SIGNORA VOLPE - SERIES 1, EPISODE 1: AN ANXIOUS AUNT (ACORN TV)

Emilia Fox, star of the long-running Silent Witness for the BBC, plays a superspy named Sylvia Fox (!) sleuthing in the postcard Italy of Signora Volpe.

 

This pleasant 3 x 90-minute detective drama started this month on the SVOD service Acorn TV .

« Well, goodbye Signora Fox. Or should I say Signora Volpe? 

- Sounds better in Italian.

- Everything sounds better in Italian. »

 

Sylvia Fox is a high-ranking MI6 executive. A disagreement with her superiors prompts her to take a few days leave and go to Italy, where her sister Isabel lives, to attend the wedding of her niece Alice. For her family, Sylvia is a "boring civil servant" with a dull diplomatic career. But when Alice's fiancé disappears and a dead body is found near his house, Sylvia uses her spy skills and contacts to investigate. Captain Giovanni Riva, of the local Carabinieri, suspects that the "Signora Volpe" ("Volpe" means Fox in Italian) is more than what she pretends to be. 

 

Emilia Fox as The Equalizer solving mysteries in some superb Italian locations (the Lazio and Umbria regions) is obviously the main reason to watch Signora Volpe. The series was created by Rachel Cuperman and Sally Griffiths (Midsomer Murders), who wrote the three feature-length episodes. The plot of the premiere is a pretext to introduce the fantastic Miss Sylvia Fox and a sample of her many talents. Tara Fitzgerald (Belgravia, Game of Thrones) plays Isabel Vitale. Sylvia's ex-husband Adam Haines, who's a MI6 spy too, is played by Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica). Giovanni Cirfierra (Ford v Ferrari, American Crime Story) is Capitano Riva.

With Matteo Carlomagno (Matteo Vitale), Issy Knopfler (Alice Shepherd), Imma Piro (The Bastards of Pizzofalcone) as Antonella Vitale, Mehdi Meskar (Samir Hamdani), Marianne Leoni (Raffaella Tasso), Luigi Di Fiore (Ercole Guerra), Orlando Cinque (Romanzo criminale: La serie) as Richelmo Gregori, Giulio Corso (Tomasso Rossi), Gianni D'Addario (Monterossi - La serie) as Enrico Ferluga, Souad Faress (Dame Felicity Morris), Buket Komur (Rabia Yacoub), Cristina Moglia (Carla Galli), etc. Directed by Dudi Appleton (Silent Witness). Co-produced by Route 24 Ltd and Acorn Media Enterprises (A division of AMC Networks).

 

Exec produced by Josie Law & Marc Samuelson (Route 24), Rachel Cuperman & Sally Griffiths, Catherine Mackin & Bea Tammer (Acorn Media Enterprises) and Dudi Appleton & Emilia Fox. Produced by Patricia Rybarczyk. Productions services by Cattleya (Cristina Giubbetti exec produces for the company). Music by Anne Dudley. Cinematography by Michael Lavelle ISC. Editing by Dan Farrell. Production designed by Cinzia Lo Fazio. Costumes designed by Claudette Lilly. Titles designed by Matt Curtis and produced by Matt Lawrence. Made with the assistance of the Italian Tax Credit (Law N. 244 of December 24, 2007). Distributed by Banijay Rights.

https://nypost.com/2022/05/02/how-emilia-fox-morphs-into-signora-volpe-in-new-mystery-series/

https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/silentwitness25-post1

GRAND HOTEL - EPISODES 1 AND 2 (RAI 1)

[Spoiler-Free] 1905, in the Schnalsthal valley (1), South Tyrol (in the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Pietro Neri, a young man of modest origin, arrives from the province of Verona to visit his sister Caterina, who works as a maid at the Grand Hotel Imperial. 

There, he's told she was fired and disappeared. Pietro becomes a waiter in the luxury albergo to find out what happened. Grand Hotel, the Italian adaptation of the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), premiered on tuesday and wednesday on pubcaster Rai 1.

Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was actually born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie. The 39 X 70-minute series was centered on amateur sleuths and star-crossed lovers Julio Olmedo (Yon González) and Alicia Alarcón (Amaia Salamanca). Julio was a provincial young man posing as a waiter at the Grand Hotel of Cantaloa and Alicia the youngest daughter of the owner of the establishment, the merciless Doña Teresa Alarcón (Adriana Ozores). The idyllic luxury of the hotel concealed secrets, lies, intrigue and danger. There was even a gold knife serial killer in the area.

Julio and Alicia were helped by waiter Andrés Cernuda (Llorenç González) and lawyer Maite Ribelles (Megan Montaner) joined them later. Their allies in the police were shrewd detective and forensic expert Inspector Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz) and the clueless Agent Hernando (Antonio Reyes), the Spanish Poirot and Hastings. Doña Teresa, the scheming hotel director Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso), the austere head housekeeper Doña Ángela (Concha Velasco), and a powerful invisible enemy were the forces who tried to slow down their search for the truth. Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for Antena 3, the original Grand Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (groupe M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States.

The Italian version is co-produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Rai Fiction with German company Beta Film, the distributor of Gran Hotel. It is supported by BLS Südtirol-Alto Adige and Provincia autonoma di Bolzano. The 6 X 100-minute episodes, directed by Luca Ribuoli (Don Matteo), were primarily filmed at Castel Wolfsthurn, Racines, in the South Tyrol province of Bolzano in northern Italy. The gorgeous locations highlight the impressive adaptation work by Ribuoli, Isabella Aguilar, and the writing team lead by Peter Exacoustos. Grand Hotel stars Eugenio Franceschini as Pietro Neri and Valentina Bellè as Adele Alibrandi, the Italian Julio and Alicia. Adele is the youngest daughter of Donna Vittoria Alibrandi, the owner of the Grand Hotel Imperial, portrayed by Austrian actress Marion Mitterhammer.

German-speaking cast members of this co-production also include Günter Bubbnik (Rodolfo Von Raben) and Klaus Schindler as Raimondo, the maitre d'hotel and Italian counterpart of Benjamin, played in Gran Hotel by the legendary Manuel de Blas. Amongst the Italian cast, the performances of Eugenio Franceschini, Andrea Bosca (Marco Testa, the local Diego), Flavio Furno (Angelo Cereda) and Emanuela Grimalda (Rosa, the head housekeeper) are particularly commendable. Fans of the original will miss the Ayala/Hernando duo: Inspector Venezia (the excellent Ugo Dighero) is assisted by pathologist Doctor Gadda (Andrea Bruschi) - think Holmes and Watson, and the young Agent Arturo Parini (Pierpaolo Spollon).

Anyway the remake is for now faithful to its source material, except for a notably missing cigarette, some characterization changes, a couple of new storyline elements and a few minor details. Grand Hotel is gloriously lavish and overall very good. It will allow new audiences to discover the creation of Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira. Dario Aita (Jacopo Alibrandi), Barbara Ronchi (Olimpia Alibrandi), Francesca Agostini (maid Anita) and Federica De Cola (Caterina Neri) are in the regular cast too. The enjoyable Downton Abbey-esque theme and the superb music are composed by Nicola Tescari. Giovanni Galasso is the director of photography.

Grand Hotel is exec produced by Matteo De Laurentiis and produced by Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini and Marco Chimenz, Ferdinand Dohna for Beta Film, Gianluca Casagrande, Emanuele Cotumaccio and Federica Rossi for RAI, and Claudia Aloisi. A Mexican adaptation of Gran Hotel, produced by Roberto Gómez Fernández, is in preparation for Televisa. It will take place during the Mexican Revolution. The original Grand Hotel is available on French Region 2 DVD from Koba Films.

