A comedic masterpiece in the picaresque tradition of Don Quixote, it features Vittorio Gassman as a moronic but sincere knight errant who assembles a threadbare army of nitwits consisting of a pubescent boy, a nonagenarian Jew merchant, a bastard in exile, a scraggly thief, and an overlarge village dullard. Brancaleone's steed Acquilante brays like an ass and has the contrariness of a mule in many funny sequences. With great expectations they set about seeking their fortune with many diversions along the way in a marvelous succession of superbly realized medieval scenarios. The ambiance of this film is more convincing than many other more sober and better known works set in this period. It captures not only the grandeur of the period, but also the filth with many a sly dig and lots of gusto. Gassman stays incredibly straight-faced throughout all the craziness. Volante as the Byzantine exile, and Steele as his bizarre Aunt are standouts. The truly picaresque spirit of the piece is brilliant.
Review of L'armata Brancaleone
