TheLittleSongbird My main attraction to Boccaccio 70 was that one of the four segments was directed by Federico Fellini(the others being Mario Monicelli, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica), whose work I have always admired. Getting the remastered version, I was expecting good, even great things, though I was prepared for some elements not being as good as others. And I found Boccaccio 70 to be interesting indeed. Sure it is uneven, but I could clearly see that a lot of work went into all the segments.Monicelli's Renzo E Luciana was intriguing. The love story is simple and very cute, and it is all delicately funny and charming with a touch of endearing sweetness. The two leads acquit themselves very well, Marisa Solinas is simply gorgeous, while it is beautifully filmed also. The story itself is rather slight though, with a couple of scenes that feel a little too long and not as tight in pace. It doesn't feel really all that rounded off either. However it is charming and cute and I'd definitely see it again.Fellini's Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio is my personal favourite of the four segments. It has Fellini's style all over it, it does feel personal and nostalgic, and he directs superbly. The pace is slowly deliberate but never feels dull. The settings and photography are stunning. I also loved it for how funny and surreal it was, the Milk song is very catchy stuff indeed, the various characters have certain quirks and charms that do make them likable in alternative to detached and Anita Ekberg is a sheer delight by her body alone. The music is bright and cheerful also.Visconti's Il Lavoro is perhaps my least favourite. That is not to say it isn't good, it definitely is, however I did find the pace sluggish and some of the dialogue dull and too talky. However, it is very touching on the whole and emotionally is the most complex of the four segments. It looks beautiful too, with skillful photography(love the close-up(s) of Schneider's eyes) and striking settings. The music is sensitively composed and orchestrated and doesn't feel overbearing in any way. What really elevates Il Lavoro though is the performance of Romy Schneider, sexy and very expressive, I identified with her completely, even if it was not quite the same with the rest of the cast.De Sica's Il Riffa is second best to Fellini's segment. As with the other three segments, it is beautifully shot and scored, De Sica directs with a firm yet involved hand, and of the four it is the most exciting. It is most memorable though for the performance of Sophia Loren. This is not just for Loren's sexiness, and she is very alluring here, but the fact that she plays a very strong-willed woman while managing to evoke some poignancy. I was also genuinely moved by the final encounter between her and the sacristan, who is just as endearingly performed.Overall, visually stunning with great lead performances(especially Loren), four great Italian directors doing solid to outstanding jobs on each segment and with generally interesting characters and stories. It is uneven, with Visconti's having many things to admire but somewhat wanting and Fellini's outstanding and possibly some of his best work, but none of them are unwatchable or anything. Well worth a watch. 7/10 Bethany Cox

zetes An Italian portmanteau film supposedly inspired by Boccaccio's Decameron (though I don't see a connection, honestly). The film was released in a truncated version in most places, with Monicelli's opening segment cut. The other three directors protested by refusing to promote the film when it debuted at Cannes.Titled "Renzo e Luciana," it's probably my second favorite of the four films. It's just a very simple love story, a slice-of-life sort of thing. It may be a tad slight, but it's sweet and utterly charming. Marisa Solinas and Germano Gilioli play a young couple. As the film opens, they're secretly getting married, as Solinas' job as a secretary demands that she be single (probably so her boss can hit on her constantly). Gilioli moves in with Solinas and her family in a crowded little apartment. There is no privacy there. And it's nearly impossible to find it anywhere else, either. The short doesn't really have an ending, but it's so enjoyable it doesn't matter. Solinas is an incredibly beautiful woman (the women of Boccaccio '70 are definitely the major selling point).Fellini's "Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio" is the highlight of the film. Peppino De Filippo stars as Dr. Antonio Mazzuolo, an upstanding citizen who wishes to protect Rome from temptations of the flesh. This proves especially difficult when a gigantic billboard of a scandalously dressed Anita Ekberg, with bare legs and heaving bosoms, declaring loudly "DRINK MORE MILK!" is erected outside of his apartment building one day. It attracts people from all over the city to visit and ogle and create an Ace in the Hole-like carnival right in front of it (not blocking Dr. Antonio's view, of course). After much protestation, though, the good doctor succeeds in getting the billboard's salacious elements covered. This has consequences, however, as Ekberg exits the billboard, giant-sized, to torment the man. This one is nearly as good as the other famous Fellini portmanteau segment, "Toby Dammit" from Spirits of the Dead.Luchino Visconti directs the third segment, "Il lavoro," another more simple, slice-of-life film where a count, Tomas Milian, having been accused in the newspaper of visiting prostitutes, is tormented by his wife, Romy Schneider. It all takes place within a few rooms in their mansion, as Schneider threatens to leave Milian (and leave him poor, as the money comes from her father) and get a real job. She also insists that he pay her a prostitute's fee for all the sex she's given him for free during their marriage. This was probably my least favorite segment, but I still liked it a lot. It may be the most emotionally complex of the four.Vittorio De Sica presides over the final segment, "La riffa." This one features the memorable image of Sophia Loren, at the height of her beauty, in a luminous red dress (and, when she takes it off a couple of times, a black bra). She runs a carnival booth, and all the men of the town are obsessed with her, frequently bothering her with their provincial horniness. She's entered in a lottery where she will go out on a date with whoever wins. Her admirers all lose the drawing to the meek, dorky sacristan of the local church and they desperately try to bribe him for the ticket. Meanwhile, the whole deal upsets the young man whom she's been seeing in her free time, and he attempts to sabotage their supposed sexual encounter. I've never been a fan of Loren, mostly because I felt she was almost too beautiful (that's definitely the reason that she bothers me so much in De Sica's Two Women), but she's wonderful here. I also really loved the performance of the sacristan (I don't see the actor's name listed on IMDb), an innocent little man who could never imagine getting within a hundred yards of a woman like Loren. His final encounter with her is genuinely touching.The four segments together run nearly three and a half hours, but, since they have nothing to do with each other, it's easy to watch one at a time. Portmanteau films can often vary a lot in quality, and most (even this one) are forgotten pretty quickly. This one is definitely a must-see for fans of Italian cinema, or any of the individual directors. The print by NoShame is gorgeous. Unfortunately, it is out of print, but Kino is re-releasing it (apparently on Blu-Ray, too, which should look even more outstanding) in September.

