Review of Fellini: Satyricon

Introduction

Tales of Roman excess from one of Italy`s most influential film makers, for which he was nominated for an O*car. "Satyricon" is two hours of quite staggering directorial indulgence without so much as a moment`s consideration for narrative. The movie (best watched at 2x forward so you can still read the subs) is a parade of ugly tableaux depicting the decadence of the Roman Empire and culminating in a chewy act of cannibalism. Fun for all the family.

Video

Shot in lurid 2.35:1 DeLuxe Color by Giuseppe Rotunno, the look of the movie is reminiscent of Vadim`s "Barbarella". For a non-US movie of the late 1960`s, the image has stood up well to the passage of time and while there is some wear and tear, the image is colourful and retains a good contrast range.

Audio

There is no English soundtrack, although in addition to the original Italian soundtrack there are French and German dubs, all in Dolby 2.0 Mono. Subtitles are provided in English as well as a large number of R2 alternatives.

Features

You can`t class the subtitles as an extra on this movie unless you can speak Italian, so technically the only extra is the theatrical trailer, which is as incomprehensible as the main feature.

Conclusion

A grossly overrated decadence-fest that can only please Fellini fans or the pretensions of "serious" movie connoisseurs. None of the decadence is carried out with sufficient conviction to please either the splatter or raincoat crowd this sort of picture could appeal to.