Satyricon

Reviews

CinemaSerf
If you ever saw or read “Quo Vadis” then you will be familiar with the character of Gaius Petronius. He was one of the emperor Nero’s closest advisors and the credited author of this fantastic story of mythological excess. In this suitably outrageous Neroic drama, two close friends - “Ascito” (Hiram Keller) and “Encolpio” (Martin Potter) get into a strop about their ownership of their toy-boy “Gitone” (Max Born). Unable to reconcile, they determine to go their separate ways. The young lad chooses to go with the former man and so distraught, the latter considers suicide - but luckily an earthquake intervenes. The aftermath of the chaos sees the men separated and now we follow some of their escapades as they lurch from one debauched scenario to another equally sexually charged environment, with loads of erotic dancing, debauchery and hedonism. In due course, the three are reunited and embark on a wheeze to borrow a demigod from a sacred temple. Now that’s not a good move as he’s only a “demi” so promptly dies and that earns poor old Encolpio the enmity of the gods. Given the context of the whole film, his punishment is especially cruel but with his friend beside him, he hopes that perhaps they can travel to a far away land where there might be a glimmer that things could look up again! Some of the adventures do resemble more familiar fables. Theseus and the Minotaur, for example, but for the most part this is Fellini at his most enjoyably self-indulgent showing beautiful people (and some less so, too) luxuriating in just about every vice known to mankind. That said, there isn’t a surfeit of nudity, violence nor actual depravity on display here. Much of that is teasingly left to our own imagination as it’s tawdry seaminess really doesn’t go anywhere fast. As it progresses, it illustrates quite effectively just what it took to become the stuff of myth and legend in cultures where prowess was measured with little regard to intellect or decency. It’s essentially a romp through Roman history but as well as jealousy and lust it does show us signs of the value of love and loyalty, so there is a tiny element of redemption on offer - but look not for values here, just enjoy the colourful artistry of men (mostly) in the throes of gratuitous dissoluteness.
Movie Recommendation
- A Gorgeous Girl Like Me1972-09-13A young sociologist researching criminal women selects a captivating inmate as his subject. As he conducts interviews in prison, her troubled past and justifications for her actions intrigue him. His growing interest soon blurs professional boundaries, testing his ability to resist her charm.More...
- The Degenerates1969-03-27A series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome. Like the more famous version made by Federico Fellini, an adaptation of Petronius' Satyricon.More...
- The Orphanage2019-09-01A historic drama with musical Bollywood scenes. Kabul in the early 90s. Soviet values rule the country. Women can wear miniskirts, children can go to school and people can go to the cinema, concerts as well as universities. Life in Afghanistan is similar to life in the Western world. 14 years old Qodrat sells cinema tickets on the black market in the streets of Kabul. After selling a ticket to a secret police officer by mistake, he ends up at the Soviet orphanage, where he fakes his identity at the registration, in hope of getting more power. Everyday life for Qodrat is about friendships, falling in love, doing naughty things and going on adventures – just like it is for children in other parts of the world. However, behind the safe walls of the orphanage the world they once knew is drastically changing as the Mujahideens start the civil war.More...
- Sweet Charity1969-02-25Taxi dancer Charity continues to have faith in the human race despite apparently endless disappointments at its hands, and hope that she will finally meet the nice young man to romance her away from her sleazy life. Maybe, just maybe, handsome Oscar will be the one to do it.More...
- Bright Future2003-01-18Two friends who work together at a Tokyo laundry are increasingly alienated from everyday life. They become fascinated with a deadly jellyfish.More...
- Untitled (For Marilyn)1992-01-01The film is officially untitled, but is referred to by the dedication that appears in place of a title card. It is dedicated to Marilyn Brakhage, the filmmaker's wife. Out of all the 350+ films that Stan Brakhage made, this was his personal favorite.More...
- Detective, Doctor, Felon, Mystery WomanNo data for this movieThere is no descriptionMore...
- Innocence2005-01-12At a peculiar all-girls academy, new arrivals, including Iris, are delivered in coffins. Guided by enigmatic teachers, the students dance through enchanted woods by day, while the night unveils sinister lessons that blur innocence and awakening.More...
