Amici miei
Encyclopedia
My Friends is a 1975 Italian
comedy-drama
film directed by Mario Monicelli
.
The film, which made it to number one on the Italian box-office in front of Steven Spielberg
's Jaws
, was followed by two sequels, Amici miei Atto II
(1982, also by Monicelli), Amici miei Atto III (1985), directed by Nanni Loy
.
who organize together idle pranks (called zingarate, "gypsy shenanigans") in a continuous attempt to prolong childhood during their adult life.
Count Mascetti (Ugo Tognazzi
) is an impoverished noble who has no means to support his family, but does not renounce high living pleasures anyway, and has an underage mistress, Titti (Silvia Dionisio
). Perozzi (Philippe Noiret
) is an easy-living journalist
harassed by the unceasing disapproval of his wife and his son. Melandri (Gastone Moschin
) is a communal architect whose main goal is to find the ideal woman. Necchi (Duilio Del Prete
) is the owner of a café and pool hall where the friends usually plan their zingarate.
During the movie they are joined by a renowned, military-like surgeon, Sassaroli (Adolfo Celi
), in whose clinic they recover after being hospitalized, injured after a mismanaged zingarata. Melandri falls in love with Sassaroli's wife, exclaiming "I've seen the Madonna!", only to discover she has psychological problems.
The plot is mostly composed of elaborate practical jokes organized by the friends, including the creation of a fake mafia mob in whose "criminal acts" they involve a pensioner, Righi (Bernard Blier
), who used to snatch croissants from the cake tray in Necchi's café, and Mascetti's attempts to save his marriage despite his relationship with Titti. The film ends with Perozzi's death, which still does not deprive the friends of their desecrating hijinks, not even in face of their own mortality; when Perozzi's wife, criticized by Melandri for her lack of tears, comments: "One can weep if somebody dies. But here nobody has died", Mascetti replies: "Well, in reality he had never been so much." During the funeral procession they "homage" their dead friend by telling the wide-eyed Righi that Perozzi was killed for being a traitor to the mafia.
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film directed by Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...
.
The film, which made it to number one on the Italian box-office in front of Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
, was followed by two sequels, Amici miei Atto II
Amici miei Atto II
All My Friends Part 2 is a 1982 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli. It is the sequel to Amici miei of 1975. The movie features Paolo Stoppa in one of his last roles.-Plot summary:...
(1982, also by Monicelli), Amici miei Atto III (1985), directed by Nanni Loy
Nanni Loy
Nanni Loy was an Italian film, theatre and TV director.Loy was born in Cagliari, Sardinia...
.
Plot
Like in many other Monicelli movies, the main theme of Amici miei is friendship, seen from a rather bitter point of view. It tells the story of four middle-aged friends in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
who organize together idle pranks (called zingarate, "gypsy shenanigans") in a continuous attempt to prolong childhood during their adult life.
Ugo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi was an Italian film, TV, and theatre actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life:Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a traveller clerk for an insurance company.After his return in the native city in 1936, he...
) is an impoverished noble who has no means to support his family, but does not renounce high living pleasures anyway, and has an underage mistress, Titti (Silvia Dionisio
Silvia Dionisio
Silvia Dionisio is an Italian actress who appeared in several movies in the 1970s, including Amici miei and Ondata di piacere....
). Perozzi (Philippe Noiret
Philippe Noiret
Philippe Noiret was a French film actor.-Biography:Noiret's father was in the clothes trade. Philippe was an indifferent scholar and attended several prestigious Paris schools, including the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He failed several times to pass his baccalauréat exams, so he decided to study...
) is an easy-living journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
harassed by the unceasing disapproval of his wife and his son. Melandri (Gastone Moschin
Gastone Moschin
Gastone Moschin is an Italian actor.Born in San Giovanni Lupatoto , he began his career in the 1950s as theatre actor, first with the Stable Theater in Genoa and then with the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. In the same period Moschin also began to play in feature films, such as La rivale and L'audace...
) is a communal architect whose main goal is to find the ideal woman. Necchi (Duilio Del Prete
Duilio Del Prete
Dulio Del Prete was an Italian actor, dubber and singer-songwriter.Del Prete was born at Cuneo, Piedmont. As a singer-songwriter, he wrote political songs and recorded an album of Jacques Brel's covers; he also wrote songs for several artists.As an actor, he participated to several films of the...
) is the owner of a café and pool hall where the friends usually plan their zingarate.
During the movie they are joined by a renowned, military-like surgeon, Sassaroli (Adolfo Celi
Adolfo Celi
Adolfo Celi was an Italian film actor and director.-Life and career:Born in Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 movies, specializing in international villains. His most famous role was as Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball...
), in whose clinic they recover after being hospitalized, injured after a mismanaged zingarata. Melandri falls in love with Sassaroli's wife, exclaiming "I've seen the Madonna!", only to discover she has psychological problems.
