Amelio | Stars: John Steiner, Franco Pugi, Liliana Vannini, Aldo Salvi
Votes: 43
132. La giacca verde (1979 TV Movie)
118 min
Director: Franco Giraldi | Stars: Jean-Pierre Cassel, Vittorio Sanipoli, Laura Trotter, Renzo Montagnani
Votes: 26
133. D'amore si vive (1983)
93 min | Documentary
The director interviews five people with different backgrounds about love and sex.
Director: Silvano Agosti | Star: Silvano Agosti
Votes: 212
134.
Capitali culturali d'Europa (1983– )
Episode:
Milano '83
(1983)
65 min | Documentary
Captures the sights and sounds of Milan, Italy, with a hand held camera.
Director: Ermanno Olmi
Votes: 35
136. Tano da morire (1997)
80 min | Drama, Musical
Shot in his butcher shop by a rival clan during the Mafia wars of 1988, the Palermo Mobster Tano Guarrasi is mourned by his wife, four unmarried sisters and his daughter. But in truth, his ... See full summary »
Directors: Roberta Torre, Vincenzo Navarra | Stars: Ciccio Guarino, Enzo Paglino, Mimma De Rosalia, Maria Aliotta
Votes: 237
137. Farewell to the Past (2002)
47 min | Documentary, Music
It is a unusual documentary that mixes the music of famous opera composer Giuseppe Verdi with places, faces and voices from Piacenza, a nice place in the north of Italy where Verdi lived ... See full summary »
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Eleonora Alberici, Daniela Pilla, Paola Quagliata, Corrado Ambiveri
Votes: 19
138. Excellent Cadavers (2005)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary
In the late-80s and early-90s, two prosecutors went after the mob in Sicily. Archival footage, gruesome photographs and new interviews are shown.
Director: Marco Turco | Stars: Giuseppe Ayala, Letizia Battaglia, Alexander Stille
Votes: 161
139. The Wind Blows Round (2005)
110 min | Drama
The aging, conservative population of a small, sleepy village in the Italian Alps are surprised to see that a former French professor has settled there with his young wife and their three ... See full summary »
Director: Giorgio Diritti | Stars: Thierry Toscan, Alessandra Agosti, Dario Anghilante, Giovanni Foresti
Votes: 771
140. Biùtiful cauntri (2007)
79 min | Documentary
Dying cattle, toxic agricultural fields, increased tumors. These are some of the effects of the ecological businesses of the mafias in Campania. White-collar crimes that kill as much, if not more, than armed ones.
Directors: Esmeralda Calabria, Andrea D'Ambrosio
Votes: 110
141. Puccini and the Girl (2008)
84 min | Biography, Drama
While Puccini is totally engrossed with the composition of his opera La fanciulla del West, sexual intrigue swirls around him.
Director: Paolo Benvenuti | Stars: Tania Squillario, Riccardo Moretti, Giovanna Daddi, Debora Mattiello
Votes: 95
142. Notizie degli scavi (2010)
89 min | Drama
Director: Emidio Greco | Stars: Giuseppe Battiston, Ambra Angiolini, Iaia Forte, Anna Paola Vellaccio
Votes: 178
143. Le premier homme (2011)
101 min | Drama
The first man is an adaptation of the unfinished autobiographical novel "Le Premier Homme" by the french writer Albert Camus. It tells the story of Jacques Cormery and his childhood in Algeria.
Director: Gianni Amelio | Stars: Michel Crémadès, Jacques Gamblin, Mickaël Batret, Jean Benoit Souilh
Votes: 573
144. Scattered Cloud (2011)
Comedy
Director: Saverio Di Biagio | Stars: Michele Alhaique, Greta Scarano, Aylin Prandi, Pietro Sermonti
Votes: 149
145. Rudolf Jacobs: L'uomo che nacque morendo (2011)
96 min | Drama, History
Director: Luigi Faccini | Stars: Marina Piperno, Carlo Prussiani, Paolino Ranieri, Zenech Marani
146. The Cardboard Village (2011)
87 min | Drama
When a group of African immigrants builds a cardboard village between the pews of a soon-to-be-closed church, an elderly priest must choose between his calling and his orders.
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Michael Lonsdale, Rutger Hauer, Massimo De Francovich, Alessandro Haber
Votes: 306
147. Caesar Must Die (2012)
Unrated | 77 min | Drama
Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar."
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | Stars: Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca
Votes: 6,813
148. Educazione siberiana (2013)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama
In a ghetto run by a clan of outlaw gangs, the head preaches an "education" of mastering the illegal arts such as theft and banditry; while keeping a stringent code of honor that is considered ethical and moral and must never be broken.
