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.

Why bother seeing a fictionalized account of such trauma and horror when the real McCoy is available as a documentary? I haven't seen this account, but I have seen the documentary produced by Stille in the same year as this.I have great admiration for Chaz Palminteri and F. Murray Abraham, two fine actors, whom I'm sure acquitted themselves well. Much more interesting, however, to find out how Stille unraveled the truth behind the assassinations of Falcone and Borsellino.I'd read about the efforts of those two martyrs as it all happened: press coverage at the time was quite good, and I was amazed at how those two judges managed to avoid death so often.But, as we all know, that cowardly organization of Cosa Nostra aka the Mafia has seemingly unstoppable reach, right into the upper echelons of Italian government. And, Stille holds nothing back as he shows the connections between government officials of all types – including another judge – and the Mafia. There is even the strong implication that, after the trial and sentencing of 384 Mafia gangsters, rogue elements in the Italian government may have been involved in efforts to stop and kill Falcone and Borsellino.Unhappily, where there's money, there's always corruption. No society seems to be able to avoid that.With the Mafia, however, the control of Sicily and Italian government seems complete, proving once again that everything changes, but nothing changes fundamentally.Scenes in the documentary are not for kiddies, with many real dead bodies, a severed head, bits and pieces from bomb blasts – an absolute carnage. Maybe the commercial production had the same shots, but somehow I doubt it.If you want the whole story – well, as much as you're ever gonna get – then see the documentary of the same name: Excellent Cadavers.

"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-)

Because it's based on facts, you begin to watch this movie knowing perfectly well what's going to happen and what the ending will be - nevertheless, it's gripping and deeply involving. The story of judge Falcone is faithully recreated - though too shortened for my liking - and does him justice. Chazz Palminteri plays Falcone much better than I expected, and while F. Murray Abraham does not look like the real Tommasso Buscetta, he does a fair portrayal of a "man of honour". The role and part of Toto Riina, while secondary, is worth mentioning too - it's truly frightening!