''In the Pope's Eye'' ( it, Il pap'occhio) is a 1980 Italian comedy film written and directed by

Renzo Arbore Lorenzo Giovanni "Renzo" Arbore (; born 24 June 1937) is an Italian television host, singer, actor and film director. Career Arbore became nationally recognized as radio anchor man, together with Gianni Boncompagni, in the late 1960s, with ...

. It was released in September 1980, and it was heavily attacked by the Catholic press. Three weeks later it was confiscated "for insulting the Catholic religion and the person of the Holy Pope" on the orders of the

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

prosecutor Donato Massimo Bartolomei. The film grossed 5 billion lire being the 5th best grossing film in Italy in the 1980/1981 season.

Plot

Musician

has a vision of Don Gabriel, who comes bringing an Annunciation from the Vatican: Gabriel announces that Pope John Paul II, watching television, was impressed by a beer commercial in which Arbore was the spokesman. Arbore is thus to be hired as the artistic director of the newly-formed but poorly organized Vatican State Television. Following this announcement, Arbore and his company arrive at the Vatican to begin work. Meanwhile, Cardinal Richelieu, a bigoted conservative prelate, plots to destroy the initiative and ruin Arbore.

Cast

as Himself * Roberto Benigni as Himself * Isabella Rossellini as Herself * Andy Luotto as Himself * Mario Marenco as Himself * Manfred Freyberger as Pope John Paul II * Michael Pergolani as Himself * Otto e Barnelli as Themselves * Sorelle Bandiera as Themselves * Diego Abatantuono as Don Gabriele * Luciano De Crescenzo as God * Graziano Giusti as

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

* Fabrizio Zampa as Zampa * Milly Carlucci as TV Announcing Nun * Mariangela Melato as Unchosen actress who plays "

The Daughter of Iorio ''The Daughter of Iorio'' () is a 1904 play by the Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio. The play is written in verse and has elements of local dialect, proverbs and traditional rhymes from Abruzzo. It tells the tragic story of the love between a ...

" * Ruggero Orlando as Himself * Martin Scorsese as TV Director * Silvia Annichiarico as Arbore's Secretary

References

External links

* Italian comedy films 1980 comedy films 1980 films Films about television Films about religion Films about Pope John Paul II Films set in Vatican City 1980s Italian-language films 1980s Italian films {{1980s-Italy-comedy-film-stub