The Decameron Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

( aka 'Il Decameron' )

directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Italy 1970

The first of Pasolini's colourful, entertaining and highly erotic Trilogy of Life films, The Decameron tells ten tales of sex and death, involving lusty nuns and priests, cuckolded husbands, murdered lovers and grave-robbers. Mastered from the original negative, this release features alternative audio options and an original trailer, and also includes Pasolini's rare 1970 film Notes Towards an African Orestes.

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The trilogy of The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales and the Arabian Tales of 1001 Nights create a mythical world where the nature of sex can be explored. The bawdy nature of the original stories helps to do this, but the fact that the originals are made up of many tales is important too. An effect that increases during the trilogy is the use of the frame. In The Decameron we see Pasolini, playing a pupil of the artist Giotto framing a scene with his hands. In the next scene we se e the people in the frame turned into a mural. Even the colors used in the film are to suggest a Renaissance painting (contrast with the use of color in Dick Tracy to mimic a pulp comic's ink). Ignoring the content the trilogy are beautiful to watch. Bu t it was the content that shocked manv people, and is the reason why The Decameron is still on the Vatican's black list. Those on the right were shocked by the graphic depiction of sex and those on the left were dismayed to find a lack of ideology. Pasolini answered them both with the comment that the 'ideology is really there, above your heads, in the enormous cock on the screen'. His justification for making an almost pornographic film was that he wished to show that it is bodies that are the most revolutionary things of all. They represent that which can not be codified. Yet it was clear that the people in the films were not sympathetic characters, and it becomes even more apparent in the later films, that these people are not really human, but sexual puppets controlled by instincts.

Excerpt Taken from the Review found HERE

Posters

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews Decameron Web

Recommended Books on Italian Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present by Peter E. Bondanella	Fellini on Fellini by Federico Fellini, Isabel Quigley	Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism by Millicent Marcus	Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives (Toronto Italian Studies) by Howard Curle, Stephen Snyder	Italian Film (National Film Traditions) by Marcia Landy, David Desser	Italian Movie Goddesses: Over 80 of the Greatest Women in Italian Cinema by Stefano Masi, Enrico Lancia	Italian Cinema by Maggie Gunsberg	I, Fellini by Charlotte Chandler, Billy Wilder	Vittorio De Sica: Director, Actor, Screenwriter by Bert Cardullo

Check out more in "The Library"

Comparison:

MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

All DVD screenshots courtesy of Ashirg. Thanks Gregory!

(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT)

Box Cover		Available in a Dual Format Blu-ray package December 5th, 2011:
Distribution	MGM Region 1 - NTSC	BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:50:56 minutes	1:51:15.251
Video	1.85:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic Average Bitrate: 5.4 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,301,449,286 bytes Feature: 32,112,297,408 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Average Bitrate: 38.45 Mbps
Bitrate: MGM
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit LPCM Audio Italian 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: M G M, Inc Aspect Ratio(s): Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Region 1 encoding • Color, Widescreen • Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: November 5, 2002 Keep Case Chapters: 20	Release Information: Studio: BFI Video 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,301,449,286 bytes Feature: 32,112,297,408 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Bitrate: 38.45 Mbps Edition Details: • Both English credits and DUB and Italian • Notes for an African Oresteia (1970, 1:13:17 in HD, 1:33:1) • Original Italian Theatrical trailer (2:30 in HD) • 18-page liner notes, illustrated, booklet including essays, reviews and biography Blu-ray Release Date: April 27th, 2009 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters: 20

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: BFI - Region B' Blu-ray - May 09': Obviously a lopsided comparison with a heavily boosted bare-bones DVD from 2002 vs. a spanking new Blu-ray from the BFI. It just goes to show how far we've come - digitally speaking. The BFI shows quite a bit more information in the frame and it looks good if fairly 'lighter'. It is transferred in High-Definition using the original 35mm negative which, although seems possibly faded next to the MGM DVD, produces a near perfect presentation on my system. Outdoor close-ups show spectacular detail and the grain structure is intact although some minor noise also exists. Colors are strong and the texture is wonderful. The feature takes up over 32 Gig on the dual-layered disc with a bitrate approaching 40 Mbps. It's hard to imagine it looking any better for the comfort of your home theater.

BFI have chosen to include options for both Italian and English versions. The latter starting with seamlessly branched English text credits and a DUB. One can also choose original Italian and both have clear and consistent linear PCM tracks. There are optional subtitles and my Momitsu tells me this is locked to region 'B'.

The Blu-ray has some good extras. No commentary but generously included is Pasolini's, rare,1970 Appunti per un'Orestiade africana 1:33 - but in HD running an hour 13 minutes. There is the original Italian theatrical trailer - also in HD and a wonderful 18-page liner notes booklet with photos and “The Decameron” essay by Roger Clarke, “The Trilogy of Life” by Sam Rohdie, “The Decameron reviewed” by Nigel Andrews (from 1972), and “Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975)” by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith.

Great work again BFI - I can't wait to tuck into their Blu-rays of The Canterbury Tales and the Arabian Nights - released simultaneously and also Region 'B'-locked. It's an incredible time to be a film fan (and be region free for hi-def!)

Gary Tooze

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ON THE MGM DVD (written in 2002): Both older BFI and Image discs originally used the non-anamorphic transfer in the previous incarnations of the film on DVD ( HERE ) . MGM did a brand new anamorphic transfer for this release. Colors are accurate and blacks are deep, but there's grain in the print. The print spots some specs, but nothing too major. After Salo discs, this is very satisfying release. Mono audio is without distortion. The extras are limited to a very grainy anamorphic US trailer and optional English, French or Spanish subtitles.