Bella Mafia (TV 1997)

When Sofia marries into a Mafia family, she doesn't know what she's getting into. When her husband, all her brothers-in-law, and her father-in-law are murdered by a rival family, Sofia, her... See full summary »

Director:

David Greene

Writers:

Lynda La Plante (novel), Lynda La Plante (teleplay)

Stars:

Vanessa Redgrave, Dennis Farina, Nastassja Kinski

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Graziella Luciano
Dennis Farina	...	Don Roberto Luciano
Nastassja Kinski	...	Sophia Luciano
Jennifer Tilly	...	Moyra Luciano
Illeana Douglas	...	Teresa Scorpio Luciano
James Marsden	...	Luka
Gina Philips	...	Rosa Luciano
Richard Portnow	...	Anthony Moreno
Franco Nero	...	Mario Domino
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Vito Giancamo
Carmen Argenziano
Michael Hayden	...	Michael Luciano
Richard Joseph Paul	...	Constantino Luciano
W. Earl Brown	...	Fredrico Luciano
Tony Maggio	...	Alfredo

Storyline

When Sofia marries into a Mafia family, she doesn't know what she's getting into. When her husband, all her brothers-in-law, and her father-in-law are murdered by a rival family, Sofia, her mother-in-law and her sisters-in-law swear to get revenge upon the family.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | mafia | double child murder | fratricide | murder | 

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Taglines:

Hell hath no fury like the women of... [Bella Mafia]

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

16 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bela Mafia

Filming Locations:

Alverno High School - 200 North Michillinda Avenue, Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Königsberg Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 105 min (2 parts) 117 min (short)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

After Signor Musetti (Michael Kagen) is poisoned and collapses in his limo, he is seen dancing with Teresa (Illena Douglas) at the wedding reception which he had already left.

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Quotes

Luka - Age 10: Are you some kind of prisoner?
Giorgio Corolla: Possibly, but only of my own physical deformities.
Luka - Age 10: You're not eating?
Giorgio Corolla: Help yourself.
Luka - Age 10: Whats that stink in here? Do you go in your pants?
Giorgio Corolla: [chuckles] No, not today, fortunatly
Luka - Age 10: How old are you?
Giorgio Corolla: Older then anyone anticipated I would ever live to be, especially my father. How old are you?
Luka - Age 10: I dunno... Watcha got all these books for?
Giorgio Corolla: I read.
[...]

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Soundtracks

"Bella Luna"
Written by Peter D. Kaye and Lorenzo Caccialanza

User Reviews

Enjoyably ridiculous

It was the summon of a bevy of beauties, led by the superb Vanessa Redgrave that caught my attention. To have THEM as the mob bosses was both intriguing, sexy and a bit different.

The colour's turned up too high, you hardly ever feel that this family is connected and the accents are well dodgy. The blatant way murder plots are carried out so amateurishly is astounding - you don't really go into a court, visibly bribe the security, announce that the gun is under a seat and then show the thing! Yes, we know it's there, we're not blind or stupid! Then, when you shoot someone but miss and someone else finishes the job off for you, you DON'T get let off scott free.

Despite that, this Mafia tale for the Jilly Cooper parade (is that too harsh?) is not without its moments. Jennifer Tilly, to me, is always very watchable and Denis Farina as Redgrave's husband actually looks and plays the part. He's been in 'proper' Mafia flicks, you know!

I did lose interest a bit two-thirds in and lost count of the bodies and who was doing what to whom. I didn't really care. But for a winter's afternoon viewing as the wind and rain was howling, it provided very amiable entertainment indeed.