Corpo Santo is a Brazilian telenovela created by José Louzeiro for Rede Manchete, aired on March 30 and October 2, 1987, with 162 chapters. Written by Louzeiro, with supervised by Wilson Aguiar Filho, with the collaboration of Cláudio MacDowell, Eliane Garcia, Leila Míccolis and Maria Cláudia Oliveira, under the direction of Ary Coslov and Walter Campos and general direction by José Wilker.
It features Christiane Torloni, Reginaldo Faria, Sílvia Buarque, Nathalia Timberg, Lídia Brondi, Otávio Augusto, Jonas Bloch and Sérgio Viotti in the main roles.
Plot The beautiful widow Simone Reski moves with her family – her daughter Lucinha, her aunt Maria, and her maid Isaura – from the suburbs to downtown Rio de Janeiro. She immediately meets Téo, a friendly bachelor and bon vivant, unaware that he is involved with the video smuggling and pornographic film production mafia.
Téo is interested in Simone because he sees Lucinha as a new nymphet star for his films. Lucinha ends up being forced by Téo and his gang to participate in one of these films. However, the criminals are in for a surprise. Her body doesn't appear in the recording. Unbeknownst to them, she possesses paranormal powers.
The determined journalist Bárbara Diniz tries to unravel the mysteries of Grego's mafia to reach police officers involved with the death squad. The unscrupulous Grego uses illicit and political resources to bolster the organization, which relies on three activities: smuggling, nightclubs in Lapa, and the pornographic film production company.
Cast Actor Character Christiane Torloni Simone Reski Reginaldo Faria Téo Ribeiro Sílvia Buarque Lúcia Reski (Lucinha) Nathalia Timberg Maria Rita Reski Lídia Brondi Bárbara Diniz Otávio Augusto Delegado Arturzão Jonas Bloch Giovanni Kepler (Russo) Sérgio Viotti Nicholas Kazan (Grego) Ângela Vieira Mara Kazan Luís Carlos Arutin Perito Vidigal Cristina Pereira Isaura Rogério Fróes Perdigão Brynner Ana Lúcia Torre Marta Brynner Marcelo Serrado Carlinhos Brynner Bel Kutner Renata Brynner Chico Diaz Orlando Kazan Ivan Setta Detetive Pé Frio Antônio Pitanga Patrício Nildo Parente Rodrigo Viana Alexandre Marques Anselmo Roberto Frota Delegado Portinho Germano Vezzani Fernando Roberto Lopes Detetive Anísio Tião D'Ávila Detetive Silas Francisco Dantas Detetive Bittar Expedito Barreira Detetive Gaspar Henrique Pires Dr. Marcos Felipe Maria Alves Isadora Eliane Narduchi Marina Divana Brandão Wanda Lu Modesto Valéria Antonio Gonzales Eduardo Márcia Rodrigues Sheila Ariel Coelho Aderbal Leina Krespi Carminda Luiz Carlos Niño Sérgio Alexandre Zacchia Esfolado Júlia Miranda Zica Gilson Moura Ventoinha Christina Bittencourt Estela Marie Vielmont Profª. Marinalva Paschoal Villaboim Zé da Paixão
Special appearances Actor Character José Wilker Ulisses Queiróz Maitê Proença Adriana Queiróz Guida Vianna Ofélia Rodrigo Santiago Lucas Rezende Cidinha Milan Marinalva Luís de Lima Emir Zarlan Denise Dumont Vera Ary Coslov Mário Joyce Clementino Kelé Dr. Montoro Clemente Viscaíno Dr. Gonçalves Lu Mendonça Lenira Alby Ramos Parafunda Isio Ghelman Gilles Nádia Nardini Marlene Ricardo Fróes Luiz da Padaria Isabel Tereza Gabi Sandro Solviat Ramos Beth Berardo Mônica Marco Miranda Jair
Production Start of filming Production of the telenovela Corpo Santo was announced in December 1986, with the definitive title of Rede Manchete's next soap opera, replacing . The plot was conceived as a "reportage soap opera", blending real police cases from Rio de Janeiro with modern television language, drawing inspiration from the Aída Curi and Mônica cases. During pre-production, Manchete underwent a significant internal change. On December 5, 1986, director Herval Rossano left the network after disagreements with general director Zevi Ghivelder. According to reports, there were creative differences and conflicts regarding the cast and direction of the drama. One publication suggested that Ghivelder attributed the declining ratings of previous telenovelas to him, as well as a previous disagreement involving actress Sônia Clara, Ghivelder's wife.
In January 1987, Manchete officially began production on Corpo Santo, now with José Wilker as director and overall director. Written by José Louzeiro, the series was directed by Wilker, Walter Campos, Ary Coslov, and Cláudio MacDowell, with collaboration from Eliana Garcia. Walter Campos and MacDowell also served as screenwriters. The telenovela was planned to have approximately 120 episodes, and filming began on January 26 of the same year. The production marked José Louzeiro's first telenovela and promised to renew the network's momentum in the genre. José Wilker stated that he had to be very careful with Corpo Santo, as it was his first telenovela as a director at Manchete. According to Wilker, the production was "more democratic and collective." Filming took place in Rio de Janeiro, in urban locations and studios, with scenes shot in São Paulo and abroad.
On the eve of its premiere, José Wilker assessed the quality of the first 10 episodes, describing the telenovela as "the result of passionate work" and an "investment in the performance of the actors and actresses." He praised the "chemistry" and "extraordinary" performances of the cast, which, in his opinion, were "far above the average achieved in most Brazilian productions." Wilker described the telenovela as a story of "love and humor" with elements of a crime thriller, such as "sex, violence, and action," but denied any intention of sensationalism. For him, the humor in the telenovela was "epic, Brechtian" in nature, and the fundamental objective was to "entertain the audience" while offering a humorous social critique. He cited as an example the building manager of the building where Simone Reski's family lives, who uses the condominium fees for his own benefit.
