In the middleages Giovanni Boccaccio wrote the Decamerone, a collection of erotic stories. In 1971 Pier Paolo Pasolini would make a film called "Il Decameron" containing nine stories.
Nine years earlier 4 Italian directors would also make a film loosely based on the stories of the Decamerone, and they called it (after the writer) "Boccaccio 70". The film had a length of 3 hours and 25 minutes, and for the commercial release the story of Mario Monicelli was deleted. There remained a film of about two and a half hours with contributions of Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica.
The three remaining stories are very different but they all relate to the three word pairs: Man versus woman, love versus sex and morality versus hypocrisy.
It is striking that al directors cast there favorite actress. Fellini works with Anita Ekberg, with whom he already had made "La dolce vita" (1960). Visconti selected Romy Schneider with whom he would later make "Ludwig" (1973). De Sica casted Sophia Loren, with whom he collaborated his whole career.
Not only are the actresses more famous than the actors in all three episodes, the female characters they portray are also stronger than the male characters in all three episodes. The male characters either hunger for or are afraid of sex.
Maybe not all three episodes are masterpieces, but they are sure worth watching. Different as they are it is difficult for me to select a favorite episode.
Nine years earlier 4 Italian directors would also make a film loosely based on the stories of the Decamerone, and they called it (after the writer) "Boccaccio 70". The film had a length of 3 hours and 25 minutes, and for the commercial release the story of Mario Monicelli was deleted. There remained a film of about two and a half hours with contributions of Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica.
The three remaining stories are very different but they all relate to the three word pairs: Man versus woman, love versus sex and morality versus hypocrisy.
It is striking that al directors cast there favorite actress. Fellini works with Anita Ekberg, with whom he already had made "La dolce vita" (1960). Visconti selected Romy Schneider with whom he would later make "Ludwig" (1973). De Sica casted Sophia Loren, with whom he collaborated his whole career.
Not only are the actresses more famous than the actors in all three episodes, the female characters they portray are also stronger than the male characters in all three episodes. The male characters either hunger for or are afraid of sex.
Maybe not all three episodes are masterpieces, but they are sure worth watching. Different as they are it is difficult for me to select a favorite episode.