The Decameron (1970) Reviews

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The Decameron was the first of director Pier Paolo Pasolini's "trilogy of life." The film, based on the sexually supercharged tales of Boccaccio, is a patchwork of many of Pasolini's favorite themes. Pasolini himself plays the role of an aspiring fresco painter who is advised that his completed work will never be as satisfying as his dream of that work. The film is followed by Pasolini's The Canterbury Tales and The Arabian Nights. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director(s):: Pier Paolo Pasolini

Theatrical MPAA Rating:: R

Format(s):: DVD
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Average Ratings

(4 member reviews)

Member Reviews

	Steven G.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

overall, i was disappointed in this movie. i expected better story-telling technique. pasolini used amateurs (most of whom are ugly). i enjoyed the scenery (the old villages and countryside) but the stories didn't connect much, nor did they teach a good lesson (or a bad one). some stories were incomplete, some made sense and some did not. the director being homosexual showed more male nudity than female but none of it was gratuitous. it all could have been left out. what can you say when the drama isn't dramatic and the humor isn't funny? not worth seeing again.

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	O jhnson J.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful

YES THATS RIGHT!! THIS FILM HAS SCENES OF SEX CRAZED NUNS WHO LET THEIR GARDNER PLANT HIS SEEDS IN THEIR GARDEN AFTER HAVING PLOWED ALL OF THEM.THE FILM IS FULL OF FULL FRONTAL MALE NUDITY AND SOME ATTRACTIVE ITALIAN MEN ALONG WITH SOME OF THE WORST DENTALWORK EVER SHOWN ON FILM BUT ITS NOT ON THE GOOD LOOKING ONES. THIS FILM IS FULL OF ITALIAN SELF HATE OF THE CATHOLIC CH.URCH AND HYPOCRASY ON ALL LEVELS.ITS WORTH A LOOK JUST TO REMEMBER HOW WILD ITALIAN CINEMA USED TO BE

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	John C.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

also very sexy. This one probably got past the Blockbuster gatekeepers. This movie gives a more accurate picture of life in the early Renaissance than say, Ever After. Paosolini himself played the painter Giotto. All the other roles were played by non actors. This movie rewards multiple viewings, just to keep the stories straight. Incidentally, Keats wrote a beautiful poem, Isabella or The Pot of Basil

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	Joseph J. E.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

This one may be only for the Pasolini researchers/fans. The short stories in the movie are a little dark but mostly funny and ironic, though I can't say loved the movie. I found the dialect really interesting to hear....very different from Standard Italian. I'm guessing it's the Neopolitan dialect because the setting was Naples, but who knows if it's supposed to be an older form since these stories were supposed to have taken place a long time ago.

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