La piovra (1984– )

Corrado Cattani is a police inspector whose life is devoted to fighting the Italian mafia (known here as "La Piovra" or "The Octopus"). Even as his family and life are being destroyed by ... See full summary »

Stars:

Michele Placido, Barbara De Rossi, Patricia Millardet

4 wins.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Michele Placido	...	Commissario Corrado Cattani (6 episodes, 1984)
Barbara De Rossi	...	Contessa Raffaella 'Titti' Pecci Scialoia (6 episodes, 1984)
Patricia Millardet	...	Magistrato Silvia Conti (6 episodes, 1984)
Remo Girone	...	Tano Cariddi (6 episodes, 1984)
Nicole Jamet	...	Else Cattani (6 episodes, 1984)
Angelo Infanti	...	Sante Cirinná (6 episodes, 1984)
Pino Colizzi	...	Nanni Santamaria (6 episodes, 1984)
Renato Mori	...	Vice-Commissario Giuseppe Altero (6 episodes, 1984)
Eurilla del Bono	...	Anna Caruso (6 episodes, 1984)
Cariddi Nardulli	...	Paola Cattani (6 episodes, 1984)
Geoffrey Copleston	...	Alfredo Ravanusa (6 episodes, 1984)
Jacques Dacqmine	...	Professor Sebastiano Cannito (6 episodes, 1984)
Paul Guers	...	Professor Gianfranco Laudeo (6 episodes, 1984)
Flavio Bucci	...	Don Manfredi (6 episodes, 1984)
Florinda Bolkan	...	Olga Camastra (6 episodes, 1984)
François Périer	...	Avvocato Terrasini (6 episodes, 1984)
Michele Abruzzo	...	Prosecutor Scardona (5 episodes, 1984)
Massimo Bonetti	...	Vice-Commissario Leo De Maria (4 episodes, 1984)
Erina Spoto	...	Irina, the Cattanis' housekeeper (4 episodes, 1984)
Luigi Atzeri	...	Police Officer Martini (4 episodes, 1984)
Raoul Bova	...	Gianni Breda and Carlo Arcuti (3 episodes, 1984)
Simona Cavallari	...	Ester Rasi (3 episodes, 1984)
Rosangela Pagana	...	Rosa, Terrasini's niece (3 episodes, 1984)
Domenico Gennaro	...	Antonio, Cirinná's Cousin (3 episodes, 1984)
Patrizia Allegra	...	Spilungona, Ravanusa's Daughter (3 episodes, 1984)
Giuseppe Pierini	...	Cirinná's Second Cousin (3 episodes, 1984)
Franco Tranchina	...	Chief Morelli (3 episodes, 1984)
Maria Denaro	...	Cirinná's Mother (3 episodes, 1984)
Marcello Perracchio	...	Accountant Lo Spanno (3 episodes, 1984)

Storyline

Corrado Cattani is a police inspector whose life is devoted to fighting the Italian mafia (known here as "La Piovra" or "The Octopus"). Even as his family and life are being destroyed by ruthless criminals, the intrepid comissar keeps fighting...

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Plot Keywords:

police | mafia | truth | murder | infidelity | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Italy France UK West Germany

Language:

Italian English French

Release Date:

11 March 1984 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Octopus

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rai Uno Radiotelevisione, Télécip, Channel 4

Technical Specs

Runtime:

402 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

RAI wanted Franco Nero to play Corrado Cattani. But Damiano Damiani insisted on Michele Placido.

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Quotes

Comtessa Raffaella Pecci Scialoia: I'm so scared of death... It's always so... unexpected.

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Connections

Followed by La piovra 8 - Lo scandalo (1997)

User Reviews

Moralistic loner inspector Cattani fights organised crime in Italy

I saw the series on DVD; there are 4 series with the terrific Michele Placido in the lead as solitary and stubborn police inspector Corrado Cattani, who is determined to conquer the evil elements in Italy.

To start with, it's interesting to see the dramatic quality increase of the production. In the first series the sound and image quality is terrible, yet in the fourth everything seems to be at a higher level. More attention was paid to the cinematography, it looks more professional and there are more dramatic "tricks" than in the previous series. Even the actresses look more beautiful! Patricia Millardet plays the mature and strong judge Silvia Conti to work aside Cattani while Simona Cavallari plays the juvenile Esther Rasi who idolizes Cattani) Next to being a thriller, La Piovra is also convincing as a study of organised crime in Italy. The characters are well developed and the acting is fantastic. The basic plot line: inspector Cattani's eternal conflict of interests between his family life and his professional life, which sometimes leads to very dramatic scenes. He loves his family yet his urge to combat organised crime in his beloved country is equally strong. At various points he is "accused" of being a moralist. Actually he is one of the few that dares to makes a fist against the bunch of opportunists who seem to have infiltrated Italy's political and economic system at all possible levels... The tormented inspector fights different enemies; my favourite one is Tano Carridi (4th series, very well played by Remo Girone). He displays a great mix of villainy and sadness that almost makes you symphatise with him. A worthy opponent of Cattani! The great music by Ennio Morricone in the series also adds a lot to the atmosphere! I highly recommend this series.