Director: Gabriele Salvatores | Stars: Arnas Fedaravicius, Vilius Tumalavicius, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jonas Trukanas
Votes: 8,054
149. If I Close My Eyes I'm Not Here (2013)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
Kiko is a teenager whose now dead father was Italian and his mother Marilou is from the Philippines. They live with Ennio, mother's new boyfriend, a foreman who recruits and exploits ... See full summary »
Director: Vittorio Moroni | Stars: Elena Arvigo, Enrico Bergamasco, Giorgio Colangeli, Vladimir Doda
Votes: 65
150. Still Life (I) (2013)
TV-14 | 92 min | Drama
A council case worker looks for the relatives of those found dead and alone.
Director: Uberto Pasolini | Stars: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Karen Drury, Andrew Buchan
Votes: 8,908
151. Long Live Freedom (2013)
Not Rated | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
When a politician disappears, his (mad) twin brother is brought to replace him.
Director: Roberto Andò | Stars: Toni Servillo, Valerio Mastandrea, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Michela Cescon
Votes: 4,702 | Gross: $0.05M
152. Black Souls (2014)
Not Rated | 109 min | Crime, Drama
The story of three brothers, the sons of a shepherd, close to the ndrangheta and of their divided soul.
Director: Francesco Munzi | Stars: Marco Leonardi, Peppino Mazzotta, Fabrizio Ferracane, Barbora Bobulova
Votes: 3,140 | Gross: $0.10M
153. Leopardi (2014)
143 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based upon the short but fruitful life of illness-racked Italian poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi.
Director: Mario Martone | Stars: Elio Germano, Michele Riondino, Massimo Popolizio, Anna Mouglalis
Votes: 3,050
154. The Wonders (2014)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A family of beekeepers living in the Tuscan countryside finds their household disrupted by the simultaneous arrival of a silently troubled teenage boy and a reality TV show intent on showcasing the family.
Director: Alice Rohrwacher | Stars: Alba Rohrwacher, Maria Alexandra Lungu, Sam Louwyck, Sabine Timoteo
Votes: 5,975 | Gross: $0.07M
155. Greenery Will Bloom Again (2014)
80 min | Drama, History, War
A group of soldiers face the difficulty of war during one night at the Italian Front.
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Claudio Santamaria, Camillo Grassi, Niccolò Senni, Andrea Di Maria
Votes: 976
156. The State-Mafia Pact (2014)
108 min | Crime
The story about how the pact beetween Italian State and Mafia was inked with innocence blood.
Director: Sabina Guzzanti | Stars: Sabina Guzzanti, Antonino Bruschetta, Sabino Civilleri, Enzo Lombardo
Votes: 687
157. Lost and Beautiful (2015)
Not Rated | 87 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
The foolish servant Pulcinella is sent from the depths of Mt. Vesuvius to present-day Campania to honor the last wishes of the poor shepherd Tommaso: his mission is to save a young buffalo ... See full summary »
Director: Pietro Marcello | Stars: Tommaso Cestrone, Sergio Vitolo, Gesuino Pittalis, Elio Germano
Votes: 653
158. Mia madre (2015)
R | 106 min | Drama
Margherita, a director in the middle of an existential crisis, has to deal with the inevitable and still unacceptable loss of her mother.
Director: Nanni Moretti | Stars: Margherita Buy, John Turturro, Giulia Lazzarini, Nanni Moretti
Votes: 7,760 | Gross: $0.30M
159. Ridendo e scherzando - Ritratto di un regista all'italiana (2015)
85 min | Documentary
A biographic, artistic and human portrait of the great filmmaker Ettore Scola, realized with archive material, movie clips, backstage clips, photos from family albums, sketches and ... See full summary »
Directors: Paola Scola, Silvia Scola | Stars: Ettore Scola, Pif, Vittorio Gassman, Jack Lemmon
Votes: 36
160. Youth (I) (2015)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A retired orchestra conductor is on vacation with his daughter and his film director best friend in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino | Stars: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Jane Fonda
Votes: 83,099 | Gross: $2.70M
161. Fiore (2016)
110 min | Drama, Romance
Youth detention centre. Daphne, arrested for theft, falls in love with Josh, who is also a young robber. Men and women can not meet in jail and love is forbidden. Daphne and Josh's ... See full summary »
Director: Claudio Giovannesi | Stars: Daphne Scoccia, Josciua Algeri, Valerio Mastandrea, Gessica Giulianielli
Votes: 1,172
162. Like Crazy (2016)
Not Rated | 116 min | Comedy, Drama
Two quite different women escape a mental institution to see Tuscany in a stolen car and get to know each other.
Director: Paolo Virzì | Stars: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Micaela Ramazzotti, Valentina Carnelutti, Sergio Albelli
Votes: 10,279 | Gross: $0.11M
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