Maurizio Nichetti Movies
Popular Italian funnyman Maurizio Nichetti has explored the different faces of comedy from the perspective of director, screenwriter, producer, and actor on stage, screen, and television. A native of Milan, Nichetti was educated at the prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci Scientific School. In 1975, he received a diploma in architecture from a polytechnical institute. While in school, he studied mime at Milan's Piccolo Theatre under Maurise Flauch. In 1971, Nichetti went to work with Bruno Bozetto's animation studio as a cartoon scriptwriter.In those early years, Nichetti learned filmmaking by creating advertisements and industrial shorts. As a scriptwriter, he penned three feature-length Signor Rossi animations. Nichetti made his acting debut in Bozetti's Allegro Non Troppa (1976). He also co-wrote the script. While the film was in production, Nichetti founded Quellidigrock, a mime school that later became a theatrical company. He directed a short comedy in 1978 and then left Bozetto's studio to direct and star in his first feature-length film, Ratataplan (1979). A commercial hit, the comedy was well-received at the Venice Film Festival.
Nichetti moved into television in 1983 with Prima di Ratataplan, a retrospective of his work before the film. The following year, Nichetti wrote, directed, and starred in the miniseries Quo Vadiz. He hosted a live television show, Pista!, between 1986 and 1987.
After directing a short, innovative film homage to Georges Melies utilizing a special electronic technique, Nichetti returned to directing feature-length films with what has become one of his most internationally recognized works, Ladri di Sapponette (The Icicle Thief), a sophisticated lampoon/homage of Vittorio DeSica's seminal neorealist Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief) (1989). The winner of the grand prize at the Moscow Film Festival, it was also a satire on advertising. Nichetti returned to his love of short animated films in 1991 with the 36-episode Fantasy Party, which showed little art films from around the world. He directed his most famous film, Volere Volare, in 1991 and for it won several international awards, including the David di Donatello award (the Italian Oscar). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Roguish Hollywood star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) finds his debauched life of excess unexpectedly interrupted when his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning) shows up at the Chateau Marmont Hotel for an unscheduled visit. Later, as father and daughter reconnect, Johnny begins to reassess his sordid lifestyle. Writer/director Sofia Coppola teams with brother Roman to produce a film executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola, and released by Focus Features. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, (more)
- 2010
Two law enforcement officials with very different personalities team up to solve a missing persons case in 1890 Italy. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- 2008
A 2008 stage production of Carlo Lombardo's bipartite operetta Cin Ci La' appears in this release, directed by the screen comic Maurizio Nichetti, with set design and costumes by Maria Pia Angelini and choreography by Sandhya Nagaraja. The cast includes Elena Rossi as Cin Ci La', Maurizio Micheli as Petit Gris, Leonardo Caimi as Ciclamino, and Giuseppina Bridelli as Myosotis. The Orchestra, Chorus and Corps de Ballet of the Teatro Lirico 'G. Verdi' di Trieste lend accompaniment on-stage. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elena Rossi, Maurizio Micheli, (more)
- 2001
Having recently earned his college degree, Lorenzo Primavera (Eddie Malavarca) leaves his home in Boston to travel to his family's ancestral homeland in Italy -- as was requested by his late grandfather. Upon arriving, Lorenzo is offered a short-term position as coach for an American-style football team by the team's manager, Giulio Fellini (Maurizio Nichetti). As the young American immerses himself in his new duties, he makes the acquaintance of Paola Angelini (Violante Placido) and the two begin a friendship that quickly blossoms into something more. In between spending time with Paola and working with the team, Lorenzo also begins investigating his own family's history and learns the reason for his grandfather's departure from Italy, as well as why his grandfather never returned to visit. As Lorenzo begins to forge an identity for himself in Italy -- not to mention strong romantic attachments to Paola -- he must eventually decide whether or not to return to the States. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony DiNanno, Antonio Navarro, (more)
- 2001
A guy finds himself living most men's fantasy, only to learn it isn't as much fun as he imagined in this offbeat Italian comedy. Alberto Colombo (Maurizio Nichetti) has spent 20 years working an insignificant desk job with a large multinational corporation, and he not only has little to show for his efforts, but like most of his co-workers, he fears he could be fired at any moment. What's worse, the heads of the firm have insisted that their Italian employees learn to speak English in the name of efficiency, which only makes things more difficult and annoying for him and his co-workers. Colombo gets little respite at home, since his wife Margarita (Maria de Medeiros), who manages a fast-food restaurant, has decided they should speak English at home as well. Colombo thinks he's reached the end of the line -- both personally and professionally -- when he's sent on assignment to Melancias, a small Latin American community where several employees have disappeared in the past while searching for oil reserves. Colombo assumes the worst, but once he arrives, he discovers most of the workers sent to Melancias are alive and well and stayed there by choice; it seems that the town is populated almost entirely by beautiful women, and no man who arrives there will ever want for romantic attention. But Colombo soon discovers that even paradise can have a downside, as he learns it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Honolulu Baby was directed and co-scripted by leading man Maurizio Nichetti; the picture was shot on 35 mm film, then transferred to digital video for post-production work, including special color manipulation. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurizio Nichetti, Maria de Medeiros, (more)
