Brancaleone alle crociate (1970)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Mario Monicelli

Writers:

Agenore Incrocci (writer)
Mario Monicelli (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 December 1970 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Middle Age | Sequel | Italian Comedy | Medieval | Crusade

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Vittorio Gassman	...	Brancaleone da Norcia
Adolfo Celi	...	Re Boemondo
Stefania Sandrelli	...	Tiburzia da Pellocce
Beba Loncar	...	Berta d'Avignone
Gigi Proietti	...	Pattume, Colombino
Lino Toffolo	...	Panigotto
Paolo Villaggio	...	Thorz
Gianrico Tedeschi	...	Pantaleo
Sandro Dori	...	Rozzone
Shel Shapiro	...	Zenone (as Norman David Shapiro)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ceuru Abgui
Djamel Abu
Christian Aligny
Franco Balducci
Remo Bonarota
Pietro De Vico	...	Un giudice della strega
Mokthar Dib
Gildo Di Marco
Arnaldo Fabrizio
Edda Ferronao
Hassan Hassani
Raymond Louzoum
Ali Mansourane
Renzo Marignano	...	Finogamo
Augusto Mastrantoni
Alberto Plebani	...	Uno dei seguito del papa
Maurice Pouillet
Enrico Ribulsi
Hilmi Said
Orazio Stracuzzi	...	Hanged man

Also Known As:

Brancaleone at the Crusades (International: English title)
Brancaleone s'en va-t-aux croisades (Algeria: French title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

Italy | Algeria

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Algeria

Company:

Fair Film

Movie Connections:

Follows L'armata Brancaleone (1966)

For fans of vintage Italian comedies and Monty Python - great fun!

After the smash hit and trend-setting "L'Armata Brancaleone" (1965), a sequel was inevitable. So, five years later, came "Brancaleone alle Crociate" (1970), by the same team (director/co-writer Monicelli, co-writers Age+Scarpelli, star Gassman), following our Quixotesque medieval hero in his way to the Holy Land during the Crusades, with all the wildest shenanigans thrown in. He is joined by a team of wackos (including a hilarious Christian flagellant) and on the way he meets even crazier weirdos: a treacherous German crusader (scene-stealer Paolo Villaggio and his cracking fake German-Latin dialect), a princess disguised as a leper (Beba Loncar), a beautiful witch (Stefania Sandrelli), a king (Adolfo Celi) who speaks only in rhyme (VERY funny!).

Though not on that same level of the first film — which would be impossible, since the first "Brancaleone" is simply perfect — and despite some lulls along the way, this sequel has big assets of its own: the side-splitting, witty mix of fake dialects (which may be only fully appreciated if you master Italian language reasonably); fiery Gassman and his great blend of parody and farce; a big budget with locations in Algeria; and some wonderful gags, many of them paraphrased or downright stolen by Monty Python in films such as "The Holy Grail", "Life of Brian" and "The Meaning of Life" (the Grim Reaper bit is directly stolen from this "Brancaleone").

If you're a fan of Italian comedies or Monty Python films, you can't miss this one. This is from the time when Italian comedies ruled, and deservedly so. Great fun!