- Sitcom1998-05-27The adventures of an upper-class suburban family abruptly confronted with the younger brother's discovery of his homosexuality, the elder sister's suicide attempt and sadomasochist tendencies, and the intrusion of a very free-spirited maid and her husband. And it all started with the arrival in the family of an innocent looking rat.More...
- When a Woman Ascends the Stairs1960-01-15Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.More...
- And the Ship Sails On1983-10-07In 1914, a cruise ship sets sail from Naples to spread the ashes of beloved opera singer Edmea Tetua near Erimo, the isle of her birth. During the voyage, the eclectic array of passengers discovers a group of Serbian refugees aboard the vessel. Peace and camaraderie abound until the ship is descended upon by an Austrian flagship. The Serbians are forced to board it, but naturally they resist, igniting a skirmish that ends in destruction.More...
- The Voice of the Moon1990-03-05Odd couple Ivo Salvini, recently released from a mental asylum, and former prefect Gonnella wander through the countryside and discover a dystopia made of television commercials, beauty pageants, rock music, Catholicism, and pagan rituals.More...
- The Woman Who Ran2020-09-17While her husband is on a business trip, Gam-hee meets three of her friends on the outskirts of Seoul.More...
- Confidentially Yours1983-08-10Claude Massoulier is murdered while hunting at the same place as Julien Vercel, an estate agent who knew him and whose fingerprints are found on Massoulier's car. As the police discover that Marie-Christine Vercel, Julien's wife, was Massoulier's mistress, Julien is the prime suspect. But his secretary, Barbara Becker, while not quite convinced he is innocent, defends him and leads her private investigations.More...
- The Young Offenders2016-09-16Two teenage boys from inner-city Cork steal bicycles and ride off on a 160km quest to find an unrecovered bale of cocaine worth 7,000,000 euros.More...
- I Vitelloni1953-09-17Five young men dream of success as they drift lazily through life in a small Italian village. Fausto, the group's leader, is a womanizer; Riccardo craves fame; Alberto is a hopeless dreamer; Moraldo fantasizes about life in the city; and Leopoldo is an aspiring playwright. As Fausto chases a string of women, to the horror of his pregnant wife, the other four blunder their way from one uneventful experience to the next.More...
- Juliet of the Spirits1965-10-22Middle-aged Giulietta grows suspicious of her husband, Giorgio, when his behavior grows increasingly questionable. One night when Giorgio initiates a seance amongst his friends, Giulietta gets in touch with spirits and learns more about herself and her painful past. Slightly skeptical, but intrigued, she visits a mystic who gives her more information -- and nudges her toward the realization that her husband is indeed a philanderer.More...
- Trophy Wife2010-11-10In 1977 France, tightfisted factory owner Robert Pujol is so shocked when his workers strike for higher wages that he suffers a heart attack. His acquiescent wife, Suzanne, whose father had founded the factory, takes over management duties during Robert's convalescence.More...
- The Color of Pomegranates1969-10-01The life of the revered 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova. Portraying events in the life of the artist from childhood up to his death, the movie addresses in particular his relationships with women, including his muse. The production tells Sayat-Nova's dramatic story by using both his poems and largely still camerawork, creating a work hailed as revolutionary by Mikhail Vartanov.More...
- The Decameron1971-08-25A young Sicilian is swindled twice, but ends up rich; a man poses as a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns; a woman must hide her lover when her husband comes home early; a scoundrel fools a priest on his deathbed; three brothers take revenge on their sister's lover; a young girl sleeps on the roof to meet her boyfriend at night; a group of painters wait for inspiration; a crafty priest attempts to seduce his friend's wife; and two friends make a pact to find out what happens after death.More...
