Tonight on TV: The Comedy Phenomenon of the Early ’80s

Jean Yann’s sixth and final film as a director, Two Quarters Before Jesus Christ tells the story of Ben-Hur Marcellus (Colush), a mechanic in a colony of the Roman Empire who is involved in a false plot against Caesar. (Michel Cerro).

In this spectacular comedy, which required a triple technical team (French, Italian and Tunisian), a year and a half of preparation and fifteen weeks of shooting, Jean Yan happily turns social protest into a setting of contemporary issues. peplum, where anachronisms are legion (the movie poster parodies 1959’s Ben-Hur; many product placements are skewed, such as “Martinius”, “Boursinum”, “Bananiam”, “Poelum Tefalum”…).

When it was released, the feature film received a total of 4.6 million admissions, placing it in third place at the French box office of 1982, behind ET l’extra-terrestre and L’As des aces. After two consecutive commercial failures with Chobizenesse and I hold you, you hold me in the lap of the goat, A quarter before Christ Brings Jean Yan’s career to life, from both sides of the camera.

Despite the misunderstanding of critics at the time, this did not prevent the popularity of the film, especially thanks to its five-star cast, as well as its many repetitions on television.

A quarter before Christ By Jean Yan with Kolush, Michel Serros, Jean Yan…

Tonight on NRJ12 at 9:10 p.m.