The life of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as related by followers who gather after his death to tell stories so that Leone can record them: a privileged and virile youth, a prisoner of war, an heir who turns away from his father and gives all to the poor, a beggar for others, and an inspiration to friends who accept the Gospels' life of poverty.

• Karol Film
• Istituto Luce Cinecittà
• Mickey Rourke
• Helena Bonham Carter
• Andréa Ferréol
• Nikolaus Dutsch
• Peter Berling
• Hanns Zischler
• Mario Adorf
• Paolo Bonacelli