Fanfulla Movies
- 1970
The culmination of filmmaker Federico Fellini's lifelong love affair with circus folk was his 1971 The Clowns (I clowns). Fellini's alter ego this time is a young boy, taking in his first circus (again, we're treated to the "parade" motif so often utilized by the director). As the clowns go through their rollicking routines, Fellini takes the time to snipe at movie critics by having one humorless newspaperman, who keeps repeating "What does it mean?", inundated with pails of water. There is also a fleeting homage to Charlie Chaplin in the form of Chaplin's daughter Victoria, who portrays an auditioning clown. Made for Italian TV, The Clowns sustains its exuberance by taking absolutely nothing seriously--not even Fellini, who makes fun of himself throughout in the guise of a pretentious documentary filmmaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Riccardo Billi, Fanfulla, (more)
Federico Fellini makes his most decadent, undisciplined work in this free adaptation of Petronius' famous farcical chronicle of ancient Roman life. The film opens with Encolpio (Martin Potter) vying with his friend Ascilto (Hiram Keller) for the affections of a young effeminate lad named Gitone (Max Born). When the youth chooses his rival or him, Encolpio begins a journey that has him encountering Romans of every stripe and color. He drops in on an orgy thrown by Trimalchio (Mario Romagnoli), a wealth-loving ex-slave who has spurned his wife in favor of a pleasures of a young boy; he toils on a slave galley, fighting off the advances of Lichas (Alain Cuny) -- the ship's burly wall-eyed captain; he steals an albino hermaphrodite demi-god who is reputed to be able to tell the future; and fails to summon the enthusiasm to make love to a whore-priestess. Along the way, we witness a parade of prostitutes in ancient Rome's pleasure quarters; watch performance by Vernacchio (Fanfulla), an actor whose on-stage specialties include farting and public amputation; and the wonton devouring of a human corpse for financial gain. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, (more)
- 1959
An intentionally shocking drama about the down, often violent side of existence on the fringe, this story by Franco Rossi follows the same themes and attitudes found in the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Aldo (Gianni Garko) and Bruno (Spiros Fokas) grew up as close friends in the same neighborhood in Rome but as they got older they drifted apart. Aldo has turned to petty crime and his girlfriend, a hooker, is actually supporting him. Bruno is introduced back into the life of his friend though he himself is not a part of the shady, destructive world that surrounds Aldo. Ultimately, Bruno cannot resist the effect of Aldo and his low-life friends, leading to a few wrong decisions and eventual tragedy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gianni Garko, Spiros Focas, (more)
- 1951
The English-language title of this wacky comedy is It Was Him...Yes! Yes! "Him" Walter Milani, is played by Walter Chiari, a singular comic actor who was touted by American critics as a "new" star, even though he'd been successfully plugging away in European films since 1947. Chiari plays a meek-and-mild clerk in a department store who discovers that his boss (Carlo Campanini) is mortally afraid of him. It seems that the boss is plagued by nightmares, in which Malani appears as a "villain" who doles out ridicule and humiliation. With the help of a psychiatrist, the boss comes to grips with his inner fears, while the hapless Milani reacts in confusion as all sorts of favors and kindnesses are heaped upon him. The dream sequences are cleverly rendered send-ups of every Freudian symbol in the book. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Chiari, Carlo Campanini, (more)
