Excellent Cadavers

Excellent Cadavers is a crime drama set in Palermo, Sicily, during the 1980s. Giovanni Falcone, an examining magistrate, works to bring down the Corleone clan, the faction that controls Cosa Nostra through violence and eliminates anyone who opposes it, including other criminals, police officers, judges and ordinary citizens. To achieve this, he forms an alliance with Tommaso Buscetta, a former mobster whose cooperation as a witness opens a path into the organization's inner structures. The story follows Falcone's professional and private life, including his marriage to Francesca Morvillo, and his partnership with fellow magistrate Paolo Borsellino.

The film was directed by Ricky Tognazzi, working from a screenplay by Peter Pruce. It was produced by HBO Films with Italian and American partners, and it was made for television. Chazz Palminteri plays Falcone, F. Murray Abraham plays Buscetta, and Anna Galiena, Andy Luotto, Lina Sastri and Arnoldo Foà appear in supporting roles. Roughly eighty performers are credited, alongside a crew of more than forty.

On IMDb, the film holds a rating of 6.6 from about 1,600 votes, while on TMDB it has a 6.3 from a much smaller group of viewers. A critics' rating of 6.4 from eight reviews places it close to the audience scores, suggesting a modest but consistent reception. It is the first of two features Tognazzi has directed, followed years later by Francesca e Giovanni.