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Os Contos de Canterbury (1972)

I racconti di Canterbury (original title)
M/16 | | Comedy , Drama , History | 16 September 1972 (Italy)
Os Contos de Canterbury Poster
Pasolini's artistic, sometimes violent, always vividly cinematic retelling of some of Chaucer's most erotic tales.

Director:

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writers:

Pier Paolo Pasolini (screenplay), Geoffrey Chaucer (book) (as G. Chaucer)

Stars:

Hugh Griffith, Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
1 win. See more awards »

Photos

See all 32 photos »
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The life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. Pasolini shows Christ as a Marxist avant-la-lettre and therefore uses half of the text of Matthew.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Griffith ... Sir January (segment the Merchant's Tale)
Laura Betti ... The Wife from Bath
Ninetto Davoli ... Perkin
Franco Citti ... The Devil
Josephine Chaplin ... May (segment the Merchant's Tale)
Alan Webb Alan Webb ... Old Man (segment the Pardoner's Tale)
Pier Paolo Pasolini ... Geoffrey Chaucer (Wraparound Segment)
J.P. Van Dyne J.P. Van Dyne ... The Cook (Wraparound Segment)
Vernon Dobtcheff ... The Franklin (Wraparound Segment)
Adrian Street Adrian Street ... Fighter (Wraparound Segment)
Orla Pederson Orla Pederson ... Pilgrim (Wraparound Segment) (as OT)
Derek Deadman Derek Deadman ... The Pardoner (Wraparound Segment) (as Derek Deadmin)
Nicholas Smith ... Friar (Wraparound Segment)
George Bethell Datch George Bethell Datch ... Host of the Tabard (Wraparound Segment) (as George B. Datch)
Dan Thomas ... Nicholas (segment the Miller's Tale)
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Pasolini's artistic, sometimes violent, always vividly cinematic retelling of some of Chaucer's most erotic tales.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | erotica | male pubic hair | male rear nudity | strong sexual content | See All (90) »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History

Certificate:

M/16 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Release Date:

16 September 1972 (Italy) See more »

Also Known As:

Os Contos de Canterbury See more »

Filming Locations:

Layer Marney Tower, Tiptree, Essex, England, UK See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Productions Artistes Associés,Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA) See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (premiere)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The line spoken by the angel in the last segment, "Vuolsi così colà dove si puote ciò che si vuole e più non dimandare" ("'It's will'd, where will and power are one. Ask thou no more"), is a quotation from Dante Alighieri's Inferno. See more »

Goofs

Some of the women have tan-lines from bikinis. See more »

Quotes

The Cook: Between a jest and a joke, many a truth can be told.
See more »

Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC with edits to anal sex shots, a man being whipped, and Rufus urinating on the crowd during the 'Pardoner's Tale' segment for an 'X' certificate. The cuts were fully restored in 2001 and the certificate downgraded to a '15'. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Salò: Fade to Black (2001) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Hilarious, shrewd, very funny
15 July 2003 | by lhk-2 – See all my reviews

This is a remarkable film. One usually remembers Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as difficult, religious old English burden of school, but Pasolini was smart enough to concentrate on the humor, which travels from rude slapstick (hot iron poker shoved up the villain's behind) to merciless show of greed and it's consequences. Only after the film did I take a fresh look at Canterbury Tales and lo! it was there all along... but it required Pasolini to lay it \bare, for everyone to see.
18 of 28 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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