The Canterbury Tales (I Racconti di Canterbury) [DVD] [1972]

Chaucer's central conceit, in writing the "Canterbury Tales", was that here we have a collection of apparently devout individuals, setting out on a pilgrimage, a journey of discovery and faith, yet they find the notion so inherently boring they have to spice it up by telling one another bawdy and decidedly not very spiritually uplifting tales. The moral of the tale is in the moralities of the tellers!

Pasolini turns the tables on poor old Geoffrey Chaucer. In this film, Chaucer is stripped of his artistic integrity and satirical pen, to become a hen-pecked husband who scribbles erotic tales for his own amusement and gratification. But, of course, the director himself plays the part of Chaucer!

And the tales are bawdy. The costumes, settings and action is surreal. A fine actor like Huw Griffiths is reduced to a caricature by the dubbed Italian and the subtitles. Pasolini demands a melodramatic acting style, a throwback to the storytelling times - and there are moments in the film where he pays homage to Chaplin and the Keystone Cops. The bawdy, slapstick nature of comedy is timeless. And silent comedy, mime, is equally a part of a living, storytelling tradition.

Chaucer's characters flow across the screen. The Wife of Bath is insatiable. Tom Baker reveals all, but this was before his Dr.Who days! The action descends into Hell ... a pastiche of Hieronymus Bosch's vision. Pasolini keeps returning to themes of brotherhood, deceit and deception. He explores male bonding and friendship ... and its potential for corruption. Three friends try to outwit one another, but only Death triumphs. Death is no fearful spectre, but a consummate teller of tales, a manipulator of reality.

This is a triumphantly funny and bawdy little romp into English literature, a roller-coaster ride of individual idiosyncrasies and frailties. Exotic, surreal, and outrageous in places, it's an entertaining and engrossing film.

Having said all that however, I can forgive "The Canterbury Tales" almost anything. I love the bawdy atmosphere that pervades the entire film. Pasolini has concentrated on the raunchier aspects of Chaucer's tales, added a few of his own for good measure, and produced one of the great hedonistic films of all time. This is not one for the prudish, as it frequently shows nudity, sex, and bodily functions. Even so, the film is often quite beautiful visually, with various English locations used to good effect.

The cast is interesting (apart from the previously mentioned non-pro's that is). There are Pasolini regulars Franco Citti, Ninetto Davoli, and Laura Betti, who has a field day as the Wife of Bath. Also, you get some familiar British faces such as Hugh Griffiths, Robin Askwith, and Tom Baker in his pre-Doctor Who days. Pasolini himself does well in the role of Chaucer. The print used here by the BFI is in Italian with English subtitles. It's a definite improvement on the version that was issued in the States by Image Entertainment, which was poorly dubbed in English.

At the end of the film there is a great final flourish that you won't forget in a hurry.