Based on the medieval poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, I racconti di Canterbury (The Canterbury Tales) is a film that collects eight different tales that play into the lives of different characters during the time of medieval England. Written for the screen and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, the film is the second film in a trilogy of films relating to the idea of life where Pasolini plays the role of Chaucer who would tell different stories that took place in those times. Starring Hugh Griffith, Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Josephine Chaplin, Jenny Runacre, and John Francis Lane. I racconti di Canterbury is a wild and outrageously-bawdy film from Pier Paolo Pasolini.
The film follows Geoffrey Chaucer who arrives to a land medieval England to write a story as he observes his surroundings leading to him writing eight different stories in a sensationalized manner. Among them involves a nobleman marrying a young woman unaware of her sexual history, a vendor who meets a mysterious summoner over things he saw, a young man making trouble as he finds work, a middle-aged woman trying to find a new husband, a carpenter’s apprentice trying to seduce his master’s wife, two students trying to swindle a grain miller, thieves finding some mysterious treasure while trying to find Death, and a greedy friar gets what he deserves. All of these tales play into some kind of immorality that is looming as well as an exploration of sex in those times where it was free and all about joy rather than people profiting from it.
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s screenplay does take an episodic approach to the narrative where it is straightforward as it begins and ends with Chaucer writing these stories as he would pop up every now and then to come up with what he wants to tell. Notably as Pasolini would provide his own take into Chaucer’s story and provide a context that is quite graphic as it play into some of the things that happened. Even as it showcases some complexities in one of the stories where a vendor would report two things he saw and how one of these crimes is handled as it shows that not much has changed back in medieval times to what is happening in the modern world.
Pasolini’s direction is definitely stylish in the way he portrays medieval England as it is shot on various locations in England including much of its countryside areas. While there are a lot of usage of wide shots for the various locations as well as some gorgeous compositions that play into the scope of the interiors that the characters go into. Much of Pasolini’s compositions rely on intimate moments such as the scenes of Chaucer in his study trying to write something or scenes involving characters in sexual situations. There are close-ups and medium shots for much of the film yet Pasolini is trying to understand what is happening in those times and how he interprets it as it play into those wanting some kind of satisfaction that had been constrained in those times but also moments that are confrontational in a comic manner. Most notably the story about this young man named Perkin (Ninetto Davoli) who is this Charles Chaplin-like figure with a bowler hat and a cane that just causes mischief in his search to find a job and be with women. It’s among these moments that are offbeat as well as the story about the carpenter’s apprentice who would find a way to fool his boss claiming that a Biblical flood is coming. There are also moments that are intense as it relates to a final story with this lavish sequence involving this idea of Hell and it is told with a sense of farcical humor and stark imagery.
The sexual content is definitely racy as it features nudity from both men and women as well as scenes of homosexuality early in the film that play into this idea of sodomy which were quite extreme at the time. Notably in the story about the vendor and summoner who would witness these events that do play into events that are happening in the modern world. The stories do have this exploration of immorality that still had an innocence before the emergence of a more extreme immorality in the form of capitalism where Pasolini doesn’t really say anything about capitalism. Yet, he would show how this emergence would occur and how it would impact certain behaviors that would complicate the world while there are those who would reject this new idea to maintain an idea that was already working. Overall, Pasolini creates a whimsical yet rapturous film about the lives of several people told through the mind of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli does amazing work with the film’s cinematography as it play into the grey-like exteriors of some of the locations with its fog and rain as well as the usage of natural lights for some of its interiors. Editors Enzo Cone and Nino Baragli do excellent work with the editing as it play into some offbeat rhythms for much of the film’s humor as well as in some of the dramatic and darker moments in the film. Art director Dante Ferretti and set decorator Ken Muggleston do brilliant work with the art direction from the look of some of the castle interiors as well as some of the homes and a few of the exterior designs of the castles.
