The Decameron (1971 film)

Prologue: The film, shot in Neapolitan dialect at the behest of the director, offers a variety of episodes from the stories in Giovanni Boccaccio's book, and are linked through a pupil of the painter Giotto (played by Pasolini himself) who arrives in Naples to paint a mural.

The film begins with Ser Ciappelletto (who returns later in the film) committing a murder and hiding a dead body. The scene then transitions to the story of Andreuccio.

Andreuccio of Perugia: In the first episode (based on Second day, fifth tale), Andreuccio of Perugia has come to Naples to buy horses. A rich lady learns of this from one of her older servants and devises a trick to con him of his money. She invites him over to her home for supper under the pretext that they are long lost siblings. After supper they both retire to bed and Andreuccio gets into his nightshirt and puts his clothes and money on the bed. He then goes to use the restroom where he falls through a trap door and is dropped into a trough of excrement. The young man escapes and meets two thieves who are attempting a robbery at a nearby church to steal the jewels from the tomb of the Bishop Minutolo who died a few days earlier. Andreuccio is persuaded to participate and enters the tomb to steal the jewels. He finds the bishop's prized ring and keeps it for himself. He tells the others he couldn't find it and they know he is lying. They shut the door on him enclosing him in certain death. He screams out to no avail. Later, another group of robbers enter with the exact same plan of stealing the jewels from the tomb. Andreuccio hears this and lays in wait. The lead robber asks the other two to enter the tomb but they refuse. He calls them chicken and mocks them for being afraid. He tells them "dead men don't bite" when hearing this, Andreuccio pops up and bites the robber's leg. The three robbers run away in terror while Andreuccio jumps up out of the tomb afterward and prances away with his new ring.

Masetto da Lamporecchio: In the second episode, a young man, Masetto da Lamporecchio, is encouraged by some nuns in a convent to have sex with them. In fact, the young man had already had this idea, and pretended to be deaf and dumb. The sisters prove insatiable, and the young man finally breaks his silence to protest that he cannot keep up with their demands. The mother prioress declares his sudden ability to speak a miracle from God, but this is merely an excuse to keep the young man at the convent.

Peronella: In the third episode, the commoner Peronella makes a cuckold of her dimwitted husband. While she is having sex with her lover, her husband unexpectedly comes home. The other man hides in a large pot while the husband reveals that he has a buyer for the pot with him. Peronella quickly says that she already has a buyer and that he is inspecting the pot. The husband accepts this and goes to the pot room where the stranger says the inside of the pot is dirty. The wife tells the husband to clean it before selling it, and while he is inside the pot, his wife and her lover loudly and passionately copulate next to it. The husband remains oblivious.

Ser Ciappelletto of Prato: In the fourth episode (based on First day, first tale ), which begins in Prato, Ser Ciappelletto, a Neapolitan merchant, is sent to make a deal in Germany by his employer. For most of his life, he had devoted his soul to sin, seduction and profit, disregarding all moral and ethical values. He has committed blasphemy, forgery, murder, rape and is a homosexual. His employer wishes to send him to Germany where nobody knows of his vile ways. There he will meet up with two fellow Neapolitans who are usurers. That night, Ciappelletto has an ominous dream that he is being paraded around while wrapped in a burial shroud while around him friars and monks play volleyball with human skulls. He reaches Germany where he meets up with the two men. They happily sing together and drink wine but Ciappelletto falls down in a faint. God has punished him with a serious illness that forces him to his death bed. The two men are outraged because if they turn him out they will be seen as bad hosts but if his crimes are revealed in confession they will certainly draw negative attention. Ciappelletto devises a plan to confess and calls a monk to tell him several lies and half-truths that make him seem very pure, while pretending to cringe over venial sins. He tells the monk that he has never slept with a woman (leaving out that he is homosexual) which the monk sees as a very holy and righteous act as he is very handsome. He recalls to the monk that he once cursed his mother for spilling milk and has been tormented by that memory ever since. He also says he is ashamed of spitting in church once. The monk is amazed because he believes Ciappelleto is the most holy man he has ever given confession to. Ciappelleto dies and due to these lies, the people consider him a holy man. After his death, Ciappelletto is revered as a saint. The monk delivers an eulogy to "Saint Ciappelletto" and urges everyone in attendance to take heed and remember his holy actions. He says they should all aim to live as he did. After the eulogy, many poor, disabled and sick people enter the room where Saint Ciappelletto is kept and touch his body in praise. The two Neapolitans look at each other in amazement that his plan worked.