Cast selection The cast of Corpo Santo continued to develop throughout pre-production and the beginning of filming. In addition to the already confirmed Reginaldo Faria, Mariana de Moraes, and Nathalia Timberg, the production announced the participation of Jonas Bloch, Nildo Parente, Márcia Rodrigues, Divana Brandão, Ivan Setta, Paschoal Villaboim, Leina Krespi, Ana Lúcia Torre, Roberto Frota and Cristina Pereira. The main cast consisted of Christiane Torloni, Reginaldo Faria, Lídia Brondi, Jonas Bloch, Nathalia Timberg, Otávio Augusto, Luiz Carlos Arutin, Roberto Frota, Nildo Parente, Jonas Mello, and Luís de Lima. Jonas Bloch played the villain Giovanni Kepler, known as Russo. The actor dedicated himself entirely to the role, even turning down four film and theater offers to participate in the telenovela. Later, the casting of actor Luís de Lima was confirmed for José Louzeiro's telenovela. Antônio Pitanga and Lídia Brondi were also announced as part of the main cast, with Lídia playing reporter Bárbara Diniz. Rodrigo Santiago also joined the cast as Lucas, a close friend of Bárbara Diniz. Beth Berardo was cast as Mônica, a psychologist. Nathalia Timberg played Maria Rita Reski, Simone's sister. Another addition to the cast was Eliane Narduchi, as Marina, a prostitute. The cast also included the characters Ramos, a criminal played by Sandro Solviat, and Detective Sila, played by Tião D'Ávila.
Meanwhile, Manchete, under the direction of José Wilker, expressed interest in hiring actress Lúcia Veríssimo for one of the soap opera's leading roles. Veríssimo was at a contractual impasse with TV Globo, where she starred in Roda de Fogo, and Manchete was awaiting the green light to try to sign her.
The search for the lead role, Simone, faced some setbacks. Sônia Braga was the first to be offered the role, but declined to prioritize her international career. The solution came when actress Christiane Torloni was cast as the character. The casting came after Torloni broke her contract with TV Globo, motivated by her dissatisfaction with the character she played in Selva de Pedra. Negotiations with the actress were already "well underway" in early January 1987.
Sônia Braga turned down the role of Adriana, which was to be a cameo filmed in Los Angeles, United States. The role was taken on by Maitê Proença, who played fashion designer Adriana, a character involved in a video smuggling scheme with José Wilker's character. Maitê accepted the invitation to complete a commitment to the film A Dama do Cine Xangai. The first scenes of Corpo Santo were filmed in New York, directed by Ary Coslov and Walter Campos. The characters Alexis (José Wilker) and Adriana (Maitê Proença) appear in these scenes, involved in the smuggling of pornographic films. Their participation, however, was limited to the first few episodes, and the actress would not return to the telenovela. Denise Dumont was another actress hired for a cameo, appearing in scenes filmed in Los Angeles alongside José Wilker. The idea of attracting audiences with sophisticated appearances abroad was one of the pillars of the network's strategy.
Investment in cast and technical team On January 18, 1987, Manchete's ambitious project was unveiled. General director Rubens Furtado stated that the network was expanding on all fronts, hiring not only new actors, but also writers, lighting technicians, producers, and set designers. He emphasized that the investment in new talent included competitive salaries, in some cases nearly double what Globo was offering. For the technical team, Manchete hired 30 new professionals, including filmmaker and art producer Ana Maria Magalhães, editors Eduardo Ribeiro and Sérgio Louzada, as well as directors and producers Eduardo Figueira, Caique Botkay, Luiz Fernando Carvalho, Paulo Indio, Beto Leão, Ari Coslov, Lúcia Fernanda, and set designers Raul Neves and Irênio Maia. The network also modernized its studios in Água Grande, installing air conditioning to improve working conditions. The soap opera sold eight sponsorship quotas, with a budget of 3.1 million cruzados.
Additional details about the cast and crew The character Simone Reski, played by Christiane Torloni, was described as a woman of courage, love, and a mother. The character is a "widow of a painter" and owner of a bookstore, with the plot involving the need to sell her business. The plot would also feature Silvia Buarque as Lúcia (Lucinha) and Lu Modesto as Valéria. Lúcia, Simone's 16-year-old daughter, is said to have paranormal abilities. Lúcia would be the first to detect a murder. Silvia Buarque filmed important scenes at the Institute of Applied Psychology, and her character would gain greater prominence in the upcoming chapters.
The character Bárbara Diniz, played by Lídia Brondi, is "author José Louzeiro's homage to a real journalist." Louzeiro described the character as a "modern woman" and "totally committed." Lídia Brondi, who had previously worked on the series Márcia e seus problemas (1974) on TVE Brasil, preferred to follow her "intuition" when constructing the character, rather than trying to imitate the real reporter.
The character Téo, played by Reginaldo Faria, was described as a "scoundrel" with a "false air of kindness." To create the character, Téo wore Ray-Ban sunglasses, making him unforgettable. The script, described as having a tone of "Latin American magical realism," was a major draw for the cast. Actor Reginaldo Faria revealed that one of the reasons he accepted the invitation was the presence of José Louzeiro as the writer, whom he considered a "great author." The final scenes of the telenovela were to be filmed entirely in Peru.