''In the Pope's Eye'' ( it, Il pap'occhio) is a 1980 Italian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by Renzo Arbore. 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 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 Renzo Arbore has a vision of Don Gabriel, who comes bringing an Annunciation from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

: Gabriel announces that

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, watching television, was impressed by a beer

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

, plots to destroy the initiative and ruin Arbore.

Cast

* Renzo Arbore as Himself *

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...

as Himself *

Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...

as Herself *

Andy Luotto André Paul "Andy" Luotto (born 30 July 1950) is an American actor, comedian, musician, chef, and restaurateur. He has resided in Italy since the mid-1970s, where he is a prolific television personality, and is the owner and operator of the Lá re ...

as Himself * Mario Marenco as Himself * Manfred Freyberger as

* Michael Pergolani as Himself * Otto e Barnelli as Themselves * Sorelle Bandiera as Themselves *

Diego Abatantuono Diego Abatantuono (born 20 May 1955) is an Italian cinema and theatre actor, and screenwriter, three-time winner of the Nastro d'Argento. Biography and career Abatantuono was born in Milan to a father of Apulian origin and a mother from Como. T ...

as Don Gabriele *

Luciano De Crescenzo Luciano De Crescenzo (; 18 August 1928 – 18 July 2019) was an Italian writer, film actor, director and engineer. Biography Born in Naples, he grew up with actor Bud Spencer. De Crescenzo graduated in engineering and worked for IBM Italy un ...

as God * Graziano Giusti as Cardinal Richelieu * Fabrizio Zampa as Zampa *

Milly Carlucci Camilla Patrizia "Milly" Carlucci (born 1 October 1954) is an Italian television presenter, actress and singer. Carlucci played the role of Urania in the 1985 film ''The Adventures of Hercules''. In 1996 she became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNIC ...

as TV Announcing Nun *

Mariangela Melato Mariangela Melato (19 September 1941 – 11 January 2013) was an Italian cinema and theater actress. She began her stage career in the 1960s. Her first film role was in ''Thomas e gli indemoniati'' (1969), directed by Pupi Avati. She played in m ...

as Unchosen actress who plays " The Daughter of Iorio" *

Ruggero Orlando Ruggero Orlando (5 July 1907 – 18 April 1994) was an Italian journalist, writer and politician. Life and career Born in Verona, the son of the mathematician and Sapienza University professor Luciano, Orlando started his jour ...

as Himself *

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

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