Pasolini Six Films 1968 – 1975

Provocateur and scandalizer, creative genius and questioning ‘philosopher’ – Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini was all of these things and so much more! This unique box set contains six of Pasolini’s best-known films – all of which will doubtlessly stir a broad emotional palette – be it bewilderment, bemusement, disgust, shock or admiration for the sheer audacity of some of the works!

The six films are Theorem (1968), Medea (1969), The Decameron (1972), The Canterbury Tales (1972), Arabian Nights (1974), and Saló, or The 120 Days of Sodom (1976).
In Theorem, a young Terence Stamp takes the lead as the mysterious ‘Visitor’ who, one day, arrives at the Milan residency of a bourgeois Italian family. Within no time he turns the entire household upside down by seducing every single member of the family, including the father and the maid… with consequences that range from sexual liberation to spiritual enlightenment…
As for the three medieval tales of The Decameron (based on novellas by Giovanni Boccaccio), The Canterbury Tales (based on stories by Geoffrey Chaucer) and Arabian Nights (based on the famous Middle Eastern tales) – they form Pasolini’s so-called ‘Trilogy of Life’ cycle and as the titles suggest are primarily of a bawdy nature.
His final work before his untimely and brutal murder was also his most controversial, most shocking and has divided critics and viewers alike to this day: Saló, or The 120 Days of Sodom is based on the infamous novel by Marquis de Sade (although Pasolini transferred the setting to a fascist Italy) and concerns four Fascist ‘libertines’ who take hold of a group of villagers which they then humiliate, torture and ultimately kill.

However, it is Medea (with opera diva Maria Callas in the title role) which, in this reviewer’s humble opinion, is the most outstanding of interpretations. It is Pasolini’s take on the ancient Greek tragedy of ‘Medea’ as written by Euripides in 431 BC. Of course, not only took Pasolini several liberties with the original text but morphed elements of two myths together – the one of Medea and also the one of Jason (of the Argonauts) and the search for the Golden Fleece.
The films begins with a sort of prologue in which Chiron the Centaur (Laurent Terzieff) tells the boy-child Jason about his origins. This dialogue is intercut with images of mythical landscapes, which in turn correspond to some of the things that Chiron is telling young Jason. The actual story begins in what is an eroded landscape (filmed in a region in Turkey) and it looks just as one would imagine ancient Greece to have looked like. It is a kingdom ruled by Medea’s father, she herself being a powerful sorceress and shaman belonging to a people who worship the sun and earth deities. Accompanied by strange tribal chanting, a young man is sacrificed in a bloody ritual to please the spirits of the fields and ensure rich crops after a meagre growth. This scene is uncannily like an ancient Greek version of The Wicker Man… Meanwhile, a grown-up Jason (Giuseppe Gentile), now a bold Greek warrior, and this gang of Argonauts arrive in the search of the Golden Fleece, plundering the villagers in the process. Upon first sight Medea falls in love with the handsome stranger and encourages her brother Absyrtos (Sergio Tramonti) to steal the fleece. The siblings, together with Jason, escape although along the way Medea mercilessly disposes of her brother by hacking him to pieces in an effort to stop the pursuers from getting to her and Jason. When Jason returns to the Greek city of Corinth he presents the ruling King Creon (Massimo Girotti) with the fleece, but the theft was in vain: despite his initial promise, Creon refuses to hand over the kingdom to Jason in exchange for the fleece. Jason and his bride Medea leave the king’s quarters though Medea, considered to be a barbarian from a savage race, is forced to live outside the city walls. Initially Jason remains loyal to her and later they have children together. Eventually he plans to leave her and instead marry Glauce (Margareth Clémenti), the young and beautiful daughter of King Creon. Although Creon feels pity towards the shunned and betrayed Medea he orders her and the children into exile out of fear that she may harm his precious daughter Glauce. It is then that Medea, deeply incensed over the king’s orders to leave the land, seeks revenge. From here Pasolini’s version somewhat differs from the one of Euripides. Medea’s female entourage encourage her to revenge Jason’s act of betrayal and once again use her dark powers as a sorceress. In a cunning scheme she sends a wedding gift to Glauce – an exquisitely embroidered garb which bursts into flames when the bride-to-be puts it on… burning her alive and also her father Creon who rushes to her rescue. However, later on it is revealed that is was a mere hallucination of Medea. We then see the same act repeated – namely when she sends Glauce a wedding gift for real. As soon as she puts it on a spell is unleashed and the young woman jumps to her death – followed by her father. Medea then lures the children into her domain and kills them before setting fire to her entire place. Jason’s desperate wish to touch the ‘dead bodies’ of his beloved children one more time is ignored by Medea with the words “It is useless, nothing is possible now.” As the flames rise higher, the end credits roll up.

Medea is deeply atmospheric and her people are depicted as tribal people who abide the laws of nature and worship pagan deities. This is reflected in their costumes, their jewellery, their chanting and their dancing. Pasolini opted for costumes that reflect those of the Balkans and the Middle East, while the music is strangely exotic and otherworldly with a lot of drumming.
Callas is magnificent as Medea, and illustrates her emotions through gesture and mimic rather than dialogue. A real gem this!

This Blu-ray set comes with an array of interesting SPECIAL FEATURES and is a treat for any Pasolini fan!