Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

As a TV movie it's incredible. The script did a splendid job, making a hard to forget experience. The lines are perfect, the details are insightful, and the case is shown extremely effective. It gives us many events, points of view, and characters in a classy panting way, showing Italy vs. mafia in the first half of the 1980s, exposing how the mob bought all; the ministry of justice, the parliament, and even the church. As for the direction I was amazed. Not too many "based on true story" TV movies got that concern. Look at the clothes, the cars' brands, the haircuts.. the accuracy is outstanding. For instance, the movie's first sequence (the pre-credits one that takes place in the 1970s) is clever to a degree forces you to swear that that was made in the real 1970s ! The movie is intense, having a non-stop energy as the same as its main character. There are so many good moments, and simple yet powerful artistic touches. And I just can't forget the final assassination scene; that was richly done and unforgettably shocking (by the way, in the real murder 350 kg of dynamite were used). The production values are above average. HBO made it look like any big cinematic movie made by independent studio. I think with another, more bankable, cast this could have made it to the theaters easily. The music glorifies the title's character, mirroring his loftiness, in the same time it has a sad and grieving feeling to it. (F. Murray Abraham) reproves again how charismatic he is, and in fact the script gave him a hell of a role; the noble gangster, the wounded father, the star witness, the lord who's going to live lowly because of his confession, and the literally "wise" guy who his last words are "love is the only thing that matters at the end" (I just didn't like the shot in which he hides his sudden tears while remembering the murder of his 2 sons; this second looked fake). Still, what could be more dazzling than the hero himself, the hero indeed, (Giovanni Falcone)? His courage is historical, and his struggle is inspiring. Very few characters of this kind you would meet in real life, so making a movie about him is rare and desired. It is unbelievable biography that kicks the hell out of all the imaginary superheroes and the true criminals that the American cinema fall in love with for the past years. Which sorrowfully leads us to the major flaw that this movie suffers, and I mean its lead actor. I believe they picked out Chazz Palminteri as someone has Italian roots on one hand, and as American – kind of known – actor to assure distributing the movie internationally on the other hand. But I was highly disappointed due to his performance. In all of his movies, Chazz Palminteri is no one but Chazz Palminteri, delivering mostly a usual performance. This time it was sub-bar usual! The man dealt so belittlingly with that great character, playing him from outside, while using the Palminteri known-by-heart signature moves (the same old diction, body language, tone..), in a way made him the movie's weakest factor. And I didn't understand the matter of the big mustache too. The actual Falcone was a handsome man, not having that fur ball over his face! So obviously it wasn't enough to see Palminteri doing his routine in the totally wrong place, to have even more problems while trying to "see" that itself !! Many scenes were ruined by this pale portrayal, and it's just bad irony considering how high the whole movie was. Maybe I blamed the editing slightly for using the same spirit while dealing with everything (the length of cutting was about the same; whether the event was bloody or emotional). Maybe it didn't get to show the side of the enemy, or give us a chance to hear them. But any of this or that wasn't a problem which could harm this fine work. However, the problem of this movie about Giovanni Falcone is the one who played Giovanni Falcone. He played down the character and the movie.

Excellent Cadavers has only two things going against it: A) it gives away the ending in the first couple minutes of the movie, and B) it is way too short and never gives us a chance to really hear the whole story. The ending is awfully truncated, but then again the main character's life is just like the movie.F. Murray Abraham and Chaz Palminteri both turn in expectedly strong performances, as do a number of native Italian actors doing their best to deliver their lines in English and generally doing quite well. Fausto Lombardi (from RATS and TERROR EXPRESS) has a good cameo as a mafioso interviewed while in prison. Dubbing voice provider Andy Luotto, who made no impression on me at all as Ben Gunn in TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE, turns in a surprisingly heartfelt performance as Palminteri's second-fiddle who takes over the battle later on.The romance for once feels fairly realistic and not too tacked-on. The woman he falls in love with sort of reminds me of an Italian Charlotte Rampling (the eyes anyway). It actually works more toward the movie's benefit than it's detriment, as well as the numerous mafia gun battles and assassinations which are all generally handled quite well.Definitely worth a purchase if you can find it. It tends to pop up in bargain bins where you'd least expect it to be.

"Excellent Cadavers" is an HBO docudrama which tells the story of Italian hero Giovanni Falcone; a Sicilian judge who dared to take on the Mafia in its homeland and did more to rid Sicily of its age old scourge than any other man since Mussolini. As with most docudramas, this film leapfrogs through time hitting the historical high-points while trying to maintain continuity and build a dramatic tale. The result is a better history lesson than dramatic biography and a film which will play best for those with a specific interest in the Sicilian Mafia of the late 20 century. (B-)

This film, largely created in Palermo, is a decidedly solid attempt, in a quasi-documentary form, at presenting many of the facts revolving about the courageous efforts of the Sicilian judge, Giovanni Falcone (played by Chazz Palminteri), to staunch the political power of the Mafia in Italy. Few real-life stories could be as dramatic or as meaningful to a nation as Falcone's sacrifice for his country. Director Ricky Tognazzi, son of Ugo, kept this work within a tight and neatly edited framework. The acting was solid throughout, particularly by Palminteri and Anna Galiena. It will probably be of limited interest to those not familiar with the facts upon which it is based, but will reward those who watch it by its well-crafted performances by cast and crew.