Robert Benigni
Benigni began his career as a theatre actor, later making a move to television. After making a name for himself on Italian television, Benigni made his film debut in 1977 in Berlinguer ti voglio bene (Berlinguer, I Love You). Benigni directed his first film, Tu mi turbi (You Upset Me) in 1983 which he also wrote and gave his future wife Nicoletta Braschi her film debut, which was to be the beginning of an on-screen partnership.
In 1986, Benigni starred in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law and gained attention outside of Italy. Following Down by Law, Benigni appeared in Jarmusch's Night on Earth and starred, directed and co-wrote Italian films including Non ci resta che piangere (Nothing Left To Do But Cry), Il piccolo diavolo (The Little Devil), Johnny Stecchino (Johnny Toothpick) and Il mostro (The Monster).
Benigni's greatest achievement came in 1997 when he co-wrote, directed and starred in La vita è bella (Life Is Beautiful). La vita è bella won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and earned Benigni the Best Actor award (Benigni stood on seats and thanked the crowd on his way to the stage to accept the award).
Benigni has since starred in and directed Pinocchio, La tigre e la neve (The Tiger and the Snow) and appeared in Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes and Woody Allen's To Rome with Love. Benigni has also been active in politics and political satire, holds honorary degrees in a number of areas and has performed the highly successful one-man show TuttoDante (Everything About Dante).
Memorable quotes / jokes
Johnny Stecchino -
(Unaware that he is the guinea pig for a loathed gangster that he is identical to, Johnny naively believes the audience in the theatre are angry at him for taking a banana that he didn't get a chance to pay for at the food court)
(English subtitles)
Johnny (Benigni): All right, then. Lets put an end to this. I made a mistake, I'll pay. I was waiting for the interval. But if I have to, I'll pay now.
Audience Member: What's all this dribble? Trying to set us up again?
Johnny: "Set up"? You're doing that. You'll get your money. Here... a fiver! OK? Paid.
Audience Member: This is your last insult.
Johnny: What do you want?
Audience Member: There is no price
Johnny: No price? What do bananas cost in Palermo? What, then?
Audience Member: You know exactly what we want.
Johnny: I'll give it back, OK? Money and all. Here...
Audience Member: Look out! He's got a bomb (Crowd runs away)
(Johnny pulls out the banana from his pocket)
Johnny: Here it is. Happy now? Cheapskates.
La vita è bella -
(When a Nazi officer at the prisoner camp asks if anyone speaks German to translate for him, Guido accepts to make his son believe they are involved in a game instead of following commands)
(English subtitles)
(The Nazi officer addresses the prisoners and then Guido translates)
Guido (Benigni): The game starts now: whoever's here is here, whoever's not is not. The first one to get a thousand points wins. The prize is a tank! Lucky him! Every day we'll announce who's in the lead from that loudspeaker. The one with the least points has to wear a sign saying "jackass" right here on his back. We play the part of the real mean guys who yell. Whoever's scared loses points. You'll lose your points for three things. One: if you cry, two: if you want to see your mommy, three: if you're hungry and you want a snack. Forget about it! It's easy to lose points for being hungry. Just yesterday I lost 40 points because I absolutely had to have a jam sandwich. Apricot jam! He wanted strawberry... Don't ask for any lollipops, you won't get any. We eat them all! I ate twenty of them yesterday! What a stomachache... But they sure were good. You bet... Sorry if I'm going so fast, but I'm playing hide and seek.
Benigni has since starred in and directed Pinocchio, La tigre e la neve (The Tiger and the Snow) and appeared in Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes and Woody Allen's To Rome with Love. Benigni has also been active in politics and political satire, holds honorary degrees in a number of areas and has performed the highly successful one-man show TuttoDante (Everything About Dante).
Memorable quotes / jokes
Johnny Stecchino -
(Unaware that he is the guinea pig for a loathed gangster that he is identical to, Johnny naively believes the audience in the theatre are angry at him for taking a banana that he didn't get a chance to pay for at the food court)
(English subtitles)
Johnny (Benigni): All right, then. Lets put an end to this. I made a mistake, I'll pay. I was waiting for the interval. But if I have to, I'll pay now.
Audience Member: What's all this dribble? Trying to set us up again?
Johnny: "Set up"? You're doing that. You'll get your money. Here... a fiver! OK? Paid.
Audience Member: This is your last insult.
Johnny: What do you want?
Audience Member: There is no price
Johnny: No price? What do bananas cost in Palermo? What, then?
Audience Member: You know exactly what we want.
Johnny: I'll give it back, OK? Money and all. Here...
Audience Member: Look out! He's got a bomb (Crowd runs away)
(Johnny pulls out the banana from his pocket)
Johnny: Here it is. Happy now? Cheapskates.
La vita è bella -
(When a Nazi officer at the prisoner camp asks if anyone speaks German to translate for him, Guido accepts to make his son believe they are involved in a game instead of following commands)
(English subtitles)
(The Nazi officer addresses the prisoners and then Guido translates)
Guido (Benigni): The game starts now: whoever's here is here, whoever's not is not. The first one to get a thousand points wins. The prize is a tank! Lucky him! Every day we'll announce who's in the lead from that loudspeaker. The one with the least points has to wear a sign saying "jackass" right here on his back. We play the part of the real mean guys who yell. Whoever's scared loses points. You'll lose your points for three things. One: if you cry, two: if you want to see your mommy, three: if you're hungry and you want a snack. Forget about it! It's easy to lose points for being hungry. Just yesterday I lost 40 points because I absolutely had to have a jam sandwich. Apricot jam! He wanted strawberry... Don't ask for any lollipops, you won't get any. We eat them all! I ate twenty of them yesterday! What a stomachache... But they sure were good. You bet... Sorry if I'm going so fast, but I'm playing hide and seek.
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