Costume designer Danilo Donati does fantastic work with the costumes from the look of the dresses as well as the clothes of the men including the tights which pay a lot of attention to detail into how their bulges are presented. Sound mixer Gianni D’Amico does nice work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of some of the gatherings as well as the markets and other places involving a large group of people. The film’s music is directed by Ennio Morricone as it play into various music pieces of the time that include woodwinds, folk songs, and other kind of pieces that was prevalent during that period of medieval times.
The film’s superb cast include some notable small roles such as John Francis Lane as a greedy friar, Jenny Runacre as the carpenter’s wife, Robin Askwith as a young thief who enjoys having sex with prostitutes and urinate on other patrons at a pub, Tom Baker as a man being pursued by an aging yet horny married woman, Dan Thomas as the carpenter’s apprentice, J.P. Van Dyne as a cook who hires Perkin much to his own regret, Judy Stewart-Murray as a lady-in-waiting for the Wife of Bath, Albert King as a grain miller, Eileen King as the miller’s wife, Heather Johnson as the miller’s daughter, Patrick Duffet and Eamann Howell as two students needing grain for an assignment, and Pier Paolo Pasolini as Geoffrey Chaucer. Michael Balfor is terrific as the cuckold carpenter who is unaware of the trick he’s being played by his apprentice while Hugh Griffith is fantastic as the nobleman who marries a young woman unaware of her own desires for another man.
Josephine Chaplin is wonderful as the young woman who marries the nobleman as she is in love with another man while Laura Betti is brilliant as the Wife of Bath as a woman who is trying to find another husband as her current husband is dying in the hope for some sexual satisfaction. Ninetto Davoli is excellent as Perkin as this Chaplin-esque figure who is a man of total mischief as well as go after anything as he’s a joy to watch. Finally, there’s Franco Citti as the Devil as a man who pretends to be a vendor who observes a case of sodomy where he goes after a summoner and gives him a choice as it’s a very low-key yet effective performance.
I racconti di Canterbury is a spectacular film from Pier Paolo Pasolini. Featuring a great cast, outlandish sets and costumes, gorgeous photography, and offbeat moments that are playful to grotesque. It’s a film that explore a period in time where it was free but also intense as it also show some elements that are still happening in the modern world. In the end, I racconti di Canterbury is a riveting and extravagant film from Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Pier Paolo Pasolini Films: (Accattone) – (La Rabbia) – Mamma Roma – (Location Hunting in Palestine) – (The Gospel According to Matthew) – (Love Meetings) – (The Hawks and the Sparrows) – The Witches (1967 film)- The Earth Seen from the Moon - (Oedipus Rex) – Teorema – (Porcile) – (Medea (1969 film)) – (Appunti per un film sull’India) – (Notes Towards an African Orestes) – The Decameron - Arabian Nights – Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom
© thevoid99 2017
Based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur is the story of a Jewish prince from Jerusalem who is enslaved by the Romans following an accusation over an assassination attempt. Directed by William Wyler and screenplay by Karl Tunberg (with additional contributions by Gore Vidal, Maxwell Anderson, Christopher Fry, and S.N. Behrman), the film is a sprawling epic that explores a man trying to defy those who enslaved him and become a champion of the people as the titular character of Judah Ben-Hur is played by Charlton Heston. Also starring Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Hugh Griffith, and Haya Harareet. Ben-Hur is a tremendously rich and intense film from William Wyler.
The film revolves a Jewish prince from Jerusalem who is betrayed by a friend who is a Roman tribune where an accident involving a Roman governor has him and his family become slaves forcing the man to try and seek vengeance against his old friend. It’s a film that explores not just a man who would suffer because of a simple accident his sister made but also to see if he can do anything to help his people as well as those who have been oppressed by the Roman empire. At the same time, he watches from afar as he sees the journey that Jesus Christ would take as the two men would have paralleling storylines. Especially where Judah Ben-Hur would have encounters with Jesus Christ as questions about faith would emerge in Ben-Hur’s own journey as he tries to find his mother and sister.
