The Canterbury Tales

The film opens with the ballad Ould Piper and the elderly piper's descent into Hell, establishing its provocative mood. Travelers gather at the Tabard Inn, where Chaucer (played by Pasolini) is bumped by a tattooed man and the Wife of Bath and Pardoner are introduced. Chaucer then begins to write down the tales as the journey toward Canterbury unfolds.

Sir January marries the young May, who shows little interest in him. After their wedding, January goes blind and clings to May's wrist as consolation, while May pursues her lover Damian in the privacy of the garden. Pluto restores January's sight and Persephone helps smooth over the affair, allowing the couple to walk away seemingly reconciled.

A vendor witnesses the summoner spying on two men and helps bring them to the authorities, while one escapes by bribery and the other is condemned. The vendor later reveals himself to be the devil and schemes with the summoner to extract bribes from a miserly old woman. When she refuses to repent, she curses them, and the devil drags the summoner away to hell.

Chaucer resumes the frame with Perkin, a mischievous fool who robs passersby and crashes a wedding, stealing the attention of the bride and cake from the feuding groom. He escapes capture by ducking into the Thames, but his antics continue as he is hired and fired in a string of petty schemes. The day ends with Perkin in the stocks, singing The Ould Piper for the crowd.

Nicholas, a young student living next door to the carpenter John, seduces Alison while Absolon also pines for her. Nicholas pretends to be in a holy trance to gain access, and a fake flood plan prompts the trio to hide in buckets above John. The scheme escalates into boisterous sex, a prank with a hot poker, and a collapse that leaves John battered and furious.

In Bath, the Wife of Bath recalls the death of her fourth husband and quickly schemes to marry Jenkin after spotting him at an Obby Oss festival. She arranges their meeting and marries him, often deriding anti-women sentiments she reads in a book and destroying it. On their wedding night, a theatrical confrontation culminates in a nose bite that asserts her control over the relationship.

In Cambridge, two students are left to run the miller's duties and engage in a web of seduction with Molly. A ruse involving moving cribs shifts who sleeps with whom, leading to blame, jealousy, and a confrontation that ends with the scholars fleeing with the miller's flour. Molly laments the deceit that has complicated her life and prospects.

Four young men in Flanders seek Death after a companion is killed, chasing a rumor that Death lies ahead. An old man directs them to a tree where a treasure lies, and two of the youths plot to poison their partner while the third goes to fetch wine. The plan backfires as greed leads to murder and the killers end up killing each other, their fate sealed by treachery and poison.

A gluttonous friar tries to extract donations from a bedridden parishioner by promising to share a treasured possession beneath him. When the friar reaches to claim it, the man farts in his hands, turning the moment into a humiliating farce. An angel then escorts the friar to hell, where Satan expels hundreds of corrupt friars from his realm, a gag borrowed from the Summoner's prologue.

The pilgrims finally reach Canterbury Cathedral, while Chaucer sits at home writing the closing lines of his book. Pasolini’s framing emphasizes a bold, unapologetic view of sexuality and storytelling, challenging conventional morality. The film ends on a self-aware note, affirming that the tales were told for the pleasure of telling them.