Paolo Villaggio Marks 40 Years of "Fantozzi"

Paolo Villaggio at the 2015 Festa del Cinema in Rome

He writes, acts and directs. He’s one of the most beloved comedians and personalities of his time. His name is Paolo Villaggio. Having achieved legendary status in Italy, he worked his way out of poverty to become a household name in his country.

Born in Genoa in 1932, Villaggio grew up poor as his family felt the financial strains of World War II. He held several odd jobs throughout his teenage years and into his 20’s, but it was a television talk show host who ended up changing the course of Villaggio’s life. In 1967, he was discovered by Maurizio Costanzo. Costanzo urged Villaggio to join a cabaret in Rome. Shortly thereafter, he moved on to the small screen and delighted television audiences across Italy with his part in the TV show, Bonita Loro.

After his experience in television, he began writing short stories for L’Espresso and L’Europeo, two popular magazines in Italy. The stories were based on one character, an accountant named Ugo Fantozzi. The publishing house, Rizzoli published the book, Fantazzi, based on those stories. Creating the cinema version was an easy transition. The character Ugo Fantozzi, who has been described as a “good-natured, bumbling and thoroughly mediocre bureaucrat who can do nothing right and whom everyone takes advantage of” became so popular in Italy, people began to use the name as a noun. The word, “Fantozziano” was born from Villaggio’s character and is referred to in some dictionaries as “a situation that is embarrassing or in poor taste.” Furthermore, as the last name Fantozzi is a popular name in Italy, the actual Fantozzi’s have founded an association, which appointed Paolo Villaggio as an honorary member. Critics have called the character the most original comic "mask" in Italian cinema since Totò. Villaggio describes the character of Fantozzi as a metaphor of “the inept and put-upon everyman” similar to Dilbert, here in the United States.

On the 40th anniversary of the first film in the Fantozzi series, Villaggio presented a restored version at the (2015) Festa del Cinema in Rome. There were 10 films in all with different directors including Luciano Salce, who directed the first two, Neri Parenti and Domenico Saverni.

Watch the cast of Fantozzi in a clip from the 2015 Festa del Cinema of Rome...

Villaggio has appeared in dozens of films and has worked with Italy’s top filmmakers including Federico Fellini, Roberto Begnini and Ermanno Olmi, just to name a few. Those familiar with his work obviously have favorites. My favorite, and one I highly recommend is Lina Wertmüller's 1994 Ciao Professore. I saw the film about 15 years ago and it was the first time I ever saw Paolo Villaggio. The strong emotion I felt while watching that film was one of my main motivations for beginning to write about Italian cinema. Villaggio stars as a Milanese elementary school teacher transferred to a rough district in Naples.

Villaggio’s character is forced to come to grips with the way of life in this Neapolitan town and how poverty keeps many of his students from attending class. Although his students are youngsters, many have to work to put food on the table at home. Others lean towards a life of crime and the streets. Villaggio’s character has a hard time accepting the situation and physically goes out to find them and brings them to class. The children, although fighting him tooth and nail, become attached to him because it’s the first time in their lives that someone cares enough to actually go out and track them down. In the end, Villaggio’s character is transferred back up north and he has to say goodbye to the children. It is such a heart-wrenching story, perhaps because there is some truth to it, not just in the south of Italy, but all over the world. I see so many films and rarely does one stay with me the way that Ciao Professore has. I credit that to Paolo Villaggio’s performance. He succeeds in bringing humanity and empathy to his characters through the way he delivers his lines, through his sharp but subtle sense of humor and through his strong, sincere eyes.

Paolo Villaggio passed away on July 3, 2017. He left behind a cherished legacy of works.

Watch Ciao Professore on Amazon.

Comments

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

Model/Actress Anna Falchi

Anna Falchi was born Anna Kristiina Palomaki, on April 22, 1972, in Tampere, Finland. Her mother, Kaarina Palomaki Sisko, is Finnish, while her father, Benito "Tito" Falchi, is from Romagna, Italy. Growing up in Italy, Anna was a tomboy, and had a fervent imagination. She is known mostly for her prolific career in modelling. However, she tried her hand at acting and landed a role in one of my favorite Italian comedies, Nessun messaggio in segreteria . I consider it my one of my favorites because it brought together so many amazing, talented filmmakers during a time when they were all just starting out. Those filmmakers, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valerio Mastandrea, Luca Miniero and Paolo Genovese are now huge names in contemporary Italian cinema, so it's great to look back and see their work in a low-profile film completely different from the bigger-budget stardom they now know. Watch the trailer . Anna Falchi started her career as a...

A Conversation with Actor- Luca Calvani from Warner Bros. Upcoming Release "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

The cast and filmmakers of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in Rome A few years ago, I interviewed actor, Luca Calvani on the occasion of his U.S. release, When in Rome . Today, we are revisiting our conversation as he is promoting his much anticipated spy thriller, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the all-star cast includes Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris, and Hugh Grant. Based on the television series by Sam Rolfe, the story is set in the 1960's and follows CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin as they participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons. The U.S. release date is set for August 14, but the cast recently did some press for the film in the Eternal City, where much of it was shot. Luca Calvani Born in Tuscany, Calvani has traveled the world following his career. He began working as a model in the 1990's...

Gianni Amelio: An Iconic Filmmaker Inspired by Humble Beginnings

The films of this year’s edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, the annual film series hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York, reflect a country in crisis. Italians are facing unprecedented economic challenges right now with the loss of jobs and a political infrastructure lacking the stability needed to get the country back on track. Each director featured in the Open Roads festival communicates that crisis in a uniquely different way; some with comedy, some with anger and resentment, and others with humble characters who will do just about anything to put food on the table. This brings me to veteran director, Gianni Amelio, and what a class act. I had the pleasure of talking with Amelio while he was in New York promoting two films included in this year’s edition of Open Roads- a documentary titled, "Happy to be Different," which explores gay life in Italy after the fall of fascism through the early '80s and "L’intrepido," the story of ...

Ornella Muti: Four decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with La Moglie più bella (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, Sole nella pelle (Sun on the Skin) in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies with the political climate, the breathtaking seaside as well as the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and succeeds in capturing the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with Flash Gordon . She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including, Oscar , which was directed by John Landis and featured Don Ameche, Chaz Palminteri, and...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog