Pasolini's artistic, sometimes violent, always vividly cinematic retelling of some of Chaucer's most erotic tales.
Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Hugh Griffith | ... | Sir January | |
Laura Betti | ... | The Wife from Bath | |
Ninetto Davoli | ... | Perkin | |
Franco Citti | ... | The Devil | |
Josephine Chaplin | ... | May | |
Alan Webb | ... | Old Man | |
Pier Paolo Pasolini | ... | Geoffrey Chaucer | |
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J.P. Van Dyne | ... | The Cook |
Vernon Dobtcheff | ... | The Franklin | |
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Adrian Street | ... | Fighter |
Orla Pederson | ... | Pilgrim (as OT) | |
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Derek Deadman | ... | The Pardoner (as Derek Deadmin) |
Nicholas Smith | ... | Friar | |
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George Bethell Datch | ... | Host of the Tabard (as George B. Datch) |
Dan Thomas | ... | Nicholas |
Pasolini's artistic, sometimes violent, always vividly cinematic retelling of some of Chaucer's most erotic tales.
It is the second part of Pasolini's "trilogy of life" and IMHO,the weakest :part of the reason can be found in the fact that it's merely more of the same ;after" Il decameron' the sensation of surprise has disappeared.Bawdiness,bawdiness and bawdiness,and a good dose of scatology.Besides,the stories,adapted from Chaucer are less interesting than in "IL decameron" ;the only good really good segment,as far the script is concerned ,is the one with the students and the miller's family:the mistaken identities are hilarious.But what remains is never really exciting.The scene in which a gay is literally "fried " is downright disturbing,coming from a director like Pasolini;the sequence is treated seriously ,almost without humor-unless the donuts seller counts-.
No one can argue the splendor of the cinematography;most of the times,it looks like pictures at an exhibition:the moist misty landscapes -particularly in the students' sequence- sharply contrasts with the mediterranean overcome by the heat ones in "il decameron";and the score,which includes old English traditionals is first-rate too.Ninetto Davoli,Pasolini's favorite actor,does his usual (almost silent) stint,in the grand tradition of Charlie Chaplin,which almost seems supernatural in this context;One should add that Josephine Chaplin is also part of the cast:some kind of double tribute.
The script is the Achille's heel of the movie."Il fiore della mille e una notte" will set the record straight and redeem Pasolini,for it's without a doubt the peak of the trilogy of life,with its numerous stories " à tiroirs".