If you've seen the other two (The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales), this one will be familiar; most of the same actors, especially Pasolini's lover Ninetto Davoli (left) and his protege Franco Merli, whom he discovered working at a gas station in Sicily.
Some of the same annoying bits as in the previous movies: dozens of people sitting around singing for no reason; lengthy closeups of random people with bad teeth grinning idiotically at the camera; stories that merge into other stories, so you're never sure what you're watching.
Inside that story is another, about Aziz (Ninetto Davoli), who depends on his girlfriend for advice on how to win The Girl of His Dreams. It ends badly.
And a few others. Prince Tagi (Francesco Paolo Governale) falls in love with a girl through hearing a story about her, but she doesn't like men. So he makes a tapestry in the garden that convinces her to give heterosexual love a try.
A man, Alberto Argentino, tries to save a woman from a demon, but ends up being turned into an ape.
More after the break
It's all rather confusing and very heterosexist. In spite of the frequent assertions that it's perfectly ordinary to prefer men to women, the only same-sex relationship is just hinted at, and ends in tragedy. Otherwise there are about a dozen men and women in love with each other.
The last scene is rather annoyingly homophobic. When Nur Ed Din arrives in a city-state, the King summons him, has him stripped, and orders him to submit to anal sex.
Nur Ed Din initially refuses -- he's straight -- but it's gay sex or death. Then the King takes off "his" disguise -- it's the slave girl he's been searching for! Apparently she wanted to get even with him for his...um...endless devotion. But Nur Ed Din won't have to do anything disgusting after all, and the boy and girl hug and kiss for a heterosexist conclusion.
That being said, this is by far the most beefcake-heavy of the trilogy. There isn't as much female nudity, but every male character spends most of his screen time with his clothes off. There are closeups of gigantic penises. If you want to see Ninetto Davoli in a state of arousal, this is your chance.
I suggest going through on fast-forward to the interesting exteriors and penises, so you can skip the heterosexism and of the gay director and his boyfriend
The last scene is rather annoyingly homophobic. When Nur Ed Din arrives in a city-state, the King summons him, has him stripped, and orders him to submit to anal sex.
Nur Ed Din initially refuses -- he's straight -- but it's gay sex or death. Then the King takes off "his" disguise -- it's the slave girl he's been searching for! Apparently she wanted to get even with him for his...um...endless devotion. But Nur Ed Din won't have to do anything disgusting after all, and the boy and girl hug and kiss for a heterosexist conclusion.
I suggest going through on fast-forward to the interesting exteriors and penises, so you can skip the heterosexism and of the gay director and his boyfriend