Dario Fo – The Big Liar: The Fisherman

Data: 1959

Author

Collocation

BAR I Re 1959 00025

Sceneggiatura

Dario Fo interprets a different character in each commercial, narrating to his coffee shop friends various stories based on obvious and unlikely “big lies”.
He claims to have raced in the Monza Grand Prix and to have surpassed the fame of Juan Manuel Fangio (1911-1995); he pretends to be such a good magician to be able to hide a lion in the sleeve of his shirt; he arrives at the coffee shop with a racing bicycle on his back and reveals that he just took part in the Tour de France, and claims to have arrived at the Park of Princes two days before the other contestants and therefore claims to have had time to travel back to Italy on foot; he arrives on scene holding a rifle and claims that a lion is chasing him because he tickled it; he tells a tale about being a very clever fisherman and that he caught on his hook the periscope of an atomic submarine with a penguin standing on top of it; he shows up dressed as a fireman branding a seltzer water bottle and says that he saved the Philadelphia Zoo from a terrible explosion provoked by monkeys smoking cigars; he confesses to being part of the gang of crushed noses and narrates how he met a Broadway impresario during a fight, and that he hired him for a ballet; he claims that a movie actress fell in love with him and wants to kidnap him to bring him to Morocco with her; he pretends to be a free-diving champion and claims to have fought against a shark; he tries to convince his friends that he surpassed the Sputnik II and brought back with him to Earth the dog Laika.
At the end of each tale one of his friends timely exclaims: «I don't buy this» and Fo answers by showing a box of Barilla pasta: «What about this? You do buy this! ». The sketch ends, and a short advertisement begins in which a box of noodles is shown while the speaker's voice announces that: «It's always Sunday, with Barilla Pasta».

1 - note: the Italian slang word “ballista” defines a person who tells incredible lies, usually in the context of social gatherings of friends at a coffee shop, the “bar”, that in 1950s Italy had a very family friendly connotation and was different from the concept of an American bar, for example.

Details

Marca: Barilla
Prodotto: Egg Pasta
Diffusione: ITALIAN TELEVISION

Note

3’00” BN TV 35

Subjects

Insights

Agency: -
Creative director: -
Art Director: Erberto Carboni
Copywriter: -
Director: -
Cinematographer: -
TV Producer: -
Production Company: General Film
Music: -
Arrangement: -
Interpreters: Dario Fo, Antonio Cannas, Mimmo Craig, Elio Crovetto, Mario De Angeli, Lisetta Landoni, Piero Pandolfini
Location: -
Year: 1959
Duration: 180 "