This is a peculiar rendition of 9 stories from Bocaccio's "Decameron" set on the 14th Century Italian . An explicit adaptation of classy portmanteu with adequate sets , gorgeous photography , humor and interwoven with strong sexual scenes . As various Boccacio tales were adapted , most notably : A young man from Perugia is swindled twice in Naples , but ends up rich; a roguish youngster goes into a convent with unexpected and erotic consequences ; a woman must hide her lover when her husband comes home early ; a scoundrel fools a priest on his deathbed ; three brothers take revenge on their sister's lover; a teen lies on a roof with a beautiful young girl when their parents appear ; a group of painters wait for inspiration and with Pasolini as Giotto ; and two friends make a pact to find out what happen after death.
An acclaimed , if sexually explicit retelling of a handful of the Boccaccio tales . Here Pasolini has loosely modeled a recounting of Boccaccio's famous tales that were previously adapted and very smoothly in ¨Nights of Decameron¨ (1953) by Hugo Fregonese with Joan Fontaine . Pasolini manages in his uninhibited fashion to capture the bawdy and anarchic spirit of Boccaccio . This is episodic romp in which Pier Paolo is up to his old tricks satirizing the Church , social habits , lower classes and throwing in liberal doses of love and life . However , the sights of the interminable assembly of seemingly toothless villagers Pasolini picked up as extras can be a bit embarrassing . As well as the endless sex scenes and bad taste can be a little intimidating . By the time these escenes were considered obscene , and some images deemed blasphemous. It was initially banned in Italy , and many other countries for several years . The best episodes are the followings : when a young man poses as a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns ; when a young girl sleeps on the roof to meet her boyfriend at night and when a crafty priest attempts to seduce his friend's wife . This ¨Decameron¨ is adorned by beautiful cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli , evocative production design and art direction by Dante Ferreti , and enjoyable score by Ennio Morricone ; equally , there are lots of nudism : more male than female , homoeroticism and disagreeable scenes . Pasolini's film career would then alternate distinctly personal and often scandalously erotic adaptations of classic literary texts . As this first intallment of his trilogy of life was followed by Tales of Canterbury (1971) based on Godofredo Chaucer tales and finally the third ¨The Arabian nights¨ featuring 10 of the old Scherezade favorites .
The motion picture was well directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini who was member of the Italian Communist Party from 1947 to 1949 and he was expelled because of his homosexuality. He was also a poet, a painter , actor and a novelist. He frequently casts Franco Citti and Ninetto Davoli and non-professional actors as in The Decameron . In his movies he shows his own more personal projects, expressing his controversial views on Marxism, atheism, fascism and homosexuality . His first film Accattone (1961) was based on his own novel and its violent depiction of the life of a pimp in the slums of Rome caused a sensation . He was arrested in 1962 by his contribution to the portmanteau film Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963) . It might have been expected that his next film, Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) , here Paolo presented the Biblical story in a totally realistic, stripped-down style, would cause a similar fuss but, in fact, it was rapturously acclaimed as one of the few honest portrayals of Christ on screen . Subsequently , he made a Greek rendition : Oedipus Rex (1967) . And other films as the Neorrealist Mamma Roma with Anna Magnani , Porcile , The Grim Reaper , Accatone , Il Bell' Antonio , That long night in , and , of course , ¨Trilogy of life¨. Finally , Salo or the 120 day of Sodom that was deemed extremely violent , obscene and Pasolini being judged , condemned and given a suspended sentence by the Italian courts , being a mercilessly grim fusion of the Marquis de Sade's story with Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy , showing the sinister connection between consumerism and Nazism. Pasolini was murdered in still-mysterious circumstances shortly after completing the film.
An acclaimed , if sexually explicit retelling of a handful of the Boccaccio tales . Here Pasolini has loosely modeled a recounting of Boccaccio's famous tales that were previously adapted and very smoothly in ¨Nights of Decameron¨ (1953) by Hugo Fregonese with Joan Fontaine . Pasolini manages in his uninhibited fashion to capture the bawdy and anarchic spirit of Boccaccio . This is episodic romp in which Pier Paolo is up to his old tricks satirizing the Church , social habits , lower classes and throwing in liberal doses of love and life . However , the sights of the interminable assembly of seemingly toothless villagers Pasolini picked up as extras can be a bit embarrassing . As well as the endless sex scenes and bad taste can be a little intimidating . By the time these escenes were considered obscene , and some images deemed blasphemous. It was initially banned in Italy , and many other countries for several years . The best episodes are the followings : when a young man poses as a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns ; when a young girl sleeps on the roof to meet her boyfriend at night and when a crafty priest attempts to seduce his friend's wife . This ¨Decameron¨ is adorned by beautiful cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli , evocative production design and art direction by Dante Ferreti , and enjoyable score by Ennio Morricone ; equally , there are lots of nudism : more male than female , homoeroticism and disagreeable scenes . Pasolini's film career would then alternate distinctly personal and often scandalously erotic adaptations of classic literary texts . As this first intallment of his trilogy of life was followed by Tales of Canterbury (1971) based on Godofredo Chaucer tales and finally the third ¨The Arabian nights¨ featuring 10 of the old Scherezade favorites .
The motion picture was well directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini who was member of the Italian Communist Party from 1947 to 1949 and he was expelled because of his homosexuality. He was also a poet, a painter , actor and a novelist. He frequently casts Franco Citti and Ninetto Davoli and non-professional actors as in The Decameron . In his movies he shows his own more personal projects, expressing his controversial views on Marxism, atheism, fascism and homosexuality . His first film Accattone (1961) was based on his own novel and its violent depiction of the life of a pimp in the slums of Rome caused a sensation . He was arrested in 1962 by his contribution to the portmanteau film Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963) . It might have been expected that his next film, Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) , here Paolo presented the Biblical story in a totally realistic, stripped-down style, would cause a similar fuss but, in fact, it was rapturously acclaimed as one of the few honest portrayals of Christ on screen . Subsequently , he made a Greek rendition : Oedipus Rex (1967) . And other films as the Neorrealist Mamma Roma with Anna Magnani , Porcile , The Grim Reaper , Accatone , Il Bell' Antonio , That long night in , and , of course , ¨Trilogy of life¨. Finally , Salo or the 120 day of Sodom that was deemed extremely violent , obscene and Pasolini being judged , condemned and given a suspended sentence by the Italian courts , being a mercilessly grim fusion of the Marquis de Sade's story with Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy , showing the sinister connection between consumerism and Nazism. Pasolini was murdered in still-mysterious circumstances shortly after completing the film.