L'armata Brancaleone

In the Middle Ages, a group of marauders pillage a scroll from the fearful and dangerous Arnolfo Mano-di-Ferro (Alfio Caltabiano) that grants to its owner the property of Aurocastro, a wealthy land with grapevines and cattle. They seek out a knight to claim the real estate and share with them. When they meet the ruined Brancaleone da Norcia (Vittorio Gassman), he accepts to be their leader and they travel to the land. Along their journey, Brancaleone defeats the nobleman Teofilatto dei Leonzi (Gian Maria Volonté) that joins his army. Then they head to the Holy Land with the preacher Zenone (Enrico Maria Salerno), but while crossing a bridge, their friend Pecoro (Folco Lulli) falls off in the river and vanishes. When Zenone falls in a abyss, they travel to Aurocastro again. Then they rescue the damsel Matelda (Catherine Spaak) and Brancaleone promises to her tutor to protect her virtue for her fiancé and receives one hundred golden coins. However, Teofilatto has one night stand with the maid and Brancaleone is imprisoned in the castle of her fiancé. Brancaleone and his clumsy army get in many troubles until they reach Aurocastro. But their adventure has not finished yet.

"L'Armata Brancaleone" is one of the funniest comedies of the cinema. The last time I had seen this film was on 27 February 2000, and with the death of Mario Monicelli yesterday, I have decided to see the clumsy Brancaleone and his army again. The story is very well developed with hilarious situations and Vittorio Gassman has a magnificent performance in the role of the the anti-hero Brancaleone. The screenplay presents the most different situations in the environment of the Middle-Ages and the hero always gets in trouble despite his perfect planning. I did not recognize Gian Maria Volonté in the role of Teofilatto dei Leonzi. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Incrível Exército de Brancaleone" ("The Incredible Army of Brancaleone")

It is difficult to export this movie outside Italy, in particular because much of the amusement lies in the funny language used, a mix of italian dialects and mock middle-age latin. Anyway, it would be yet a good choice for everyone. It may remember Monthy python's 'Holy Grail', as a surrealistic medieval comedy. Only, this is way better. It is no surprise, considering that we have two great authors, a great director, and a group a great actors. And the word 'great' is no exaggeration! If you ever get a chance to see it, don't miss it, because it's unique.

"L'armata Brancaleone" was made at the time of Italian cinema's triumphs, when Italy could boast some excellent directors and well-known actors. There's one simple reason why this movie is still loved by young generations: it's a real comedy, hilarious without being trivial, and it can rely on a couple of ingenious tricks, such as the language and the setting. The characters speak a funny pseudo-ancient Italian crammed with Latin words and solemn sentences, and maybe some quotations from "La Divina Commedia" by Dante Alighieri (the name Matelda and her character played by the gorgeous Catherine Spaak). And what about the setting? A wild Medieval Italy, with uncontaminated natural sceneries, castles and towns infested by pestilences. Kudos to the actors, everybody is perfect in his/her own role, from Vittorio Gassman and Gian Maria Volonté to the supporting roles, and of course to the director Mario Monicelli, amalgamating all with his personal touch.

I have seen this movie when it first came out in Germany in a dubbed version. I went back several times I liked it so much, great comedy, great acting and entertainment. After all this years I started searching on the web, because nobody in America seems to have ever heard of this movie. So far I only found an old German dubbed copy, but I look forward to finally see the original version. I have seen many movies in my time, but Brancaleone seems to always come to my mind when I think of comedy and middle ages. The Monty Python can not reach this one.

"L'Armata Brancaleone" is an absolute comedy masterpiece. Its surreal medieval world is incredibly deep and funny. The story is summarized here at IMDB, so it's not necessary to repeat it. The main comic device is based on the contrast between the heroic world that the charachters try to master (paladins, knights' tournaments, kings etc) and their actual miserable conditions. The only problem with this movie for non-italian speakers is the language: the authors re-created a mock medieval language (using ancient italian, latin and italian dialects) which is absolutely flamboyant. This particular language (very difficult to understand if you're not italian native speaker) and Vittorio Gassman make this movie one of the best comedies of the 20th century. Thanks to Mario Monicelli, the great film director.