Satyricon (1969 Polidoro film)

Last updated
Satyricon
Satyricon (dir. Polidoro).jpg
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro
Screenplay by Rodolfo Sonego
Based on Satyricon
by Petronius
Produced by Alfredo Bini
Starring
CinematographyBenito Frattari
Edited byGiancarlo Cappelli
Music by Carlo Rustichelli
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 27 March 1969 (1969-03-27)(Italy)
  • 17 March 1972 (1972-03-17)(Germany)
  • 14 April 1972 (1972-04-14)(Finland)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

Satyricon, also named The Degenerates, is an Italian film from 1969 directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro. Like the more famous version made by Federico Fellini it is loosely based on Petronius's work, Satyricon , a series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome.

Contents

Plot

Encolpius and Ascyltus are two corrupt boys roaming the mean streets of Rome at the time of the empire of Nero. Both boys constantly engage in conflict with each other for the love of the young Gitone, who often prefers Ascyltus, infuriating lover Encolpius. Due to a misunderstanding, the three end up in the house of a rich freedman: the crude Trimalchio, who in his rich dinner amazes guests with exuberant courses.

Escaping from the house of the crude man, Ascyltus and Encolpius continue to fight for Gitone until Encolpius makes friends with the poet Eumolpus, while Ascyltus dies of diseases. Gitone is now only in the company of Encolpius, who cannot satisfy Gitone's amorous pleasures because of a curse hurled at him by the god Priapus, the protector of the cocks. After inheriting a rich mansion by chance by a senator named Pomponius, Encolpius, Eumolpus and Gitone go in a city where their troubles do not end because of the magic spells of a witch, soothsayer of the god Priapus.

Cast

Content, changes, and controversy

The director and producer were accused of corruption and obscenity, and fined for the production. [1]

Rivalry over the title

Alfredo Bini had registered the Satyricon title in 1962. When Federico Fellini and Alberto Grimaldi started work on their film, Bini contracted Gian Luigi Polidoro to direct his own version. Grimaldi sued Bini to halt the competing film, but lost; as a result, Fellini's picture was titled Fellini Satyricon to distinguish it. [2]

Releases

To prevent the film from competing with Fellini's, United Artists reportedly bought the distribution rights to keep it off the market. [3] However, lobby cards and posters for Italian, Belgian, Spanish, and English language screenings are known to exist, and are occasionally sold on the internet, although most of the non-Italian versions avoid the name of Satyricon and use The Degenerates (or translations of that word) instead. It has also been released on VHS by domovideo, and a cut and cropped version has been known to air on the Italian channels Iris and Mediaset Italia 1 at some time after the year 2000.

The soundtrack by Carlo Rustichelli has been released as a vinyl album in 1969 by Cinevox, [4] and as a CD in 2010 by Saimel. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Satyricon</i> Latin work of fiction attributed to Petronius

The Satyricon, Satyriconliber, or Satyrica, is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius in the late 1st century AD, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petronius. The Satyricon is an example of Menippean satire, which is different from the formal verse satire of Juvenal or Horace. The work contains a mixture of prose and verse ; serious and comic elements; and erotic and decadent passages. As with The Golden Ass by Apuleius, classical scholars often describe it as a Roman novel, without necessarily implying continuity with the modern literary form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinecittà</span> Film studio in Rome, Italy

Cinecittà Studios, is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres, it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constructed during the Fascist era as part of a plan to revive the Italian film industry.

<i>Rome, Open City</i> 1945 Italian war drama film

Rome, Open City, also released as Open City, is a 1945 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Sergio Amidei, Celeste Negarville and Federico Fellini. Set in Rome in 1944, the film follows a diverse group of characters coping under the Nazi occupation, and centers on a Resistance fighter trying to escape the city with the help of a Catholic priest. The title refers to Rome being declared an open city after 14 August 1943. It forms the first part of Rosselini's "Neorealist Trilogy", followed by Paisan (1946) and Germany, Year Zero (1948).

<i>Fellini Satyricon</i> 1969 film by Federico Fellini

Fellini Satyricon, or simply Satyricon, is a 1969 Italian fantasy drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini and loosely based on Petronius's work Satyricon, written during the reign of Emperor Nero and set in Imperial Rome. The film is divided into nine episodes, following Encolpius and his friend Ascyltus as they try to win the heart of a young boy named Gitón within a surreal and dreamlike Roman landscape.

<i>Fellinis Casanova</i> 1976 film by Federico Fellini

Fellini's Casanova is a 1976 Italian erotic historical romance film directed by Federico Fellini from a screenplay by himself and Bernardino Zapponi, adapted from the autobiography of 18th-century Venetian adventurer and writer Giacomo Casanova, portrayed by Donald Sutherland. The film depicts Casanova's life as a journey into sexual abandonment, and his relationship with the “love of his life” Henriette. The narrative presents Casanova's adventures in a detached, methodical fashion, as the respect for which he yearns is constantly undermined by his more basic urges.

Satyricon is an ancient Roman novel attributed to Petronius Arbiter.

Martin Potter is a British actor.

Alberto Grimaldi was an Italian film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardino Zapponi</span> Italian novelist and screenwriter

Bernardino Zapponi was an Italian novelist and screenwriter best known for his films written in collaboration with Federico Fellini and Tinto Brass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Backy</span> Italian singer and actor

Don Backy is an Italian singer, songwriter and actor. He collaborated with Sofia Rotaru for "Grey Bird" – Ukrainian version of Italian song "L'immensità"— "Сизокрилий птах".

<i>Thrilling</i> (film) 1965 Italian film

Thrilling is a 1965 Italian comedy film. The film is split into three distinct segments, each directed by a different director; namely Carlo Lizzani, Ettore Scola and Gian Luigi Polidoro.

Gian Luigi Polidoro was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 16 films between 1956 and 1998. His 1963 film Il diavolo won the Golden Bear at the 13th Berlin International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunello Rondi</span> Italian film director and screenwriter

Brunello Rondi was an Italian screenwriter and film director, best known for his frequent script collaborations with Federico Fellini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonino Cervi</span> Italian film director, screenwriter and producer

Tonino Cervi was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100 film italiani da salvare</span> List of the best 100 Italian films

The list of the 100 Italian films to be saved was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the widest sense, preservation assures that a movie will continue to exist in as close to its original form as possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rossella Falk</span> Italian actress (1926–2013)

Rossella Falk was an Italian actress. She had a long career and is possibly best known for appearing in by Federico Fellini in 1963.

The 30th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 23 August to 5 September 1969. There was no jury because from 1969 to 1979 the festival was not competitive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanfulla</span> Italian actor

Luigi Visconti, better known by his stage name Fanfulla, was an Italian actor and comedian.

<i>Satiricosissimo</i> 1970 Italian film

Satiricosissimo is a 1970 Italian comedy film directed by Mariano Laurenti starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. It is a parody of the 1969 Federico Fellini film Fellini Satyricon.

References

  1. "IMDB trivia". IMDb . Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  2. Tullio Kezich "Fellini: His Life and Work", 292
  3. "IMDB trivia". IMDb . Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  4. "Discodogs entry". Discogs . Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  5. "CD Universe entry" . Retrieved 2012-11-28.