Satiricosissimo

Satiricosissimo is a 1970 Italian comedy directed by Mariano Laurenti. The film stars the celebrated comic duo Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia and is built as an outright parody of Federico Fellini's 1969 film Fellini Satyricon, with Fellini's name pointedly invoked along the way. Since Fellini's picture was itself a free reinterpretation of the ancient Satyricon by Petronius, this comedy works as an ironic parody of a parody. Styled as a humorous, fantastic peplum set in a fanciful version of ancient Rome, it follows the duo's hapless characters through a string of absurd and exaggerated adventures. The supporting cast includes familiar faces of the era such as Edwige Fenech, Karin Schubert and Linda Sini. Running about ninety minutes, the film is a typical example of the popular spoof comedies that Franchi and Ingrassia headlined in Italian cinema of the period.