In effect, The Decameron does come across somewhat distantly, for all its busy emphasis on the spontaneous energies of a genial Utopia which has yet to discover the fretful complexities of Renaissance man.

The sight of the endless assembly of seemingly toothless proles Pasolini picked up as extras can be a bit intimidating.

The Decameron manages to be filthy-looking and is probably the most accurate vision of peasant life during the Renaissance period ever committed to film.

at times it achieves nearly sublime heights (or, more accurately, lows) of grubby humor and vitality, but at other times it feels strained and slapdash