The plot is mostly composed of elaborate practical jokes organized by the friends, including the creation of a fake mafia mob in whose "criminal acts" they involve a pensioner, Righi (Bernard Blier
Bernard Blier
Bernard Blier was a French character actor. His rotund features and premature baldness allowed him to often play cuckolded husbands in his early career. He proved to be one of France's most versatile and sought-after character actors, performing interchangeably in comedies and dramas...
), who used to snatch croissants from the cake tray in Necchi's café, and Mascetti's attempts to save his marriage despite his relationship with Titti. The film ends with Perozzi's death, which still does not deprive the friends of their desecrating hijinks, not even in face of their own mortality; when Perozzi's wife, criticized by Melandri for her lack of tears, comments: "One can weep if somebody dies. But here nobody has died", Mascetti replies: "Well, in reality he had never been so much." During the funeral procession they "homage" their dead friend by telling the wide-eyed Righi that Perozzi was killed for being a traitor to the mafia.
Cast
- Ugo TognazziUgo TognazziUgo Tognazzi was an Italian film, TV, and theatre actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life:Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a traveller clerk for an insurance company.After his return in the native city in 1936, he...
as Lello Mascetti - Gastone MoschinGastone MoschinGastone Moschin is an Italian actor.Born in San Giovanni Lupatoto , he began his career in the 1950s as theatre actor, first with the Stable Theater in Genoa and then with the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. In the same period Moschin also began to play in feature films, such as La rivale and L'audace...
as Rambaldo Melandri - Philippe NoiretPhilippe NoiretPhilippe Noiret was a French film actor.-Biography:Noiret's father was in the clothes trade. Philippe was an indifferent scholar and attended several prestigious Paris schools, including the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He failed several times to pass his baccalauréat exams, so he decided to study...
as Giorgio Perozzi - Duilio Del PreteDuilio Del PreteDulio Del Prete was an Italian actor, dubber and singer-songwriter.Del Prete was born at Cuneo, Piedmont. As a singer-songwriter, he wrote political songs and recorded an album of Jacques Brel's covers; he also wrote songs for several artists.As an actor, he participated to several films of the...
as Guido Necchi - Olga KarlatosOlga KarlatosOlga Karlatos is a Greek actress known primarily for performing in Italian horror cinema.Karlatos is best known for performances in such films as Zombi 2, Murder Rock, Purple Rain, My Friends and Once Upon A Time In America....
as Donatella Sassaroli - Silvia DionisioSilvia DionisioSilvia Dionisio is an Italian actress who appeared in several movies in the 1970s, including Amici miei and Ondata di piacere....
as Titti - Franca Tamantini as Carmen
- Angela GoodwinAngela Goodwin-Selected filmography:* My Friends * The Passengers * Aurora * Julia and Julia * Alberto Express * The Consequences of Love -External links:...
as Nora Perozzi - Milena VukoticMilena VukoticMilena Vukotic is a former ballerina and a stage, television, and film actress.Vukotic was born in Rome, to a Serbian Montenegrian comediographer father and an Italian pianist/composer mother....
as Alice Mascetti - Bernard BlierBernard BlierBernard Blier was a French character actor. His rotund features and premature baldness allowed him to often play cuckolded husbands in his early career. He proved to be one of France's most versatile and sought-after character actors, performing interchangeably in comedies and dramas...
as Niccolò Righi - Adolfo CeliAdolfo CeliAdolfo Celi was an Italian film actor and director.-Life and career:Born in Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 movies, specializing in international villains. His most famous role was as Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball...
as Professor Sassaroli - Maurizio Scattorin as Perozzi's son
Other
- The project was begun by Pietro GermiPietro GermiPietro Germi was an Italian actor, screenwriter, and director. Germi was born in Genoa, Liguria, to a lower-middle class family. He was a messenger and briefly attended nautical school before deciding on a career in acting.He studied acting and directing at Rome's Centro Sperimentale di...
, who could not continue it due to his death. Monicelli, who replaced him, moved the set from BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
to Florence. - In the original version Philippe NoiretPhilippe NoiretPhilippe Noiret was a French film actor.-Biography:Noiret's father was in the clothes trade. Philippe was an indifferent scholar and attended several prestigious Paris schools, including the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He failed several times to pass his baccalauréat exams, so he decided to study...
is dubbed by Renzo MontagnaniRenzo MontagnaniRenzo Montagnani was an Italian film and theatre actor and dubber.Montagnani was born in Alessandria, Piedmont, and debuted as theatre actor thanks to the help of Erminio Macario...
, who, in the sequels, replaced Del Prete as Necchi. - One of the most popular scene is that in which the four friends, in order to raise Melandri's mood after his falling out with Sassaroli's ex-wife, organize a zingarata consisting in slapping people stretching out from the windows of a leaving train. One of the victims is Perozzi's son himself.
- The film was shot in Florence and its center was a real bar in Piazza Demidoff, along the River Arno, which then called itself "Bar Amici Miei" and featured posters of the film. In the Nineties it changed its name and was modernized becoming an American bar and losing all connections to the film.