Ok, the italian comedy of the `50s and `60s is one of the best in the world. I say this not only because I am italian but because it`s true. Just rent or buy the movies of directors such as Pietro Germi, Dino Risi, Steno and of course Mario Monicelli. L`Armata Brancaleone is one of the best comedies ever because of the script, the gags, the language (a very funny mix of ancient italian and latin, I don`t know how the translation could work) and the actors, first of all Gassman, the protagonist, that Monicelli `discovered` as a comic character in `I soliti ignoti` (before that Gassman played almost exclusively drama plays). Even the representation of the Middle Age seems to me (a non-expert in history) quite accurate: see for example the prophet who guides the people towards the Crusade (an incredible Gian Maria Volonte`).

Another gem of italian comedy, a must-see for everyone.

A comedic masterpiece in the picaresque tradition of Don Quixote, it features Vittorio Gassman as a moronic but sincere knight errant who assembles a threadbare army of nitwits consisting of a pubescent boy, a nonagenarian Jew merchant, a bastard in exile, a scraggly thief, and an overlarge village dullard. Brancaleone's steed Acquilante brays like an ass and has the contrariness of a mule in many funny sequences. With great expectations they set about seeking their fortune with many diversions along the way in a marvelous succession of superbly realized medieval scenarios. The ambiance of this film is more convincing than many other more sober and better known works set in this period. It captures not only the grandeur of the period, but also the filth with many a sly dig and lots of gusto. Gassman stays incredibly straight-faced throughout all the craziness. Volante as the Byzantine exile, and Steele as his bizarre Aunt are standouts. The truly picaresque spirit of the piece is brilliant.

The film does not deserve 8 stars, I've watched it again after many years and found it outdated, without salt and pepper, boring. And all this despite the fact that the director is the great Mario Monicelli, and in the distribution there are two giants of all time, Gian Maria Volontè and Vittorio Gassman, plus a shorter appearance of the great Enrico Maria Salerno and the very beautiful and very talented Catherine Spaak. The only original and a little bit funny scene is with the bear with whom the "disappeared" Folco Lulli has joined.