The Canterbury Tales (1972)

6.3NC-17110 minDirector: Pier Paolo Pasolini

1972 Italian film by Pier Paolo Pasolini

The Canterbury Tales (Italian: I racconti di Canterbury) is a 1972 Italian medieval erotic black comedy film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini based on the medieval narrative poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. The second film in Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life", preceded by The Decameron and followed by Arabian Nights, it won the Golden Bear at the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival.

With the "Trilogy of Life", Pasolini sought to adapt vibrant, erotic tales from classical literature. With The Decameron, Pasolini adapted an important work from the early era of the Italian language. With The Canterbury Tales he set his sights to the earthy Middle English tales of Chaucer.

The film came after a string of movies of the late 1960s in which Pasolini had a major ideological bent. Though this film is much more light-hearted in nature Pasolini nonetheless considered it among his most "ideological".

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is The Canterbury Tales about?
The Canterbury Tales (1972) — Pasolini's artistic and always vividly cinematic retelling of eight of Chaucer's famous tales.
Is The Canterbury Tales based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is The Canterbury Tales scary?
Content rating: NC-17. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.
What is The Canterbury Tales (1972) about? Plot, synopsis and ending explained — Screencodex