Italy, 1916. Oreste Jacovacci and Giovanni Busacca are conscripted, as all the Italian youths, to serve the army in the WWI. Read More »
Tag Archives: Mario Monicelli
Lady Liberty (1971) Mario Monicelli, Sophia Loren, William Devane, Gigi Proietti
Maddalena and Michele fall in love in Italy in the 1960s, while working at a meat factory in Emilia stormed by the workers’ protest Read More »
Le fate / The Queens (1966) Mauro Bolognini, Mario Monicelli, Monica Vitti, Enrico Maria Salerno, Claudia Cardinale, Comedy
Four unrelated short comedies by four different directors. “Queen Sabina”chronicles the sexual misadventures of a teenage girl on the road home. Read More »
I soliti ignoti / Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) Mario Monicelli, Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Comedy, Crime
Peppe, formerly a boxer, organizes the break-in of a pawnshop. Tiberio, an unemployed photographer, Mario, a receiver, the Sicilian Michele and Capannelle, an ex-jockey, are the other members of the gang. Read More »
L’armata Brancaleone / For Love and Gold (1966) Mario Monicelli, Vittorio Gassman, Catherine Spaak, Folco Lulli, Adventure, Comedy, History
A group of rogues steal a scroll granting its bearer the property of the land of Aurocastro in Apulia (south of Italy). Read More »
Proibito / Forbidden (1954) Mario Monicelli, Mel Ferrer, Amedeo Nazzari, Lea Massari, Drama
Padri e figli / Fathers and Sons (1957) Mario Monicelli, Vittorio De Sica, Lorella De Luca, Riccardo Garrone, Comedy
Set in the weeks just prior to Christmas, the story focuses on the Yuletide preparations made by five different families. Read More »
Amici Miei / Mes Chers Amis (1975) Mario Monicelli, Ugo Tognazzi, Gastone Moschin, Philippe Noiret, Comedy, Drama
Like in many other Monicelli movies, the main theme of Amici miei is friendship, seen from a rather bitter point of view. It tells the story of four middle-aged friends in Florence who organize together idle pranks (called zingarate, “gypsy shenanigans”) in a continuous attempt to prolong childhood during their adult life…
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Donatella (1956) Mario Monicelli, Elsa Martinelli, Gabriele Ferzetti, Walter Chiari, Comedy
Donatella è una ragazza romana di estrazione semplice, schietta e di sani principi, figlia di un rilegatore di libri e fidanzata con il benzinaio Guido. Un giorno le capita di trovare una borsetta da donna contenente valori e documenti, e non esita a restituirla alla proprietaria. Questa è una ricchissima signora americana che per ricompensa offre a Donatella un posto di segretaria: la sua mansione, gestire la villa romana della signora durante le assenze di questa, non richiede particolare impegno e permette alla ragazza di vivere per un po’ negli agi di un’alta società a lei sconosciuta. Donatella incontra casualmente Maurizio, giovane ricco, elegante e ben educato, e finisce per innamorarsene, preferendolo in cuor suo al frivolo e donnaiolo Guido. Quando Maurizio scopre le umili origini di Donatella, tende a credere che lei l’abbia ingannato; ma poi si convince della buona fede della ragazza, e grazie anche all’onestà di Guido, che riconosce di non essere l’uomo adatto a Donatella e accetta di lasciarla libera, i due finiscono per sposarsi.
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Totò e Carolina / Toto and Carolina (1955) Mario Monicelli, Totò, Anna Maria Ferrero, Arnoldo Foà, Comedy
The policeman stops Caccavallo Villa Borghese prostitutes: among women, there is also the young Carolina, ran away because she was pregnant. Authorities instructed Caccavallo to bring the girl to his country.
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Totò e i re di Roma / Toto and the King of Rome (1951) Mario Monicelli, Steno, Totò, Aroldo Tieri, Alberto Sordi, Comedy, Drama
Ercole Pappalardo (Totò), married, five daughters, lives with only dream to be upgraded from his current position in the post department. Everithing goes wrong, he accidentally spits on the minister’s face, he insults him trough a parrot (!), and finally they discover he has no titles to fit his current position. After all this tragicomic events he takes a definitive decision: he will die to communicate from the afterlife the lotto numbers to his wife!
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Il marchese del grillo / The Marquis of Grillo (1981) Mario Monicelli, Alberto Sordi, Caroline Berg, Andrea Bevilacqua, Comedy, History
The marquess of Grillo is a good-natured, clever and women-loving man who is always inventing stories and cracking all types of jokes. The film tells the story of his life.
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