Brancaleone s'en va-t-aux croisades

"Brancoleone alle crociate" looks a lot like the blueprint to "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (complete with animated bits), but unfortunately it's nowhere near as funny. The actors most definitely aren't the problem, because they're great and really seem to have fun with this project. The director does a pretty good job as well, the movie bathes in a very outrageous atmosphere that's really fitting for the source material. No, to me it's purely a script thing. The jokes are mostly just flat and predictable, it's absurd comedy by writers who haven't really gotten the gist of it yet. Take the running gag with the king who rhymes every sentence for example, you know there are some good scenes in there but they can't fish them out. Inevitably some stuff does work (the guy using another guy as his horse is a nice touch), but the laughs are few and far apart. However, the movie is still enjoyable for some reason, mainly because I'm a sucker for this kind of pseudo-historical comedy. Not the greatest in its genre, but it's watchable.

One last thing: given that I don't understand Italian, I saw this movie subtitled in French. The jokes may well be hilarious in their original language, who knows.

This is a sequel to an equally fine and funny flick 'L'armata Brancaleone (1966)' aka 'For Love and Gold' from Italian Director Mario Monicelli.

Set in the medieval period, the movie follows a band of wanderers-cum-warriors led by their knight Brancaleone da Norcia (Vittorio Gassman) on a funny and adventurous journey towards the Crusades. Along the way they come across various quests finally engaging in a battle with the grim reaper.

I'd just like to warn English users that Monty Python and the brancaleone movies are a different kind of humor. I know it's impossible not to compare this to "Monty Python and the holy grail", but please keep in mind that the sketches here are not meant to be absurd, this is not surreal humor. On the contrary, they're fun because they're painfully realistic. This is a bitter humor Italian classic, so please don't expect the script to be "british". Also, part of the epicness lies in the fake old Italian language used through the movie, and some scenes are gonna look plain if just subbed. Having said that, enjoy the movie, it's gonna make you smirk, but you may want to watch "L'armata Brancaleone" first.

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!