- 1996
In this off-beat and lively Italian comedy fantasy, a schoolteacher cursed with being the town Goody Two Shoes proves that she too has a darker side after a visit to a travelling carnival. The tale begins in the present during a ceremony designed to honor the courage of one who saved a schoolyard when an old WW II bomb detonated. The situation leading to the tragedy unfolds via flashback and centers on the life of Luna, the long-suffering teacher who suffers from practical jokers, overbearing superiors, and her constantly complaining father. Her life changes when the carnival comes to town and she goes to visit a conjurer who frees her shadow via a magic lantern. Luna's shadow proves to be her opposite and is as mischievous and sexy as Luna is repressed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1996
A young boy and an old man team up to free a giant white dolphin from the swimming pool of a ruthless, one-legged millionaire Marcov in this upbeat Italian children's movie. Mischievous Snowball (the dolphin) gets into trouble when escapes into the beautiful Greek sea and playfully ends up swallowing the record of pension payments owed to Billy Bolla, an aged cruise ship entertainer. If the performer cannot quickly catch Snowball and induce him to produce the papers, he will have no retirement. He encounters ingenious Theo, the son of Marcov's maid. Theo adores Snowball and wants to free him. He befriends Billy and together they devise a clever plan involving a bus filled with water. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1994
The attempts of a Muslim immigrant to bring his second wife from Algiers to Italy are chronicled in this Italian drama. In the Italian Constitution, article 2 allows citizens the freedom to practice their religion. Said, a factory worker in Milan, lives with his first wife Malika, and their three children in a small apartment. They are all Muslims. His second wife Fatma, stayed in Algeria to take care of his ailing father. When he dies, Fatma wants to join Said in Italy. But when she finally arrives with her three sons, the authorities will not allow her into the country as bigamy is illegal. But under Islamic law it is legal. The Italian government, despite article 2, is not sympathetic to Said's situation. Said fights for his second wife, but is at first, appalled to learn he has been assigned a female lawyer. Will he win the case? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mohammed Miftah, Rabia Ben Abdallah, (more)
- 1994
This Italian comedy was filmed in Sarasota, Florida and features the exploits of a would be gigolo and a violinist. Dodo, a Frenchman, is the gigolo, and Jesus is the Italian violinist who pursued his girlfriend to Florida to marry her. When Jesus finds that his gal is helping to support Dodo he is appalled. Suddenly the girlfriend mysteriously disappears. In her wake the two become fast friends and decide to both pursue a career in getting women to support them. At one point, Jesus loses his life savings to a con artist. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Thierry Lhermitte, Maurizio Nichetti, (more)
- 1993
The second word in the title to this film, Stefano Quantestorie harkens to the parental rebuke given to children who concoct fabulous tales to account for their little misdeeds: how many stories will you tell me? In this peculiar, comic film, all the stories are about Stefano (Maurizio Nichetti), and recount possible lives he might have had, or has had, or experiences he has had, or might have had. Eventually, the Stefanos begin to pile up in places, and Stefanos from one episode interact with wives or lovers Stefano has had in another one. It is impossible to describe why such confusion is at all watchable, especially when so many similar movies have been disastrous, but good acting throughout and thoughtful direction won this film a place in several reviewer's hearts, and it was well-received both in Italy and elsewhere. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurizio Nichetti, Amanda Sandrelli, (more)
- 1991
- R
In this combined live-action and cartoon feature, Maurizio works with his brother at a movie-dubbing studio they own. His specialty is cartoon sound effects, and he travels all over Milan to capture special sounds on his tape recorder. While out and about, he encounters a delightfully kinky "social assistant" who is a kind of platonic love object for men with specialized sexual fixations. Maurizio is attracted to her, but after spending some time with her, he is shocked to see his hands turn into gloved cartoon hands that are outside his control. As the film continues, he is gradually transformed until he is all cartoon and can consummate his odd relationship. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurizio Nichetti, Angela Finocchiaro, (more)
- 1989
As indicated by its title, The Icicle Thief shamelessly parodies Vittorio De Sica's neorealist classic The Bicycle Thief--but it's much more than a mere lampoon. Director Maurizio Nichetti appears on-screen as a pompous filmmaker whose new film The Icicle Thief is the last-minute substitute for a more highly regarded "masterpiece" on an intellectual Italian TV program. The film, in black and white, begins to unreel on screen, only to be interrupted at crucial moments by loud, vulgar, full-color commercials. The film-within-a-film's central character (Nichetti again!), who works in a chandelier factory, is suddenly cut adrift when there's a power failure at the TV studio. Soon the hero of the film finds himself in the alien environment of TV advertising, and separating reality from fantasy becomes a lost cause. The worst of it is, the viewers at home don't notice that anything's amiss--they've been so long inundated by commercial intrusions on theatrical films that they're grown numb to the artistic outrages perpetrated upon both director Nichetti and star Nichetti. The various clever cinematic tricks deployed by Nichetti in Icicle Thief are reminiscent of another highly regarded film classic: cartoon director Chuck Jones' Duck Amuck. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurizio Nichetti, Renato Scarpa, (more)
