''The Two Parachutists'' (Italian: ''I due parà)'' is a black-and-white 1965

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

war

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including Commedia all'italiana, comedies and spagh ...

, starring the comic duo

Franco and Ciccio Franco and Ciccio (, ) were a comic comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theatre field, and ende ...

. The film is a French-Spanish-Italian production (title in Spanish: ''Los dos paracaidistas''; in French: ''Les Deux Parachutistes'').

Plot

Franco and Ciccio are two Sicilian street artists who are forced to flee to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to escape their debts. However they board the wrong ship and find themselves arriving in an (imaginary) South American country, where they are kept as prisoners. Rescued by U.S. soldiers, they are eventually sent to fight in the Vietnam War.

Cast

Franco Franchi Francesco Benenato (18 September 1928 – 9 December 1992), known as Franco Franchi, was an Italian actor, comedian and singer. He was born in Palermo, Sicily and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the ...

... Franco Impallomeni *

Ciccio Ingrassia Francesco "Ciccio" Ingrassia (5 October 1922 – 28 April 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian and film director. He was born in Palermo, Sicily, and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the 1960s. He star ...

... Ciccio Impallomeni *

Umberto D'Orsi Umberto D'Orsi (30 July 1929 – 31 August 1976) was an Italian character actor and comedian. Born in Trieste, D'Orsi took a degree in law in 1953, but he was already active in theater from 1950, performing in small companies of prose and revu ...

... American ambassador *

Roberto Camardiel Roberto Camardiel Escudero (29 November 1917 – 15 June 1989) was a Spanish theatre director and actor. He appeared in ''Culpables'' and ''Bajo el cielo andaluz'' (1960), both directed by Arturo Ruiz-Castillo and starring Marifé de Triana. ...

... Gen. Jose Limar *

Mónica Randall Aurora Juliá Sarasa (Barcelona, 18 November 1942), known professionally as Mónica Randall, is a Spanish actress and television presenter. Randall has made some 110 appearances in film and television since 1963. She appeared in numerous Spag ...

... Rosita * Luis Peña ... Alvardo Garcia *

Ignazio Leone Ignazio Leone (19 April 1923 – 30 December 1976) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 105 films between 1952 and 1976. Selected filmography * '' The Walk'' (1953) * '' I Chose Love'' (1953) * '' Amici per la pelle'' (1955) * '' A Wo ...

... Parachutist Sarge Sullivan *

Enzo Andronico Enzo Andronico (13 May 1924 – 26 September 2002) was an Italian character actor. Born as Vincenzo Andronico in Palermo, he had a prolific career between theater, cinema and television, appearing in more than 100 films. Andronico's career is ma ...

... Cafe owner *

Lino Banfi Lino Banfi (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian actor and screenwriter. Since 1960 he has appeared in more than 100 films. Biography Banfi was born in the Apulian city of Andria, and at the age of three he moved to Canosa di P ...

... Tequinho (as Pasquale Zagaria) *

Luciano Bonanni Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of ''Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is '' Lucien'', while the Basque form is '' Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rapp ...

... Villager with the rifles * Franco Morici ... Parachute lieutenant *

Emilio Rodríguez Emilio Rodríguez may refer to: * Emilio Rodríguez (cyclist) (1923–1984), Spanish professional road bicycle racer * Emilio Rodríguez (actor) (died 1988), Spanish policeman and actor * Emilio Hector Rodriguez (born 1950), Cuban artist * Emil ...

... Diego *

Tano Cimarosa Tano Cimarosa, (real name Gaetano Cisco; 1 January 1922 – 24 May 2008) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. He participated in more than fifty movies. He played the "Blacksmith" in the Oscar-winning film ''Cinema Paradiso'' fr ...

... Garcia's aide * Francesca Romana Coluzzi ... Passion Flower *

Piero Morgia Piero is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Piero Angela (1928–2022), Italian television host * Piero Barucci (born 1933), Italian academic and politician *Piero Cassano (born 1948), Italian keyboardist, singer and comp ...

... Parachutist Jack *

Linda Sini Linda Sini (13 February 1924 – 5 February 1999) was an Italian actress. She made 75 appearances between 1950 and 1979 and several appearances after this, mostly in film. Debuting in '' Sigillo rosso'' in 1950, she went on to star in films ...

... Consuelo * Calogero Azaretto ... Limar's private

Production

Despite some photographs on the covers of later video releases being colourised, the film was filmed in 1965 in black-and-white, at a time when colour film was about to become the standard output. This period of Fulci's work is intensively marked by his collaborations with Franco and Ciccio. In 1965, while ''

I due pericoli pubblici ''I due pericoli pubblici'' (lit. ''The two public enemies'') is a 1964 black-and-white Italian comedy film directed by Lucio Fulci starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. Plot Franco and Ciccio Introlia are two scammers. One day they disguise ...

'' was still being shown in theaters in Italy, Fulci directed two Franco and Ciccio films, ''The Two Parachutists'' and ''

002 Operazione Luna ''002 operazione Luna'' is a 1965 science fiction comedy film directed by Lucio Fulci. The film stars Franco and Ciccio, Mónica Randall and Linda Sini. The film's Spanish print released in 1968 was titled ''Dos cosmonautas a la fuerza'' () a ...

''. In 1966 he would film ''Come svaligiammo la Banca d’Italia'', again with the Sicilian duo.

Reception

According to a retrospective review: "Coming just a month after the enjoyably loopy ''

'', this is a rather slapdash entry in the long-running series, a Spanish-Italian co-production casting the boys as a pair of bungling Sicilian parachutists who get involved in a coup d'etat in an unnamed banana republic. The usual slapstick and farcical situations ensue, all played out with the frantic signature hysteria which has marked most Franco and Ciccio films." Nevertheless, a retrospective review underlines the fact that Fulci's directing has more artistic quality than most Franco and Ciccio films made by other directors.

Release

A DVD version was released in Italy by Mustang in December 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Two Parachutists Films directed by Lucio Fulci Films scored by Piero Umiliani 1965 films 1960s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Italian war comedy films Military comedy films Skydiving in fiction Italian buddy comedy films 1960s buddy comedy films 1960s war comedy films 1965 comedy films 1960s Italian films Vietnam War films Italian-language war comedy films