(1) Val Senales in Italian. Today, Schnalstal.

http://www.grandhotel.rai.it/dl/portali/site/page/Page-59e1f11b-a983-46cd-864f-cbe22f841937.html
http://www.adnkronos.com/intrattenimento/spettacolo/2015/08/26/eugenio-franceschini-grand-hotel-messo-del-mio_4eYr7unIfEeuRjqxV9wLBO.html?refresh_ce
http://spettacoli.leonardo.it/grand-hotel-su-rai-uno-intervista-emanuela-grimalda/
http://www.wolfsthurn.it/en/default.asp
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grand-Hotel-fiction-italia/814055505316658?fref=nf

GRAND HOTEL 4 (FIRST HALF OF S3, FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

Spain in the early 20th century. The idyllic luxury of the prestigious Grand Hotel, located just outside the (fictional) town of Cantaloa, conceals secrets, lies, intrigue, and danger. 

The first half of the third and final series of Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, will be available tomorrow in France on DVD from Koba Films as "Grand Hôtel - Saison 4".  

Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (groupe M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States. Series three of Grand Hotel initially consisted of 14 X 70-minute episodes. However, when Antena 3 reduced by half the second series to preserve ratings the channel added 8 of its 16 episodes (already filmed) to the third (1). Everybody at the Grand Hotel is in shock after the tragedy, starting with Doña Teresa Alarcón (Adriana Ozores). Wounded, Julio Olmedo (Yon González) is looking for his lover Alicia (Amaia Salamanca). But the wife of Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso) has vanished. Lawyer Maite Ribelles (Megan Montaner), the best friend of Doña Alicia, arrives at the establishment.

Maite joins Julio, Inspector Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz) and Agent Hernando (Antonio Reyes) in their search. Diego believes his wife left him and he's annoyed by Maite's presence. In the shadows, someone behind the recent events and the disappearance of Alicia will stop at nothing for revenge. Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was in fact born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie (2).  Following a spectacular cliffhanger worthy of the U.S. supersoaps of the 1980s, this "Grand Hôtel - Saison 4" DVD set by Koba Films contains Episodes 1 to 7 of the third series.  

Doña Sofia (Luz Valdenebro) is left for dead in a cold room. Javier Alarcón  (Eloy Azorin) falls in love with nurse Laura Montenegro (Marta Hazas), who's not quite what she seems. Inspector Ayala is suspicious about Diego, whose self-assurance cracks as his past resurfaces. Hernando is a pioneer in K-9 policing... sort of. Alicia reappears but is she a pawn between the hands of an invisible adversary of her husband? Doña Ángela (Concha Velasco) and her son Andrés (Llorenç González) are fed up of Belén (Marta Larralde) to the point the young man goes to extreme measures. Jesús Manzano Cisneros (Lluis Homar) becomes the new maitre d'hotel. Teresa remains dangerous and Don Alfredo (Fele Martinez) meets the King of Spain.

The amateur sleuth trio Julio, Alicia and Maite helps Ayala and Hernando, the Spanish Poirot and Hastings, to find the answer to this question: who is Adrián Vera Celande? The 7 episodes of this DVD set from Koba are on 4 discs in French only. French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. Overall effective, this ultimate series of Gran Hotel is packed with mystery, suspense and romance. Its twists and turns are more riveting than ever, the settings are gorgeous (3), the cast is composed of Spain's best actors and the music of Lucio Godoy is magnificent. An Italian adaptation of Grand Hotel produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Beta Film for pubcaster RAI 1 will start on September 1. It stars Eugenio Franceschini and Valentina Bellè.

(1) http://blogs.formulatv.com/aldia/antena-3-corta-la-segunda-temporada-gran-hotel-para-emitirla-mas-adela/
(2)  http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/
(3) Grand Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander (http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/).

http://www.kobafilms.fr/reservation/grand-hotel---saison-4-449.html
http://www.bambuproducciones.com/?language=en 

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/06/grand-hotel-3-second-half-of-s2-french.html (Second half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/08/grand-hotel-series-two-french-region-2.html (First half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/05/grand-hotel-french-region-2-dvd_10.html (Series 1 DVD review)  

GRAND HOTEL 3 (SECOND HALF OF S2, FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

Spain in the early 20th century. The prestigious Grand Hotel, located just outside the (fictional) town of Cantaloa, belongs to Doña Teresa, the merciless matriarch of the Alarcón family. The idyllic luxury of the establishment actually conceals secrets, lies, intrigue, and danger. 