The film’s screenplay starts off with Jesus Christ’s birth and minor events that preceded it as it relates to the rule of the Roman Empire. It then plays into the paralleling story of Christ doing his own duties for the world while Ben-Hur is inviting an old friend in Messala (Stephen Boyd), who has become a tribune for the Roman council, as he asks Ben-Hur about any Jews that have spoken against the empire. Ben-Hur refuses to name names where a parade in welcoming a new Roman governor ends with a simple accident when Ben-Hur’s sister Tirzah (Cathy O’Donnell) was looking from the roof as some tiles slipped and fell on the governor’s head. Tirzah and her mother Miriam (Martha Scott) would be sent away somewhere else while Ben-Hur is sold to slavery under Messala’s orders. Upon working as a rower at a galley for a Roman consul member, Ben-Hur copes with betrayal and suffering until the ship is attacked where he would save that member in Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) who would reward Ben-Hur by giving him his freedom and the chance to be adopted by Arrius.
While the journey that Ben-Hur would take from slavery and freedom would be fulfilling, there is still that conflict about who he is and his own faith which would prompt him to leave Arrius on amicable terms to try and return home. Even as Ben-Hur is more concerned with wondering what happened to his mother and sister as he would encounter more individuals such as Balthasar (Finlay Currie) and Sheik Ilderim (Hugh Griffith) as the latter learns of Ben-Hur’s reputation as a chariot racer who wants him to challenge Messala in an upcoming race. For Ben-Hur, it’s a moment of temptation to get revenge yet a reunion with an old servant’s daughter in Esther (Haya Harareet) would prompt him to think about what happened to his mother and sister as it leads to a climatic confrontation as well as an aftermath involving Jesus Christ. It is there that Ben-Hur not only copes with his faith but also in his questions into what God wants from him.
William Wyler’s direction is truly spectacular in terms of not just the scope of the presentation but also in how big the film is in its approach to the story. Shot partially on location in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios with additional locations in Libya and North Africa, Wyler goes for something that plays into a period of time where it is this conflict between the power of the Roman Empire and a simple community of Jews and Arabs. Much of the direction is presented in a very vast and wide canvas to play into how big the world was in those times where the sets of the cities such as Jerusalem and Rome are part of a world that is very unique. Wyler’s approach to wide shots help play into how vast it is. Even in some of the interiors of the sets where Wyler’s use of medium shots help play into how big things were including the galley ship where Ben-Hur was a rower for Arrius.
The direction does have some unique ideas of close-ups as it relates to the drama such as Ben-Hur’s love for his family as well as the growing attraction between himself and Esther. Yet, it’s in these extravagant sequences such as the film’s climatic chariot race scene that is among one of the film’s major highlights. Especially into what is at stake where the camera is capturing all of these moments as it features some second-unit work from Sergio Leone. It is a sequence that is very gripping where it’s also very dangerous into what Ben-Hur is trying to do. Yet, it is followed by events that play into not just what Ben-Hur was trying to look for but also some truths as it relates to his faith and what he had lost in his enslavement. Even as he would have more encounters with Jesus Christ as Wyler never shows that man’s face but rather as a mere presence that plays into Ben-Hur’s own journey to find himself and his questions of faith. Overall, Wyler creates a very sensational and enthralling film about a man who endures suffering as he tries to find a sense of hope through his devotion towards his faith.
Cinematographer Robert L. Surtees does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography that is filled with gorgeous colors for some of its exteriors in day and night as well as the interiors including some low-key lights for scenes where Ben-Hur returns to his house in its decayed form. Editors John D. Dunning and Ralph E. Winters does excellent work with the editing with its approach to fast-cutting for the film‘s chariot scenes along with other dazzling rhythmic cuts for some of its intense moments such as the battle on the sea. Art directors Edward C. Carfagno and William A. Horning, with set decorator Hugh Hunt, do brilliant work with the set pieces from the look of Ben-Hur‘s family home as well as the Roman prison and its palaces along with the vastness of the chariot stadium.