- 1984
This enjoyable parody of classic fairytales about kingdoms and despotic kings is set in the year 1000 and stars Italy's Ugo Tognazzi in top form as Bertoldo, a crafty peasant who has to outwit the king (not necessarily a difficult job) and others in order to stay afloat and alive. Joining him for awhile is Fra Cipolla (Alberto Sordi), a fake priest out to fleece his flock whenever the opportunity presents itself. Among the many comic episodes in the film is one in which Fra Cipolla and Bertoldo, and little Bertoldino (Bertoldo's son) hide some gold coins in a donkey's stomach and then sell the beast -- now with a certain amount of indigestion -- to a peasant family who are amazed at the end results. The king condemns Bertoldo to death by hanging for this trickery, but at the same time -- and much to his undoing -- he agrees to let Bertoldo choose the tree. That is not an easy task. Months later, Bertoldo arrives back at the king's castle carrying a little potted plant, the tree of his choice, requesting that they let it grow. The talents of Sordi, Tognazzi, and Lello Arena as the put-upon king, carry the full two hours of this royal spoof. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ugo Tognazzi, Maurizio Nichetti, (more)
- 1983
- NR
Set in an early medieval period, this swashbuckling costume drama pits Christian knights against infidels in an imaginary holy war, and what is more astounding and a tribute to the Italian love of amore, is that the commanders from each side fall in love with "enemy" women and decide to call it a day, pack in their arms, and go off to do better things. Ruggero (Ronn Moss) leads the infidels in some of the best-looking armor this side of Armani, and Rolando (Rick Edwards) is at the forefront of the Christian knights. One of the knights is a misnomer -- he is actually a she, Bradamante (Barbara De Rossi), and when she sees the well-clad Ruggero, she agrees to hand over his sister Isabella (Tanya Roberts) just to get in his good graces. These four protagonists go through a series of adventures and misadventures in a gorgeous setting of Byzantine castles, mountain canyons, and dark forests, all complemented by aesthetic, inventive sets and creative costuming. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rick Edwards, Ronn Moss, (more)
- 1982
The absurdist comedy of Maruizio Nichetti dominates this fluffy story about "moon men" who interfere with television reception in Milan and get everyone who comes in any kind of contact with them to abandon their dull, dreary routines and start doing a lively Scottish jig -- dancing for the pleasure of it. As this "contagion" spreads, media executives try their best to contain it and get people back to doing what they are supposed to be doing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mariangela Melato, Maurizio Nichetti, (more)
- 1981
The writer and director of this comedy, Maurizio Nichetti, is also its star, known as the "cousin." Essentially mute and always nameless, the cousin pays tribute to one of Nichetti's favorites, the silent comedian Buster Keaton and his inventive sight gags. In a remake of the Rip Van Winkle nap, the cousin falls sleep while watching television and wakes up two decades later, a grown man and unable to utter a word. He becomes a member of his cousin's household in Milan, setting off his own silent antics against the three women who already live in the house -- an actress, a schoolteacher, and an artist. The cousin and the actress get jobs as extras in the same commercial in which Nichetti breaks form and pronounces his only line, "I made a splash." That becomes the leitmotif of the action, as the manic scenes lead from a riotous wedding to backstage during a performance of La Scala. Nichetti's unrelenting jabs at the worlds of television and advertising provide a comedic shakedown that is sharpened by the innovative use of split screens, animation, and in contrast to the mute "cousin," inanimate objects that talk. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurizio Nichetti
- 1979
In this Italian comedy, a chronic daydreamer finds he is too busy using his imagination to find work or love. To rectify the situation, he builds a robot double that he dresses up in disco garb. The robot is a great success until a beautiful woman tries to seduce it. In the end, the dreamer and the woman discover they are more alike than the ever would have dreamed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurizio Nichetti, Angela Finocchiaro, (more)
Something of a Fantasia for adults, Allegro Non Troppo intercuts slapstick live-action sequences -- which relay the story of a beleaguered animator's (Maurizio Nichetti) ongoing battle with an Oliver Hardy-like orchestra conductor -- and animated sequences, set to classical music, which visually interpret selected works of Debussy, Dvorak, Ravel, Sibelius, Vivaldi, and Stravinsky. The liveliest piece, set to Ravel's Bolero, delineates a series of "spontaneous generations" from an abandoned Coke bottle. The most haunting piece, set to Sibelius' Valse Triste, depicts a forlorn cat wandering the ruins of a condemned building and constantly hallucinating that he is back in the lap of luxury. Allegro Non Troppo is the brainchild of gifted Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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