Mario Monicelli is definitely one of the greatest directors of Italian cinema and Alberto Sordi is an absolute Genius. Here they team up again...And what a great fun it was to discover this less known little gem of the early eighties! Sordi is an atypical and fanciful aristocrat who plays the fool to forget the emptiness and uselessness of his own life in the context of french Napoleonic troops invading Italy, bringing along a few revolutionary ideas...It's a light, refreshing and very enjoyable comedy, addressing some very serious and deep questions like the power of the Catholic Church and the Pope, the aristocrats' privileges, justice, corruption, forgiveness and much more. There is even a delicious part where a coal cutter is being mistaken as the marquis, Sordi having great fun playing both roles...Indeed you can watch it many times and you will be amazed how fun and deep this movie can be.

The logic in the editing is completely broken. There is inconsistency and it's hard to follow the story... actually there is no story other than episodes the director tried to make up together to create a film, but this is just a nice try. As example, the scene of the witch dancing around the fire ends with Sordi in company of the french guy at night: next scene, for no reason show Sordi playing cards. What's the editor was thinking? what's the point of this cut? none. just dumb. Alberto Sordi has lost all his aura. Sordi while was great in the b&w movies form the 50' and 60' now seems lost trying to auto-reference himself and the "roman-ity" but with weak results. Overall a terrible movie that should be erased from Sordi career.

Are we dealing with Alberto Sordi's top interpretation? Maybe not, but we are as close as hell...Anyway, superbly directed by Monicelli (once again, excellent job done in Cinecittà Studios recreating the early 19th century Rome), Sordi impersonates eccentric Marchese del Grillo, who actually lived, although not in the same period the movie depicts. Monicelli uses Del Grillo's myth and his plethora of jokes to expose the hypocrisy of Vatican and noble Romans, while ideas such as "freedom, equality and brotherhood" were slowly penetrating in the conservative Vatican State. Marchese del Grillo is surely a life-lover and an intellectual in his own way, and does not feel satisfied in narrow-minded 1815 Rome, despite (or maybe, because of) his wealth. He befriends frenchmen, enjoys spending time with common people and doesn't mind to corrupt a whole jury just to show that "justice is dead". While the first part of the movie may be just biographical (and extremely funny and full of unforgettable punchlines), the movie has its pivotal point when Marchese discovers he has an exact lookalike, who works as a coal seller (also played by Sordi, outstanding in his double role) in popular Rome. By trading places with the coal seller (often drunk, thus not really understanding what's going on), Marchese gets the chance to get rid of his family, the Pope Rome to join the cradle of European intellectual life, Paris. Sure, Alberto Sordi is by himself worth watching the movie, but nevertheless, Monicelli manages to show us an unusual side of History we often see or read. And by doing this, he also throws in the movie an handful of unforgettable characters both fictional (the coal seller, Don Bastiano, Ricciotto) and actual (Pope Pius VII, a noble family, such as the Del Grillos). Well, in the end, a must see, a movie with a double value: an outstanding comedy and a valid historical film.

Once somebody asked Robert De Niro who was the actor that inspired him the most. The legendary actor's answer was "Alberto Sordi".The same somebody asked the same question to Jain Maria Volonte'.The answer was ,You have guessed it,the same. The Roman actor is surely the greatest Italy ever produced, and this movie is the perfect example of the power and purity of Sordi's acting. The Marchese antics are well known in Rome,told in endless jokes and stories.Monicelli takes all these stories and makes a fusion in order to create the perfect screenplay.The only thing one could not like about the story is the fact that the Marchese character is so large that almost all the others are left to play in the background.But again the Marchese was indeed larger that life! The only actor that could play the main role had to be Sordi.No one could have portrayed the Marchese so well.And no one could have played two characters so well.Because one must not forget Gasperio er carbonaro. The red neck carbon dealer is even funnier than the Marchese.Sordi shows what acting is all about when wearing the dirty clothes of the drunken Gasperino.The scene where Gasperino is woken by the Marchese trusty butler has to be one of the funniest ever. Overall the movie is a classic.If one is a fan of Italian comedy,this movie is a must see.If one also loves Sordi,then the movie is indeed a gem.