“The King of Laughter is a feast of a film…. It’s a dazzling and technically brilliant feat, the work of an ambitious, experienced and passionate director. “
— Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter
“An impeccably made period drama superbly conjures up the atmosphere of the era. Indeed, the craft on show is extremely impressive. As is Servillo’s majestic central performance. Events and players all revolve round his magnetic presence. In many ways, Scarpetta’s life was more extraordinary than any play, spawning a theatrical dynasty and leaving a lasting legacy.
Mario Martone’s film manages to capture this in all its glory. “
— Rob Aldam, Backseat Mafia
“Mario Martone’s big, brash, garishly frosted celebration cake of a biopic….Everyone involved seems to be having the very best of times, tumbling onto screen with the breathless energy of a community theater crew
given a very generous spotlight.”
— Guy Lodge, Variety
“Teeming with staging lucidity, a dynamic pace and some intentional excess, this is a tasty portraiture of the theater buff whose clownish acting is taken
to a hilarious effect during a memorable court session. A spikily funny watch.”
— Filipe Freitas, Always Good Movies
SYNOPSIS
At the beginning of the 20th century, in Belle Époque Naples, theatres and the cinema were thriving and the great comic actor Eduardo Scarpetta is the box office king. Known in the Neapolitan theater for his cheeky alter egos, Scarpetta’s larger-than-life stage productions were matched only by his eccentric personal life. Composed of wives, partners, lovers, legitimate and illegitimate children (including a young Eduardo De Filippo, famed Neapolitan playwright), Scarpetta’s home situation resembled one of his comedies more than a traditional family. In 1904, at the height of his popularity, the comedian risked everything by staging a parody of the great Italian poet, Gabriele D’Annunzio. Booed and hissed from the stage by younger rivals, Scarpetta was sued for plagiarism, leading to the first ever copyright lawsuit in Italy. Despite the draining years of legal troubles and familial strife, Scarpetta fought not only for his craft but for his legacy as one of the great thespians of Italian theater.
THE KING OF LAUGHTER was nominated for 26 international awards, including the 2021 Venice Golden Lion for Best Film, and captured 14, including the Best Actor Award for Toni Servillo at Venice and Best Costume Design at Italy’s 2022 David di Donatello Awards, as well as Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography and Best Film at the 2021 Golden Ciak Awards
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Mario Martone, whose latest Cannes competition film, NOSTALGIA, is Italy’s Oscar submission this year, is a director of theater, cinema and opera. He created the Falso Movimento theatrical company in the 1980’s and then founded with Toni Servillo the Teatri Uniti company, through which he created his first independent films. Later, he became the director of Rome and Turin’s theaters. He has made two films set in the nineteenth century that attracted millions of viewers, staged operas in some of the world’s greatest theaters and continued to cross-breed artistic languages and experiment relentlessly. In 1999, he created the Teatro India in Rome. In 2018, the museo Madre in Naples dedicated a large personal exhibition to him. During the pandemic he adapted the Barbiere di Siviglia and the Traviata for television. He recently came back in front of a live audience with the staging Goliarda Sapienza’s Filo di mezzogiorno.
SELECT FILMOGRAPHY
2021 | Qui rido io (The King of Laughter)
2019 | Il Sindaco del rione Sanità (The Mayor of Rione Sanità)
2018 | Capri-Revolution
2014 | Il giovane favoloso (Leopardi)
2010 | Noi credevamo (We believed)
2004 | L’odore del sangue (The scent of blood)
1998 | Teatro di guerra (Rehearsals for war)
1997 | La salita (episode from the tv series I VESUVIANI)
1995 | L’amore molesto (Nasty Love)
1992 | Morte di un matematico napoletano(Death of a Neapolitan Mathematician)
