Basilio Franchina
Writing
Known For

In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.
The Fall of the Roman Empire

When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
Gloria

Francesca and Walter are two-bit criminals in Northern Italy, and, in an effort to avoid the police, Francesca joins a group of women rice workers. She meets the voluptuous peasant rice worker, Silvana, and the soon-to-be-discharged soldier, Marco. Walter follows her to the rice fields, and the four characters become involved in a complex plot involving robbery, love, and murder.
Bitter Rice

In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, a twelve-year-old boy is left to his own devices in order to help provide for his family.
Germany, Year Zero

John the Baptist, the prophet of Israel, is imprisoned by Herod, governor of Judea for protesting Herod's marriage to his brother's wife. Jealousies rage and Herod's step-daughter and niece Salome seduces Herod by means of a torrid dance to give her the head of the prophet - but then tries to save the life of the man she has thus condemned. Updated to a WWII setting
Salomé

Darien, a left-wing police informant, is forced to lure his old friend Sadiel to Paris, allegedly to film a television special about the Third World. Sadiel, the exiled leader of a North African state, is being hunted by the ruthless Colonel Kassar, who will stop at nothing to capture his political rival. Once Sadiel arrives in Paris, Darien realizes he has been manipulated. He tries to turn back the clock, not realizing what or who he’s truly dealing with.
The Assassination

When peasant girl Nives is deserted by smuggler Gino Lodi, she betrays him to the police. Police officer Enzo Cinti, who loves Nives, traces her to the Po River cane-fields, where she is working as a cutter to support herself and an infant son, and warns her that Gino has escaped from prison and is seeking revenge. She rejects his offer to protect her. Gino finds Nives, mourning the drowning death of their son. He surrenders himself to the police and then walks at Nives' side in the funeral procession.
Woman of the River

The story of 5 girls among 200 who answer a wanted ad for a modest secretarial position, which leads to overcrowding in the building and a tragic accident.
Rome 11:00

A young shepherd returns home after the Second World War having been held in a prisoner of war camp. He finds that the local landowner has stolen his sheep and his girlfriend. When he also assaults and murders his sister, the shepherd takes revenge.
Under the Olive Tree

Sophia Loren, who was born in Rome and lived there as a child, returns to the city that will forever be in her blood and gives her impressions of and reactions to the mosaic of Rome and the people she encounters there during her visit. She meets Marcello Mastroianni and Vittorio de Sica as she visits the sights, affectionately commenting on the grandeur of the Eternal City and the irrepressible nature of its people.
Sophia Loren in Rome

Maria, a prostitute, meets Cesare in a police station, a drunkard reporter. Cesare falls in love with her and wants to save her from her bleak life but the girl refuses any help.
L'ultimo amante

In Pietro Mascagni's tragic opera, a soldier returns home from war to reclaim his former fiancée, only to find that she's married someone else in his absence, leading to jealousy, betrayal, and murder.
Fatal Desire

A young widow flees from her small town and moves to the seaside, where she falls for a fisherman.
Menzogna
Alberto Gherardi, a sailor is wrongly suspected of murder, flied and enroll into the Foreign Legion. His unfaithful fiancee Irene goes to look for him with his young brother Enrico, but the latter is killed. Will she still manage to free her lover?
Trouble for the Legion
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