MartinHafer I assume the title "BOCCACCIO '70" was picked as a reference to the famous Renaissance work THE DECAMERON, though instead of ten stories, this film is made up of only 4 (3 in the international release). Why "'70"? Perhaps it was meant as a film for the 70s and a new era of sensual films--I don't know. Regardless, it debuted in 1962, so I am confused about the title.The first film (the one that was dropped when released internationally) is a pretty cute little film about a couple whose experiences as newlyweds are just awful. The segment is directed by Monicelli and I heard it was dropped partly due to the excessive length of the overall film and because his is the only portion without a big name international star. The poor couple are forced by finances to live with the bride's family (who won't give them a second of privacy--with a glass door to their bedroom and a noisy meddlesome house), but for some odd reason the lady was told she would lose her job if she got married! This is all very strange and I can't imagine any job enforcing this in this day and age. So, they can't tell anyone other than her family that they are married and it creates many complications--particularly when her boss makes advances on her! The film is cute and very watchable but suffers some from being a bit too long (it probably would have been better to end it a few minutes sooner--right after they moved out of her parents' home). Also, for the faint of heart, you get to see the boss in a very skimpy bathing suit--he was so unattractive and yechy in it, my eyes are still burning! I'd give this segment a 6 or 7.The second segment, and by far the best, is the Fellini film. Now I am NOT a fan of most of his work--I truly believe some of his films are overrated and too indulgent. This time, however, his film, while not perfect, is not to be missed. It's a very silly and rather surreal piece about a nasty little man who spends all of his energy trying to enforce his crazy views about sexuality on EVERYONE. Practically everything he sees he thinks is dirty and even the most innocent things are attacked by this self-appointed crusader for virtue. The old prudes in town like him but most others think (correctly so) that he's a nut. The last straw for this guy is a giant billboard featuring the voluptuous Anita Ekberg for a milk commercial. I goes up right outside his apartment window and he practically becomes unhinged and tries in vain to get it removed. Later he even resorts to tossing paint on the 80 food image! Eventually, the man becomes so wrapped up in the fight over the advertisement that he begins hallucinating! At first he sees or hears her--such as an arm here and a voice there. Then later, the film gets REALLY weird as Ms. Ekberg walks off the billboard and chases the man because she apparently finds him irresistible! It's a lot like ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN but much, much funnier! The only negative at all is the billboard--it sings and sings and sings the same jingle again and again and might drive some of you crazy! Still, this one deserves a 10!The next segment by director Visconti I frankly found pretty dull. It's about a young couple who have two problems--their marriage is in trouble and they are young, attractive and rich! This is a rather familiar theme in many of Visconti's films--rich bored folks. I really felt no connection to them and people whining about their lives when they have SO MUCH made me frustrated that I almost skipped ahead on the DVD to the next segment--it was THAT dull and irritating. Despite having a very sexy Romy Schneider dressing and undressing (again and again), there was nothing memorable about it. This one, at best, gets a 5 or 6--and that's just for Schneider.The final was a cute short by director DeSica--my favorite Italian director. It was the second best segment but just couldn't keep up with the Fellini piece--and you really can't blame DeSica for this, the Fellini was definitely at his best. In this odd piece, an illegal lottery is being conducted but instead of the usual prize, sex with Sophia Loren is the prize!! All the ugly old guys in town are pushing and shoving, scrimping and saving to sign up! Despite being a very sexy segment, it really isn't all that explicit and ends very well. It's very good and quite cute. It's deserving of an 8.Overall, it's a very interesting but inconsistent film. Some portions are must-see segments but others are not--but the overall effect is excellent.

Gigi-83 I've seen "Boccaccio" just few days ago and so I can express my fresh opinion of it. And I have seen FOUR segments of it - including "Renzo e Luciana" of Monicelli which is quite good. It puts some accent on social criticism and tells about young consorts that due to their poverty and constrained conditions have to bear many difficulties in their family life. The second of Fellini I almost forced myself to look to the end - I'm not fond of big bust and hips like ones of Ekberg. This segment seemed to me too flashy and tasteless (just imagine the plump Cupidon with the silky wings and nuns in the paper burlesque frock)though it's main idea concerning with the sexual complexes that obsess the most convinced moralists is very clear. I regret to write this as I didn't expect such a disappointment from Fellini whom I esteem much for his wonderful "Le notti di Cabiria". The third segment - 'Il Lavoro" ( The job) - is the most exquisite, thoughtful, plastic and stylish. Here Visconti tried to subject to his rigorous analysis the question of what lies in the base of a modern marriage. It's also the story of a young well-off little woman ( Romy Schneider) that one day faces the necessity of earning money by her own (thanks to her light-minded husband's behavior) and understand that she has nothing to offer in this men's world except her body. Romy dressed up by Chanel is very sexual (but when I use this word it means something very far from vulgar, something surrounded with the mist of secret and desire) and touching; after the number of the roles of cheerful ingenuous girls she for the first time found the image suiting her real abilities and qualities. The forth segment is "La riffa" (The raffle) be de Sica. De Sica made some good film in the time of realism but then yielded to the commercial cinema and seemed to be unable for the more or less significant criticism. Thus his segment is very light and benevolent with a lot of spicy humor and a lot of Loren