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Down by Law (1986)
Our recommendation rate: *****
director: Jim Jarmusch
starring: Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni, John Lurie, et al.
Thanks to Jim Jarmusch who first brought the
Italian comic Roberto Benigni to the U.S.A.
The movie is about the misadventures of an Italian tourist
(Roberto) who is somehow jailed together with Jack and Zack.
Roberto succeeds in convincing the other two to escape; and so
they do! Now the misadventures of the three men take place in the
wild Louisiana, in a mixture of surrealist, comical, and
melancholic situations.
Well directed and well acted, Roberto Benigni gives his best with
his Italian-fashioned English and his clownish expressions; Tom
Waits and John Lurie are good stooges. Undeed a must!
(this review is ©1998 Amazon.com)
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Night on Earth (1991)
Our recommendation rate: ***--
director: Jim Jarmusch
starring: Gena Rowlands, Roberto Benigni, et al.
A five-part movie. Each part takes
place in a taxi; one in Los Angeles, one in New York City, one in
Paris, one in Helsinki, and one in Rome, the last one being the
part where Roberto Benigni acts as the taxi driver.
In Los Angeles, a young female driver charms her crusty passenger
-- an agent who just happens to offer her a film role. In New
York, a man gets into a taxi only to find that his immigrant
cabbie has no idea how to drive. The Paris segment features an
angry sightless woman who provokes her African driver, while in
Italy a hyperactive taxi driver confesses his odd sexual
practices to a clergyman. Finally in Helsinki, a cab driver
relates a tragic and poignant tale to his three inebriated
passengers -- one of whom has his own sad story.
(see Amazon.com for copyright notice on
this review)
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Johnny Stecchino (1992)
Our recommendation rate: ****-
director: Roberto Benigni
starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, et al.
Since
the beginning, we are put into a "Comedy of
Misunderstandings"; the ingenuous Dante (Roberto Benigni) is
unaware of being hired by Maria (Nicoletta Braschi) as the double
of Johnny Stecchino (Roberto Benigni), a Mafia boss threatened to
be killed, and he thinks he has charmed Maria; with all that
follows. Roberto Benigni acts more comfortably as Dante than as
Johnny, of course, because he can prove all his mimics and comic
wits. All the cast are good stooges, including Nicoletta Braschi,
who in our opinion acts at her best in this movie.
We did not rate the fifth star because the story is not that
original; by the way, this top viewed Italian movie is surely
worth a second and a third look. And so on...
(this review is ©1998 Amazon.com)
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Son of the Pink Panther (1993)
Our recommendation rate: **---
director: Blake Edwards
starring: Roberto Benigni, Herbert Lom, Claudia Cardinale, et al.
Do you want to
watch a bad movie? Here it is! Despite of the title, the director
and the casting, the result is poor. The exception is Roberto
Benigni, of course, whose effort gives the small amount of comic
wit you can enjoy in watching the movie; this is why we rated the
second star. Apart from his comic scenes, the movie lacks
continuity of action and even misses to end some minor plots,
making you wonder if it will ever have a sequel, or if the
director himself pitifully stopped the movie, just to avoid more
boredom to the audience.
If you like Peter Sellers, don't watch this movie: you will miss
him. If you like Roberto Benigni, use your scissors and keep just
his best performances.
(this review is ©1998 Amazon.com)
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Amazon.com!
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The Monster (1996)
Our recommendation rate: ****-
director: Roberto Benigni
starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Michel Blanc, et
al.
Roberto Benigni gives his best, as usual. Unfortunately,
the other actors and actresses lack his brilliant comic spirit,
and they slow the timing of the movie, making you laugh a bit
less than expected. By the way, the movie is well connected, and
is a mature result of Benigni's directing career. It can be
viewed as a style improvement of "Johnny Stecchino";
even if the stories are completely different, they both are shot
on a "Comedy of Misunderstandings" base. It is worth
watching either movie; you can watch both if you really, really
like Benigni.
(this review is ©1998 Amazon.com)
Click here to purchase the video through Amazon.com!
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