In the Pope's Eye

In the Pope's Eye
Directed by	Renzo Arbore
Produced by	Mario Orfini Emilio Bolles
Written by	Renzo Arbore Luciano De Crescenzo
Starring	Renzo Arbore Roberto Benigni
Music by	Renzo Arbore
Cinematography	Luciano Tovoli
Release dates	1980 (1980)
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

In the Pope's Eye (Italian: Il pap'occhiocode: it is deprecated ) is a 1980 Italian comedy film 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

The musician Renzo Arbore has a vision of Don Gabriel, who came to bring an Annunciation by the Vatican: in fact, Pope John Paul II, watching television, was impressed by a commercial promoting beer of which Arbore was the spokesman, and decided to hire him as artistic director of the nascent Vatican state television. Then Arbore and his company come to the Vatican to get down to work. Meanwhile, a bigot and traditionalist prelate, Cardinal Richelieu, plot to boycott the initiative of the Pope.

Cast

• Renzo Arbore as Himself
• Roberto Benigni as Himself
• Isabella Rossellini as Herself
• Andy Luotto as Himself
• Mario Marenco as Himself
• Manfred Freyberger as Pope John Paul II
• Michael Pergolani as Himself
• Otto e Barnelli as Themselves
• Sorelle Bandiera as Themselves
• Diego Abatantuono as Don Gabriele
• Luciano De Crescenzo as God
• Graziano Giusti as Cardinal Richelieu
• Fabrizio Zampa as Zampa
• Milly Carlucci as TV Announcing Nun
• Mariangela Melato as Unchosen Actress who Plays "La figlia di Iorio"
• Ruggero Orlando as Himself
• Martin Scorsese as TV Director
• Silvia Annichiarico as Arbore's Secretary

External links

• In the Pope's Eye at IMDb