Alright, fellow tape travelers, buckle up. Tonight, we're digging deep into the dusty corners of the video store shelf, past the usual action heroes and slashers, to unearth a truly bizarre relic from 1980: Renzo Arbore's In the Pope's Eye (original Italian title: Il Pap'occhio). If you ever stumbled upon this one, maybe tucked away in the foreign comedy section with a slightly baffling cover, you know you found something... different. This isn't your slick Hollywood laugh-fest; this is pure, unadulterated Italian chaos captured on celluloid, feeling like a bootleg broadcast from another dimension.
### Holy Broadcast, Batman!
The premise alone is gloriously absurd: Pope John Paul II (played with uncanny resemblance by Manfred Freyberger, though voiced by someone else in the Italian version), looking to modernize the Vatican's image, decides to launch Vatican Television – "TeleVaticano". He puts the eccentric, jazz-loving television personality Renzo Arbore (played by director Renzo Arbore himself, a huge TV star in Italy known for anarchic shows like Quelli della notte) in charge. What follows is less a coherent narrative and more a surreal, rapid-fire barrage of sketches, musical numbers, celebrity cameos, and general pandemonium as Arbore and his bizarre crew attempt to put on the first papal broadcast. Think Monty Python meets Federico Fellini after maybe one too many espressos.
### Enter the Human Tornado
Central to the film's manic energy is a young, absolutely unleashed Roberto Benigni. This is years before his Oscar win for Life is Beautiful (1997), and seeing him here is like witnessing a comedic supernova ignite. Playing a sort of fixer/chaos agent also named Roberto, he bounces off the walls, improvises wildly, and delivers monologues with a frantic intensity that’s both hilarious and slightly terrifying. His energy is infectious, a raw force of nature that perfectly embodies the film's anything-goes spirit. It’s a fascinating glimpse of his early, untamed talent. You even get a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance from a young Isabella Rossellini amidst the madness!
### Banned in Italy! (Retro Fun Fact Alert!)
Now, here’s where things get really interesting. In the Pope's Eye wasn't just controversial; it was dynamite. Upon its release in Italy, the film was accused of insulting the Catholic religion and the Pope himself. The blend of religious iconography with slapstick humour and general irreverence hit a raw nerve. How raw? Get this: just three weeks after its premiere, the film was seized by Italian authorities on charges of blasphemy and insulting a foreign head of state (the Pope). It was banned outright! Can you imagine that happening today? It took legal battles before a heavily cut version was eventually allowed back into circulation. Finding an uncut version back in the VHS days felt like discovering forbidden treasure. This controversy, of course, only cemented its cult status among those who appreciated its audacious satire. Even the title, Il Pap'occhio, is a cheeky Italian pun, blending "Papa" (Pope) and "occhio" (eye) while sounding like "papocchio," meaning a mess or a muddle. Perfect, right?
### Anarchy on a Budget
Directed by Arbore himself, who co-wrote with philosopher Luciano De Crescenzo and Mauro Wolman, the film revels in its low-budget, almost ramshackle aesthetic. Forget polished cinematography; this feels like it was shot on the fly, capturing spontaneous moments of lunacy. The editing is frenetic, jumping between gags and musical interludes with reckless abandon. It’s the polar opposite of the carefully constructed comedies coming out of America at the time. This looseness, however, is part of its charm. It feels authentic to Arbore's background in improvisational television, a snapshot of a particular brand of Italian entertainment that prioritized energy and absurdity over narrative coherence. And keep your eyes peeled for another wild retro fun fact: a cameo from none other than Martin Scorsese, playing himself directing a TV commercial within the film! Apparently, Scorsese was a fan of Arbore's work.
### Finding Gold in the Static
Watching In the Pope's Eye today is like tuning into a pirate TV station from the past. The humour is often scattershot, some gags land better than others, and the cultural references can be specifically Italian. But there's an undeniable joy in its sheer nerve. It’s a film that throws everything at the screen, powered by Benigni's whirlwind performance and Arbore's unique vision. It doesn't aim for subtlety; it aims for joyful, satirical anarchy. I distinctly remember renting tapes like this from the slightly neglected 'World Cinema' aisle, hoping for exactly this kind of unexpected, slightly baffling experience that broadened my cinematic horizons beyond Hollywood. The slightly degraded picture quality of a well-loved VHS tape almost seemed to enhance the film's chaotic, dreamlike quality.
Rating: 7/10
Justification: While its scattergun approach and very specific cultural context might not connect with everyone, In the Pope's Eye earns a solid 7 for its sheer audacity, historical notoriety (the banning!), the time-capsule quality of its chaotic Italian humour, and especially for capturing the raw, explosive comedic talent of a young Roberto Benigni. It's a unique, often hilarious, sometimes bewildering piece of cult cinema history.
Final Thought: A gloriously messy, surprisingly controversial, and utterly unique blast of 80s Italian satire that feels like it was beamed directly from Renzo Arbore's id onto VHS tape – approach with an open mind and prepare for glorious confusion.