Fellini Satyricon
MGM/UA (1969)
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Foreign, Queer Themes/Interest, History, Music, Romance
In Collection
#557
7*
Seen ItYes
(9/6/2016 Home)
027616860408
IMDB   6.9
138 mins Italy / Latin
DVD  Region 1
Martin Potter Encolpio
Hiram Keller Ascilto
Max Born Gitone
Salvo Randone Eumolpo
Mario Romagnoli Trimalcione
Magali Noël Fortunata
Capucine 1931 Trifena
Alain Cuny Lica
Fanfulla Vernacchio
Danika La Loggia Scintilla
Giuseppe Sanvitale Abinna
Lucia Bose La matrona
Joseph Wheeler Il suicida
Hylette Adolphe La schiavetta
Tanya Lopert L'imperatore
Gordon Mitchell Il predone
Director
Federico Fellini
Producer Alberto Grimaldi
Writer/Composer Federico Fellini
Brunello Rondi
Bernardino Zapponi
Music Nino Rota


In first century Rome, two student friends, Encolpio and Ascilto, argue about ownership of the boy Gitone, divide their belongings and split up. The boy, allowed to choose who he goes with, chooses Ascilto. Only a sudden earthquake saves Encolpio from suicide. We follow Encolpio through a series of adventures, where he is eventually reunited with Ascilto, and which culminates in them helping a man kidnap a hermaphrodite demi-god from a temple. The god dies, and as punishment Encolpio becomes impotent. We then follow them in search of a cure. The film is loosely based on the book Satyricon by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, the "Arbiter of Elegance" in the court of Nero. The book has only survived in fragments, and the film reflects this by being very fragmentary itself, even stopping in mid-sentence. Written by Steven Pemberton
Edition Details
Release Date 2001
No. of Discs/Tapes 1
Personal Details
Purchase Date 9/4/2016
Location Personal Library
Owner Deitz
Store Amazon
Purchase Price $26.00
Links ++ Review: Jim Clark's Reviews
+ Review: NY Times (1970)
+ Review: Roger Ebert (2001)
• Wikipedia: Felini Satyricon
Fellini Satyricon at Core for Movies
IMDB
TheMovieDb.org

Notes
I viewed my first Fellini film in 1960, as a young college student attending the University of Maryland -- La Dolce Vida -- Now, over 55 years later, the event is still vivid in my mind -- I remember being totally confused, but in love with the film -- And with Fellina -- Certain scenes remain vivid in my mind -- But my life took a different path, and I did not revisit Fellini until many years later -- It came rushing back on viewing Fellini Satyricon -- Petronius's Satyricon was written during the Nero's reign, and what survives are largely disconnected fragments -- Fellini's Satyicon apparently is largely faithful to Petronius (with a couple of additions) which are then viewed through Fellini's imaginative genius --
The story begins with a prologue where two male student lovers (Encolpius and Ascyltus, Encolpius is ostensively the narrator), and a male slave youth (Gitón), lover to both), have a spat, decide to separate, and allow Gitón to chose which of the pair he will stay with -- He choses Ascylpius -- Encolpius is heartbroken --
The remainder of the film is basically Encolpius's road-trip of discovery -- Remember. Petronius' Satyricon is fragmentary and there is no connecting link between the scenes, much like visiting an gallery of a particular artist's work, going from picture to picture, and sensing that they are connected but that the connection is left to your imagination -- The joy is in each scene individually -- Like Petronius' manuscript, Fellini ends the film mid sentense.