The Decameron

"Ribaldry! Rakes and libertines. Raised skirts and lowered lashes. A blush on every cheek. Pasolini. Filming The Decameron. Bringing life to art...and art to life."

1971 1h 51m IT

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 368

HistoryDramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young Sicilian is swindled twice, but ends up rich; a man poses as a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns; 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 young girl sleeps on the roof to meet her boyfriend at night; a group of painters wait for inspiration; a crafty priest attempts to seduce his friend's wife; and two friends make a pact to find out what happens after death.

“Ribaldry! Rakes and libertines. Raised skirts and lowered lashes. A blush on every cheek. Pasolini. Filming The Decameron. Bringing life to art...and art to life.”

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Cast

Franco Citti
Ciappelletto
Ninetto Davoli
Andreuccio of Perugia
Jovan Jovanović
Rustico (scenes deleted)
Angela Luce
Peronella
Vincenzo Amato
Masetto of Lamporecchio
Giuseppe Zigaina
Monk
Maria Gabriella Maione
Una Madonna
Vincenzo Cristo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Writers: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Languages: German, Italian
Countries: France, Germany, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Franco Citti and Ninetto Davoli and Jovan Jovanović carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Ribaldry! Rakes and libertines. Raised skirts and lowered lashes. A blush on every cheek. Pasolini. Filming The Decameron. Bringing life to art...and art to life.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Pier Paolo Pasolini directs. Tonino Delli Colli behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Nino Baragli cuts. Produced in France, Germany, Italy. Dialogue in German, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

155 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, Italian.
3International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Italy.
4Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Franco Citti and Ninetto Davoli and Jovan Jovanović carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Ribaldry! Rakes and libertines. Raised skirts and lowered lashes. A blush on every cheek. Pasolini. Filming The Decameron. Bringing life to art...and art to life.".
9IMDB entry: tt0065622 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "based on novel or book", "nun", "sexuality", "eroticism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Nino Baragli
Costume design: Danilo Donati
Makeup / hair: Alessandro Jacoponi
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Decameron (1971)

Awards

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Pier Paolo Pasolini

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-07-19
★ 7/10
If you were ever to be in any doubt as to Pier Paolo Pasolini's scepticism of all things religious, then you won't be after this entertainingly surreal interpretation of Giovanni Boccaccio almost heretical 14th century novels. There are nine episodes here that deal with just about everything you would find in a dictionary of sin - fraud, lust, theft, more lust, murder, covetousness and yep - even more lust. A couple of the segments stood out for me. There's a deaf mute who manages to convince a convent of nuns that he an unique solution to many of their problems - and boy, are they keen. Then there are some rather ruthless grave robbers who don't care who's tomb they plunder. A priest who uses his ingenuity to have his wicked way with a parishioner's wife - whilst her husband holds the lantern and maybe my favourite that sees a girl's parents craftily arrange a marriage for their daughter after she's spent an erotic night on the terrace with her beau! It oozes satire pretty much throughout illustrating quite openly the hypocrisy of the church and of it's "employees: and very much exposing the do as I say not as I do mentality that prevailed not just in Italy, but pretty much throughout Europe at the time. It's not just the religious who get a pasting here, the aristocracy don't come off a great deal better as they try to use their money to buy some redemption down the line - much to the joy of the painters who have no such compunction. It has something of the medieval farce to it, and that can be hit or miss, but for the most part the underlying commentary from the director is well enough disguised in frippery and humanity to not look like a reverse indoctrination. We can readily laugh at multiple aspects of the plot simultaneously. Nudity abounds here with just as much camera adoration of the male body as the female, but usually that just adds to the humour of the stories rather than overtly sexualising them. It's maybe a little long, but it's quirky and the episodic nature of the presentation ensures there's certainly no time to get bored.

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