Search - Fellini Satyricon on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1969 DVD Release: 04/10/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, Italian Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 9 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 17 Genres: Drama, Period Film, Gay & Lesbian Films, Ensemble Film

Federico Fellini makes his most decadent, undisciplined work in this free adaptation of Petronius' famous farcical chronicle of ancient Roman life. The film opens with Encolpio (Martin Potter) vying with his friend Ascilto (Hiram Keller) for the affections of a young effeminate lad named Gitone (Max Born). When the youth chooses his rival or him, Encolpio begins a journey that has him encountering Romans of every stripe and color. He drops in on an orgy thrown by Trimalchio (Mario Romagnoli), a wealth-loving ex-slave who has spurned his wife in favor of a pleasures of a young boy; he toils on a slave galley, fighting off the advances of Lichas (Alain Cuny) -- the ship's burly wall-eyed captain; he steals an albino hermaphrodite demi-god who is reputed to be able to tell the future; and fails to summon the enthusiasm to make love to a whore-priestess. Along the way, we witness a parade of prostitutes in ancient Rome's pleasure quarters; watch performance by Vernacchio (Fanfulla), an actor whose on-stage specialties include farting and public amputation; and the wonton devouring of a human corpse for financial gain. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Martin Potter - Encolpius
Hiram Keller - Ascyltus
Max Born - Giton
Salvo Randone - Eumolpus
Mario Romagnoli - Trimalchio

After directing the masterful short Toby Dammit for the anthology film Spirits of the Dead (1968), legendary Italian film director Federico Fellini went on to make his most outlandish, hallucinatory, and arguably most self-indulgent picture to date, Fellini Satyricon. Part science-fiction historical epic, part satire, part mad psychedelic fantasy, the film is remarkable for its use of color, sound, and otherworldly mise-en-scène. Fellini films are an acquired taste, yet this film may be the strangest cinematic mélange he ever constructed. MGM's disc is a vast improvement over their previous VHS release. Colors are stable and perfectly saturated, especially the reds, which tended to bleed in the previous video incarnation. But the print could still use a good clean-up since there is evident grain and speckles throughout. The disc is equipped with optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles, as well as a mono 2.0 Italian language track or English dubbed track (the Italian language track is also dubbed, as most of Fellini's films were peopled with actors from all over the world, and he frequently overdubbed their voices to fit his own artistic design). Unlike most English dubbed tracks, which are almost always inferior to the subtitled version, there are some rather interesting advantages. The English language track is actually more poetic and vibrant-sounding in parts. The voices are stronger and richer sounding, more appropriate than the Italian-language version in many ways. Whichever way viewers watch it though, they can't go wrong. Unfortunately, MGM has decided not to include the documentary on the making of the film that was on the Criterion Collection laserdisc. Regardless, the disc is still a worthy purchase for the courageous filmgoer. A great theatrical trailer is also included. ~ Derek Hill, All Movie Guide