Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron has been adapted many times for screen. Which is better: silly, comedy, Virgin Territory or Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Decameron?Virgin Territory is the newest of the two (2008). It's a very loose adaptation of the stories and has been compared to American Pie. The film was poorly received by critics, I thought it was OK, but only OK. It's a very light hearted, albeit vulgar comedy. Despite being a co-production with many European countries, the humour is distinctly British - lots of cheap knob gags, lots of jokes about poor sexual performance and a very obvious joke about milking a cow. I think they were going for an action-comedy, but the action is crap - the slapstick sword fights wouldn't look out of place in Disney's adaptation of Robin Hood. The jokes are largely crap and obvious, I did find myself laughing a few times though. The sex scenes are briefs, but plentiful with lots of breasts on display. It's a juvenile film aimed at a teen audience.
Passolini's Decameron is regarded as a classic. The film features adaptations of many of Boccaccio's tales. Like many of Passolini's films it does shy away from showing sex scenes. Like Virgin Territory it is a comedy, but is less obvious and more witty in its approach. The sets and costumes are lavish and given that it is based on an Italian book and by an Italian director, it seems more authentic than Virgin Territory. The main criticisms I have with this film are: at nearly two hours long it almost outstays its welcome, the picture is washed out - I saw this on DVD, the Blu-Ray may rectify this.
Which is better? Passolini's version, of course. Was there ever a contest?
Both films are readily available on DVD and BR.
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