Classic - The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury 1985

During the dawn of the home video revolution, video rental stores needed to fill shelves, and distributors discovered that provocative titles with eye-catching cover art rented incredibly well. The Ribald Tales of Canterbury featured an alluring VHS cover that promised premium, adult-oriented historical fantasy. It became a staple of the "Late Night" sections, frequently rented by teenagers looking for forbidden content or adults looking for mindless entertainment.

The "1985 classic" moniker gained traction not upon release, but during the late-night cable TV era of the early 1990s, when networks like The Playboy Channel and local UHF stations needed cheap, weird content to fill the 2:00 AM slot. For a generation of Gen X teens who stumbled upon it, the film became a rite of passage.

Sherry Eastmore’s period-accurate wardrobe prioritizes layers and historical textures. the ribald tales of canterbury 1985 classic

Despite its adult nature, the film is frequently praised by reviewers for its high production values, including ornate period costumes—reportedly rented from Universal—and fully dressed sets.

At its core, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is a study of the human condition, blending social satire with "fabliaux"—short, comical, and often indecent stories. The 1985 film strips away the Middle English verse and the complex characterizations of the pilgrims, focusing almost exclusively on the "quiting" (or competing) tales that involve infidelity, trickery, and bodily humor. During the dawn of the home video revolution,

The film unfolds as an anthology of these bawdy tales, including:

This public link is valid for 7 days and shares a thread, including any personal information you added. This link or copies made by others cannot be deleted. If you share with third parties, their policies apply. Can’t copy the link right now. Try again later. The Ribald Tales of Canterbury (1985) - IMDb The "1985 classic" moniker gained traction not upon

While literary purists might shudder at the simplification of Chaucer’s work, The Ribald Tales of Canterbury serves an interesting sociological purpose. It demonstrates the enduring power of these 14th-century narratives. Even when stripped of their poetic genius, the basic mechanics of Chaucer’s stories—the bumbling lover, the clever wife, the hypocritical friar—remain effective comedic archetypes hundreds of years later. Conclusion

Do not confuse this film with the 1972 film The Canterbury Tales by Pier Paolo Pasolini (which is live-action, literary, and also sexually explicit but artistically revered). The 1985 classic is the cartoon. The weird cartoon.

Shot by Guido on 35mm negative; features ornate natural lighting.

However, unlike Chaucer’s unfinished manuscript, this 1985 iteration is less concerned with social satire and more focused on the carnal. The script takes the inherent bawdiness of the source material and amplifies it to the nth degree. It captures the spirit of the original’s "Miller’s Tale"—a story famously filled with adultery and flatulence jokes—by leaning fully into its identity as a ribald comedy. It isn’t just a series of scenes; it is a structured narrative with distinct character arcs, period-accurate (albeit campy) dialogue, and a genuine attempt at world-building.