Giotto's Pupil: In a brief intermission, a pupil of the great painter Giotto is on his way to paint the Basilica of Santa Chiara. The cart he is in is stopped by the rain and takes cover with a toothless farmer nearby who gives the passengers clothes. The pupil of Giotto and his companion arrive at the church while dressed in these tattered outfits. The two begin painting the basilica's walls after watching passersby in a market for visual inspiration. The other stories of the film continue afterwards.

The Woman in the terrace: In the fifth episode, a young woman stays with her lover overnight on a terrace to make love without her parents' knowledge. The next morning the parents of the girl find the two lovers naked. However, they recognise the boy as a good match, as his marriage would earn a significant amount of money through dowry, and allow their daughter to marry him.

Elizabeth of Sicily: In the sixth episode, set in Sicily, a girl, Elizabeth, attractive and possessing great wealth, falls in love with Lorenzo, a young employee of her brothers. However, her brothers discover their love and murder Lorenzo in order to save their family's honour. They bury Lorenzo's body far from home, but Elizabeth is led to the corpse of her beloved through a dream. When she finds the body Elizabeth cuts off Lorenzo's head, brings it back to her bedroom and hides it inside a pot of basil, which she tends to every day.

Gemmata: In the seventh episode, the commoner Gemmata is deceived by a doctor into believing she can be turned into horse and then back into a human, so she can be used to sow the fields of her husband's farm. The spell is a ruse: the doctor has imagined a ritual to enable him to have sex with the woman, in full view of her husband.

Heaven and Hell: The eighth episode involves two characters from Naples who agree to tell each other about Heaven or Hell when they die. After a time, one of the two dies. The other is terrified of ending up in Hell because he had too many sexual relations. One night he has a dream in which his friend tells him that he is in Limbo, and that sex is not a mortal sin as they had believed.

Epilogue: The epilogue returns to the pupil of the painter Giotto, who has completed his fresco, which illustrates episodes of the film.

• Second day, fifth tale - A young boy from Perugia is swindled twice, but ends up becoming rich.
• Third day, first tale - A man pretends to be a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns.
• Seventh day, second tale - A woman must hide her lover when her husband comes home unexpectedly.
• First day, first tale - A scoundrel fools a priest on his deathbed
• Fifth day, fourth tale - A young girl sleeps on the roof to meet her boyfriend at night.
• Fourth day, fifth tale - Three brothers take revenge on their sister's lover
• Ninth day, tenth tale - A man tries to seduce the wife of his friend.
• Seventh day, tenth tale - Two friends make a pact to find out what happens after death.
• Sixth day, fifth tale - A group of painters wait for inspiration.
• Third day, tenth tale - In Tunisia a princess escapes into the wilderness where a monk tricks her into sleeping with him. (This scene was removed and is now presumed lost).

• Franco Citti - Ciappelletto
• Ninetto Davoli - Andreuccio of Perugia
• Jovan Jovanovic - Rustico (scenes deleted)
• Vincenzo Amato - Masetto of Lamporecchio
• Angela Luce - Peronella
• Giuseppe Zigaina - German monk
• Maria Gabriella Maione - Madonna Fiordaliso
• Giacomo Rizzo - friend of Giotto's pupil
• Gabriella Frankel
• Vincenzo Cristo
• Pier Paolo Pasolini - Allievo di Giotto (as P. P. Pasolini)
• Giorgio Iovine
• Salvatore Bilardo
• Vincenzo Ferrigno - Giannello
• Luigi Seraponte
• Antonio Diddio
• Mirella Catanesi

The score was compiled by Ennio Morricone. It is composed mainly of authentic Neapolitan folk songs. The song Canto Delle Lavandaie Del Vomero is sung during Andreuccio's tale.

The film was the third most popular film in Italy in 1971 with 11,167,557 admissions[1] behind The Godfather and the Italian ...continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità. It was the 21st most popular film in Italy of all-time and is currently ranked 25th.[4]

• The Decameron at IMDb
• The Decameron at the TCM Movie Database
• The Decameron at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Decameron at AllMovie
• The Decameron: The Past Is Present an essay by Colin MacCabe at the Criterion Collection