Costume designer Elizabeth Haffenden does fantastic work with the period costumes from the uniforms that the Roman soldiers wear to the robes that both the men and women wore at the time. The special effects work of A. Arnold Gillespie, Robert MacDonald, and Milo Lory is pretty good for some of the background effects for the scenes such as the naval battle and a few scenes that involve the opening sequence of Jesus Christ‘s birth. The sound work of Franklin Milton is terrific for the sound effects that are created as well as capturing some of the moments in the chariot race sequence. The film’s music by Miklos Rozsa is phenomenal for its bombastic and soaring orchestral score to play into the sense of adventure and action along with lush, string-based themes for some of the film’s dramatic moments as it’s a major highlight of the film.
The casting by Irene Howard is marvelous as it features notable small roles from George Relph as the Roman emperor Tiberius, Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate, Sam Jaffe as Esther’s father Simonides who is a loyal servant to the Ben-Hur family, Claude Heater in an un-credited appearance as Jesus Christ, and Finlay Currie in a terrific performance as Balthasar and the film’s narrator for its opening sequence. Martha Scott and Cathy O’Donnell are wonderful in their respective roles as Ben-Hur’s mother Miriam and sister Tirzah as two women whom Ben-Hur cares for as they were victims of a simple accident caused by Tirzah. Jack Hawkins is excellent as Quintus Arrius as a Roman consul who was intrigued by Ben-Hur’s appearance in his ship as he is later saved by the man whom he generously thanked while being one of the rare Romans that Ben-Hur cares for.
Hugh Griffith is amazing as Sheik Ilderim as a comical figure of sorts who invites Ben-Hur to his camp and support him in the chariot race as he is also a caring figure who wants to create an alliance between the Arabs and Jews. Stephen Boyd is fantastic as Messala as an old friend of Ben-Hur who later betrays him as he becomes a man devoted to the Roman Empire and later challenges him in the chariot race. Haya Harareet is brilliant as Esther as a former servant who had always been in love with Ben-Hur as she hopes to help him after his return as she also helps find out what happened to his mother and sister. Finally, there’s Charlton Heston in an incredible performance as the titular character as Heston brings a lot of intensity and humility to his role as a man who is betrayed and sold to slavery as he later tries to maintain his sense of faith in a trouble world as it’s one of his iconic performances.
Ben-Hur is a sensational film from William Wyler that features a towering performance from Charlton Heston. Along with a great supporting cast and amazing technical features, the film is truly an epic that lives up to its name and more. Even as it manages to do much more as it tells very compelling stories about faith and a man being tested for his devotion. In the end, Ben-Hur is a magnificent film from William Wyler.
William Wyler Films: (Straight Shootin’) - (Anybody Here Seen Kelly?) - (The Shakedown) - (Hell’s Heroes) - (A House Divided (1931 film)) - (Tom Brown of Culver) - (Counsellor at Law) - (Glamour (1934 film)) - (The Good Fairy) - (The Gay Deception) - (These Three) - (Dodsworth) - (Come and Get It) - (Dead End (1937 film)) - (Jezebel) - (Wuthering Heights (1939 film)) - (The Westerner) - (The Letter) - (The Little Foxes) - (Mrs. Miniver) - (Memphis Belle: A Story of Flying Fortress) - The Best Years of Our Lives - (Thunderbolt!) - (The Heiress) - (Detective Story (1951 film)) - (Carrie (1952 film)) - Roman Holiday - (The Desperate Hours) - Friendly Persuasion - (The Big Country) - (The Children’s Hour) - (The Collector (1965 film)) - (How to Steal a Million) - (Funny Girl) - (The Liberation of L.B. Jones)
© thevoid99 2015