Similar Movies
Sex and the City
2008-05-12A New York writer on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big. But her three best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her.I Love You, I Don't
1976-03-10The petite waitress Johnny works and lives in a truck-stop, where she's lonely and longs for love. She develops a crush on the garbage truck driver Krassky, although her sleazy boss Boris warns her that he's gay.Enigma
1982-10-15Five highly-trained KGB agents are sent to the west to assassinate several Soviet dissidents. In order to stop the diabolical plot, an American agent must infiltrate Soviet intelligence and obtain information from a Russian computer.It's Winter
2006-02-14Unemotional, restrained cinematographic poem, situated in a wintry and poor suburb of Tehran. A man is dismissed and his lack of prospects for the future make him decide to seek his happiness abroad. He leaves his wife and child behind and for a long time nothing is heard of him. Then a stranger turns up, a car mechanic looking for a job. The attractive single mother can’t resist his attentions. Very subtly, a struggle ensues that reflects that of a whole generation of young doubting Iranians who may want to leave the country, but hardly know how to start.Grande école
2004-02-04Paul and Agnes have been going out for quite a while and Agnes is shocked to learn that he'd rather live with two roommates on campus than move in with her. As soon as he meets one of his roommates, Louis-Anault, Paul's behavior changes - he is attracted to Louis without realizing so himself. Agnes, on the other hand, gets quite jealous and offers a bet: Whoever gets to have Louis-Anault first, wins... If she does, Paul will no longer explore his homosexual desires, if he does - she'll walk away. Meanwhile, Paul meets Mecir, a young Arab worker, who shows him there's more to life than elite colleges...Cassandra's Dream
2007-10-31The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.Edge of Seventeen
1999-06-111984, Sandusky, Ohio. A naive 17-year-old navigates heartbreak and self-expression as he explores his sexuality.The World, the Flesh ...
1959-05-01Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point, tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white, and Burton, who is black.Naked
2013-11-08A message from Javier's boyfriend changes his family situation and causes them to reconsider their relationships.Southern Baptist Siss...
2013-11-18Southern Baptist Sissies is the live film of the GLAAD Award winning play by Del Shores. Southern Baptist Sissies is the story of four boys who are gay growing up in the Southern Baptist Church and how they each deal differently with the conflict between the teachings of the church and their sexuality.El caso Matías
1985-04-18In 1965, a man named Matías is taken to a psychiatric hospital, after being found at the streets, "in the company of homosexuals and in a state of intoxication by alcohol and drugs". His documentation says he's 41 years old and born in Poland. He says his mother was an aristocrat. His arrival will have a profound impact on the institution and, especially, on one of the doctors.Manderley
1981-11-01This is the story of three homosexuals who decide to spend the summer together at the cottage that the parents of one of them have in Santander. The film shows naturally a series of attitudes then considered shocking and even unnatural.Boulevard
2014-04-20Nolan Mack, a soft-spoken bank employee, undoubtedly loves his wife Joy, though their cavernous empty house only underscores how disconnected they’ve always been from each other. Nolan finds himself drifting from his familiar present-day life in pursuit of lost time after meeting a troubled young man named Leo on his drive home. What begins as an aimless drive down an unfamiliar street turns into a life-altering series of events.Alexander: The Other ...
1977-05-16In this sequel to Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, Alexander's story is told in both the past and the present. Alexander's parents send him away from home for being too sensitive and not helping enough on their farm. He goes to Los Angeles in hopes of going to art school, but when he can't find a job as a minor, he turns to prostitution. After being arrested, he wants to head to Arizona to marry Dawn, but he falls into a lucrative job/relationship with a gay football star.To an Unknown God
1977-09-16José, a fifty-year-old homosexual magician, feels the need to return to Granada, the place where he spent his childhood, perhaps to embrace the painful memory of tragic experiences, perhaps to bury it definitively.The Naturalist
2013-05-26A gay man living in a genetically modified society is given the chance to alter his sexuality. He must weigh his loving relationship, his dignity and his survival in this short film about the origins of sexuality.Carol
2015-11-20In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.Not Here to Be Loved
2005-10-12Jean-Claude Delsart, a 50 years-old bailiff, with his worn-out smile and heart, abandoned a long time ago the idea that life could give him pleasures. Until the day, he dares to push the doors of a tango lesson...Transamerica
2005-02-14A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.The Horse Whisperer
1998-02-01The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.