Review of Satyricon (1969) by Nate W — 12 Aug 2009

I have never been a pronounced fan of Federico Fellini; though many rank his cinematic talents with those of Bergman, Kubrick, Bunuel, and Hitchcock, I have always viewed him as somewhat overrated. However, this ridiculously baroque audio-visual banquet is a testament to his surreal genius.

Demiurgic production and costume designer Danilo Donati's cubistic, postmodern rendering of peacock-ridden villas and Roman Ornate wall painting, along with Nino Rota's unusually sparse, hauntingly plucked score, encapsulates a timeless, meandering, and occasionally nightmarish atmosphere.

The cast, to boot, is a decadent affair, particularly Martin Potter and supermodel Hiram Keller as the competing quasi-lovers Encolpio and Ascilto and Mario Romagnoli as the bloated businessman Trimalcione towering over his dinner of garishly painted eunuchs and roasted boars.

An erotic, phantasmagorical voyage through a hideously meretricious confection of Julio-Claudian Rome.