Some of them started out at events in parish halls and small theatres, some in cabaret, some on TV or at left-wing political festivals: Roberto Benigni, Francesco Nuti, Massimo Troisi and Carlo Verdone are the magnificent four who revolutionised Italian cinema in the 1980s. Four comic actors who forever changed not only how Italians laugh, but an entire way of making films. In the beginning, some of their monologues were funny, some irresistible, some not so much; however, over a short period of time, thanks to continual word-of-mouth, they became huge stars and enjoyed box-office success for a couple of decades. In I magnifici 4 della risata, we look at their sketches, backstage footage and interviews as we reconstruct an era of Italian cinema and what was behind the comedic style that brought enormous success to Roberto Benigni, Francesco Nuti, Massimo Troisi and Carlo Verdone. I magnifici 4 della risata is not merely an homage to four great comic performers and filmmakers, it also recounts their story, showing how they marked a turning point in the very nature of Italian comic cinema – there is a clear before and after – and reveals the mechanisms of comedy itself. The film is narrated by comic actress Emanuela Fanelli, whom Carlo Verdone presented with a Best Monologue Comedian award at the start of her career.