The best Gino Cervi’s history movies

King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry.

Peppone, hardened mayor in Brescello, the small village on the Po river, aspires to become senator. Neither before or after WWII, where he fought against the Germans and fascists, he never went seriously to school, so he needs (at least) a diploma. Believe it or not, don Camillo helps Peppone to pass the examination (with the forecast of moving to Rome) prompting him the solution of geometry's problem. As implicit reward, Peppone writes a composition about "A man I'll never forget": obviously don Camillo, when Peppone was a resistant in WWII, and don Camillo the young military chaplain. Getting the diploma was the first step. The election campaign just started and the two big parties - Christian-democratic and Communist, forgetful of respective favors, settle down an electoral "war of the words", mean tricks (culminating with the famous horny Peppone/Lucifer) and easy propaganda.

The village of mayor Peppone and Don Camillo, after much dispute, gets assigned a sister village in Russia. When Peppone and his comrades decide to attend the ceremony on the other side of the iron curtain, Don Camillo wants to join. Peppone is strictly against this but after Don Camillo threatens him to disclose information about an earlier side step the mayor agrees. Don Camillo arranges for false papers: He is now comrade Tarocci. Only Peppone and the other villagers know who he really is. In Russia the agenda includes various cultural events: Ballet, Opera, a fishing competition and various parties...

Witty narration follows the history of Versailles Palace; founded by Louis XIII, enlarged by autocratic Louis XIV, whose personal affairs and amours, and those of his two successors, are followed in more detail to the start of the Revolution, after which the story is brought rapidly up to date. A huge cast plays mainly historical persons who appear briefly.

The Shortest Day is a 1962 Italian comedy film. It is a parody of the war movie The Longest Day and stars the popular duo Ciccio Ingrassia and Franco Franchi in the leading roles. Dozens of many other well-known actors accepted to appear in the movie in cameo roles for free, to avert the bankruptcy of the production company Titanus.

Syracuse lies between the warring nations of Rome and Carthage; as long as the balance of power between the nations remains intact, both nations are willing to preserve the neutrality of Syracuse. However, Rome has now gotten the upper hand in its struggle for power. The fate of Syracuse lies in the hands of its leader, the famed inventor and scientist Archimedes.