A humble knight shares a surprising and carnal tryst with a traveling pilgrim.
This 1985 erotic comedy film is a loose, adults-only adaptation of Chaucer's work where pilgrims on a journey compete in a storytelling contest. The movie features a series of explicit vignettes focusing on sexual encounters, directed by Bud Lee and starring Hyapatia Lee. The movie is available on DVD and Blu-ray through The Ribald Tales of Canterbury (1985) - IMDb
If you meant the original (full classic text), here is the opening of the General Prologue in Middle English (from the 14th century):
The movie features some of the biggest adult film stars of the 1980s. the ribald tales of canterbury 1985 classic full
Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is a seminal work of Middle English literature, comprising a collection of stories told by pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury Cathedral. Written in the late 14th century, the tales are known for their bawdy humor, vivid characters, and social commentary.
In the mid-1980s, the Golden Age of Porn was in its final, sun-drenched years in Hollywood. It was an era where the adult film industry, buoyed by the success of mainstream crossovers like Deep Throat (1972) and The Devil in Miss Jones (1973), was striving for higher production values, narrative coherence, and even a touch of artistic legitimacy. It was within this context that director Bud Lee and his star and wife, Hyapatia Lee, set out to create one of the most ambitious and talked-about adult films of the decade: The Ribald Tales of Canterbury .
Compare it to , like Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Canterbury Tales . A humble knight shares a surprising and carnal
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heath The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open ye (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages); Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; And specially from every shires ende Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende, The hooly blisful martir for to seke, That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
Over the decades, the film transitioned from a standard exploitation release to a recognized cult classic. It serves as a time capsule of pre-internet adult entertainment, reflecting the censorship standards, fashion sensibilities, and comedic tastes of 1985.
How were adapted into 1980s exploitation films Share public link The movie is available on DVD and Blu-ray
Just remember: Unlike the pilgrims in the story, you do not have to tell a tale to get to the end. You just have to survive it.
The 1985 film leans heavily and exclusively into this specific tradition of fabliaux. Bud Lee strips away the pious framework of the pilgrimage and the high-minded philosophical debates of the more serious tales, focusing instead on the carnal and the absurd. In doing so, the film paradoxically remains true to a specific subset of Chaucer’s spirit. The medieval fabliaux were designed to be crude, funny, and deeply preoccupied with the body. By replacing the suggestive wordplay of the 14th century with the explicit visuals of the 1980s, the film acts as a modern visual equivalent to the shock value that Chaucer's contemporary audience would have experienced.
For fans of cult cinema and adult film history, this feature represents a distinct era. It was one of the last major adult productions to be shot on rich 35mm film for a full theatrical release before the industry almost entirely succumbed to lower-budget videotape productions. The Ribald Tales of Canterbury (1985) - IMDb
The Ribald Tales of Canterbury (1985) is a high-budget adult comedy and a cult classic of its era, marking the directorial debut of . This unique production is a loose, erotic adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales , created during the final years of the adult industry's big-budget 35mm theatrical era. Production and Aesthetic
Many contemporary reviews praise its unique position in film history. As one Letterboxd reviewer noted, the film "richly proves itself to be one of the much better latter entries in the latter years of The Golden Age Of Porn era". The film's blend of explicit content with genuine humor and period charm has ensured its lasting appeal.