The second half of the second series of Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, is available in France on DVD from Koba Films since May as "Grand Hôtel - Saison 3".  

Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (groupe M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States. Series two of Grand Hotel consisted initially of 16 X 70-minute episodes but Antena 3 decided to reduce it by half to preserve ratings and the remaining 8, already filmed, were added to the 14 episodes of the third series (1). Lovers Julio Olmedo (Yon González) and Alicia (Amaia Salamanca), the youngest daughter of Doña Teresa Alarcón (Adriana Ozores), search for Fernando Llanes (Victor Clavijo), the man spotted in the film of her wedding with Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso). They're convinced Llanes tried to kill Julio's best friend and fellow waiter Andrés Cernuda (Llorenç González).

Alicia is blackmailed by Diego's henchman Garrido (Miguel Mota) who plots revenge against his master. Doña Ángela, the austere head housekeeper (Concha Velasco), holds many answers to the questions of Alicia and Julio. Doña Elisa (Kiti Mánver) visits her son Alfredo, the marquis of Vergara (Fele Martinez), much to the annoyance of his wife Doña Sofia (Luz Valdenebro). Doña Beatriz (Cristina Brondo), an old flame of Alfredo, arrives at the establishment. Julio and Alicia get help from the shrewd inspector now simple agent Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz) and his "superior" agent Hernando (Antonio Reyes). The life of Andrés is threatened again during the Grand Hotel masked ball and Alicia gets in big trouble. Belén (Marta Larralde) and Gonzalo Alarcón (Alfonso Bassave) join forces to bring problems.

Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was in fact born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie (2). A young incarnation of the novelist, "Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller" (Carolina Lapausa), even appeared in the sixth episode of this second series. Another real-life figure, Harry Houdini (Jorge Bosch), appears in an episode where the famous magician challenges Ayala and Hernando, Spain's Poirot and Hastings (regrettably they didn't get their own spin-off). It's all mystery, suspense and murder as the infamous Gold Knife Killer resurfaces.

Series two of Grand Hotel is definitely not exempt of problems: a couple of added characters (Don Ernesto, Angela's sister Violeta) don't work and the tiresome antics of Javier Alarcón  waste the talent of Eloy Azorin. Nevertheless, Gran Hotel remains generous in riveting twists and turns culminating in a spectacular cliffhanger worthy of the U.S. supersoaps of the 1980s. The settings are gorgeous (3), the cast is composed of Spain's best actors and the music of Lucio Godoy is both magnificent and ingenious. Asunción Balaguer (the Miss Marplesque Lady) and the great Manuel de Blas (the ex-maitre d'hotel Benjamin) are back.

The 8 episodes of this DVD set from Koba are on 4 discs in French only. French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. An Italian adaptation of Grand Hotel produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Beta Film for pubcaster RAI 1 will start this autumn. It stars Eugenio Franceschini and Valentina Bellè.

(1) http://blogs.formulatv.com/aldia/antena-3-corta-la-segunda-temporada-gran-hotel-para-emitirla-mas-adela/
(2)  http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/
(3) Grand Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander (http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/).

http://www.kobafilms.fr/catalogue/grand-hotel---saison-3-438.html
http://www.bambuproducciones.com/?language=en 

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/08/grand-hotel-series-two-french-region-2.html (First half of Series 2 DVD review)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/05/grand-hotel-french-region-2-dvd_10.html (Series 1 DVD review) 

GRAND HOTEL - SERIES TWO (FIRST HALF, FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

The second series of Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel, 2011-2013), the acclaimed Spanish mystery drama, is available in France on DVD from Koba Films since last month. Produced by Bambu Producciones, the company of Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, for private channel Antena 3, Gran Hotel was sold to more than 60 territories, including France (Téva and M6), the UK (Sky Arts) and the United States. 

