Ugo Tognazzi double bill at £15 when purchaced with The Portrait of My Father at 16:30.

To commemorate one of Italy’s pioneering comedians on the 100th anniversary of his birth, CinemaItaliaUK is proud to present one of Ugo Tognazzi’s most beloved performances: Il Vizietto, a loud, witty and masterpieces of the “commedia all’italiana”.

Tognazzi represents, along with Mastroianni, Gassman and Sordi a pioneering star of the Golden Age of the Italian commedia, the genius behind the “supercazzola”, a staple of Italian humour as well as a clever critic of Italian society. Renowned for his satirical comments on the Italian bourgeoisie, his bold caricatures and daring comedic sketches, Tognazzi has been paid homage to countless times - worth mentioning two successful, insightful documentaries produced by Tognazzi’s children Maria Sole and Ricky Tognazzi: Ritratto di mio padre (2010) and La voglia matta di vivere (2022). In 2018, the MoMA, backed by Instituto Luce Cinecittà in Rome, curated a retrospective on the actor’s life centred around Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man” - perhaps better described as Tognazzi’s most dramatic performance as it won him the Best Actor award at Cannes in 1981.

Il Vizietto/LA Cage aux folles (Édouard Molinaro, 1978) A pair of odd ageing queers, Renato and his transvestite boyfriend Albin, clumsily attempt to conceal their flamboyant lifestyle to Renato’s soon to be in-laws. A farce set in an eccentric nightclub in St. Tropez, it is a bold and fluid comedy. The film masks its subversive force behind a salute to traditional family values: almost visionary for its time, Il Vizietto is a satirical comment on normativity which granted Molinaro an Academy Award nomination.

To activate the Ugo Tognazzi multibuy discount (£15 for both CinemaItaliaUK films screening on 17 December), add the seats you want for both films to the basket. Proceed to checkout where the discount will be automatically applied.