The Canterbury Tales

NC-17

Released Sep 2, 1971

1h 51m

Comedy

Drama

History

List

60%

10 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Glimpses of Chaucer penning his famous work are sprinkled through this re-enactment of several of his stories.

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Mike J

I hope I never watch this in. My life ever ahhhh don't trick me you guys it's not a good film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/28/22

Full Review

jordan m

There are hotdog eating contests with less wieners than this movie has. In retrospect I do wish I had been able to watch this and see the artistry behind it, but I couldn't. The truly comedic parts are few and far between (the guy getting his ass branded was a highlight) and the underlying purpose of the movie seemed to be to linger as long as possible on the nude forms of non-actors who were willing to do this for the money, knowing they had no intention of pursuing a legitimate acting career. The ending sails past the line of artistic merit and social commentary and serves purely to challenge the audience to sit through it. It's almost like the Jackass of its era except that it masquerades as legitimate cinematic art.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The weakest link in Pasolini's Trilogy of Life, the Canterbury Tales fails where the Decameron and Arabian Nights succeed in transforming bawdiness into something metaphysical. As a burlesque comedy it succeeds, but it couldn't possibly measure up to the other entries in the trilogy. I think I made a mistake in watching the English dub of the film, although the Italian dub also suffers in not matching up with the visuals.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

Not even, but at the finale Pasolini’s vision is overwhelmingly powerful and redeems the movie’s weaknesses.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/14/19

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Audience Member

The second part of the Trilogy of Life shows Pasolini's comical assumption about England during the medieval era. The costumes, the store, and the sendoff to Chaplin are the only saving graces in this film and that really is not enough to recommend.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A hymn to youth, love and sexual desire. Mischievous and blasphemous as the look on Pasolini's eyes playing Chaucer himself. A genuine "Pasolinian" movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Pier Paolo Pasolini

Director

Hugh Griffith

Sir January

Ninetto Davoli

Perkin

Franco Citti

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Laura Betti

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Josephine Chaplin

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

If Pasolini had something more than grubby fantasy on his mind -- and presumably he did -- it isn't immediately apparent.

Oct 23, 2007

Full Review

Michael Bronski

Gay Community News (Boston)

The Canterbury Tales isn’t a great film, but it’s enjoyable, and infinitely more intelligent than most of the pulp that is passed off as entertainment.

May 12, 2022

Full Review

Christopher Hudson

The Spectator

Canterbury Tales is a caricature, utterly lacking in poetry of human feeling, which cannot be excused by Pasolini's ignorance of Chaucer or the contempt he affects for the prudery of the society he lives in.

Apr 30, 2020

Full Review

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

the brash, arguably campy manner in which Pasolini transcribes Chaucer's medieval bawdiness to the screen, coupled with the film's various technical faults (particularly the lousy dubbed dialogue), tends to make the film a chore to watch.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jan 4, 2013

Full Review

TV Guide

After the formidable commercial success of his bawdy Decameron, Pier Pasolini applied the same formula to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales with somewhat less appealing results.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 23, 2007

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 4/5

Oct 21, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

Glimpses of Chaucer penning his famous work are sprinkled through this re-enactment of several of his stories.

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Screenwriter: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Geoffrey Chaucer
Distributor: Aidart
Production Co: Les Productions Artistes Associés, Produzioni Europee Associati
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 2, 1971, Wide
Runtime: 1h 51m

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