Spain in the early 20th century. The prestigious Grand Hotel, located just outside the (fictional) town of Cantaloa, belongs to Doña Teresa, the merciless matriarch of the Alarcón family. The idyllic luxury of the establishment actually conceals secrets, lies, intrigue and danger.

Julio Olmedo (Yon González) is determined to clarify the suspicious circumstances of the accident which happened to his best friend and fellow waiter Andrés Cernuda (Llorenç González). Alicia (Amaia Salamanca), the youngest daughter of Doña Teresa Alarcón  (Adriana Ozores) and Julio's love interest, is married with Don Diego Murquia (Pedro Alonso), the scheming hotel manager. Julio convinces her with his theory about Andrés and they devise a plan to get the assistance of Horacio Ayala (Pep Anton Muñoz). But the shrewd inspector is now a simple agent who must take orders from his deputy Hernando (Antonio Reyes).

Javier Alarcón, the black sheep of the family (Eloy Azorin), gets into more trouble. Alfredo, the marquis of Vergara (Fele Martinez), is "on travel" while his wife Doña Sofia, Teresa's eldest daughter (Luz Valdenebro), fakes her pregnancy. The manipulative maid Belén (Marta Larralde), Andrés' wife, is really pregnant and has a letter of the highest importance for Doña Teresa. This letter leads Alicia and Julio to the biggest mystery in the history of the Grand Hotel. And Doña Ángela, the austere head housekeeper (Concha Velasco), could hold answers.

Series two of Grand Hotel consisted initially of 16 X 70-minute episodes but Antena 3 decided to reduce it by half to preserve ratings and the remaining 8, already filmed, were added to the 14 episodes of the third series (1). Koba Films releases the first half of this second series as "Series 2". Known internationally as "the Spanish Downton Abbey", Gran Hotel was in fact born from the passion of its creators Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (Gran Reserva) for mystery stories and the work of Agatha Christie (2). A young incarnation of the novelist, "Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller" (Carolina Lapausa), even appears in the elegant sixth episode.

Agatha teams up with Ayala and Hernando, Spain's Poirot and Hastings (they deserve their own spin-off), and finds inspiration for The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The plot thickens for star-crossed lovers/amateur sleuths Julio and Alicia, who gather clues with a little help from Ayala's mastery of forensic science and a new invention called the "cinématographe". A figure from Julio's past resurfaces in a Hitchcockian episode to complicate the situation. Meanwhile, Doña Teresa and Don Diego stop at absolutely nothing to protect the hotel and their own interests.

This second series of Grand Hotel is not exempt of problems: the character of Don Ernesto, the new maitre d'hotel (Juan Luis Galiardo in his final role), doesn't work. The antics of Javier become rapidly tiresome. Nevertheless, Gran Hotel remains generous in riveting twists and turns. The settings are gorgeous (3), the cast is truly fantastic and the music of Lucio Godoy is both magnificent and ingenious. Asunción Balaguer and Kiti Mánver (returning respectively as Lady and Doña Elisa), Silvia Marsó, and Alfonso Bassave are amongst the guest stars.

The 8 episodes of this DVD set from Koba are on 4 discs in French only. French subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. An Italian adaptation of Grand Hotel produced by Cattleya (Gomorrah) and Beta Film for pubcaster RAI 1 will air in 2015. It stars Eugenio Franceschini and Valentina Bellè. A Mexican version is also in preparation.

(1) http://blogs.formulatv.com/aldia/antena-3-corta-la-segunda-temporada-gran-hotel-para-emitirla-mas-adela/
(2)  http://nachomedivas.es/secretos-gran-hotel-creador-ramon-campos/
(3) Grand Hotel was primarily filmed at the Palacio de la Magadalena, an early 20th-century palace on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city of Santander (http://palaciomagdalena.com/en/).

http://www.kobafilms.fr/reservation/grand-hotel---saison-2-381.html
http://www.bambuproducciones.com/?language=en 

[Update July 20, 2015]

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/06/grand-hotel-3-second-half-of-s2-french.html (Second half of Series 2 DVD review)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/05/grand-hotel-french-region-2-dvd_10.html (Series 1 DVD review)