Publisher's Synopsis
THE TRILOGY OF LIFE MOVIES
THE DECAMERON - THE CANTERBURY TALES - THE ARABIAN NIGHTSPIER PAOLO PASOLINIPOCKET MOVIE GUIDEBy Jeremy Mark RobinsonA new critical study of the Italian filmmaker and poet Pier Paolo Pasolini's 'trilogy of life' movies (also known as the 'trilogia di vita'/ 'mediaeval trilogy'): The Decameron (Il Decamerone, 1971), The Canterbury Tales (I racconti di Canterbury, 1972), and The Arabian Nights (Il Fiore Delle Mille e Una Notte, 1974). The 'trilogy of life' movies were adaptations of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75), Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400), and the 1001 Nights (15th century). Pier Paolo Pasolini's other works in cinema include The Gospel According To Matthew, one of the great films about Jesus, adaptations of ancient world plays (Medea and Oedipus Rex), and poetic portraits of contemporary Roman life (Accattone, Mamma Roma and The Hawks and the Sparrows). The book includes a biography of Pier Paolo Pasolini, an exploration of aspects of his cinema, and topics related to Pasolini's life and interests such as religion, poetry, homosexuality, his colleagues, Marxist politics, modern Italy, and the Third World. Pier Paolo Pasolini was born on March 5, 1922, in Bologna, Italy. He died on November 2, 1975, in Ostia, Rome (he was buried in Casarca, in his beloved Friuli). When he was a film director, Pier Paolo Pasolini was certainly an intimidating presence, with a formidable reputation - like Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith or Jean-Luc Godard. Very confident, very smart, a great talker and interviewee, a leader on set, with no doubts from anyone about who was the primary creator and author. The appendices include quotes by Pasolini; a chapter on Satyricon (Federico Fellini, 1969); two films directed by Sergio Citti, Pasolini's frequent collaborator; and on Renaissance artists. Fully illustrated. Bibliography, appendices, filmography and notes. 324 pages. Hardcover with a colour laminated cover. www.crmoon.com
