Federico Fellini makes his most decadent, undisciplined work in this free adaptation of Petronius' famous farcical chronicle of ancient Roman life. The film opens with Encolpio (
Martin Potter) vying with his friend Ascilto (
Hiram Keller) for the affections of a young effeminate lad named Gitone (Max Born). When the youth chooses his rival or him, Encolpio begins a journey that has him encountering Romans of every stripe and color. He drops in on an orgy thrown by Trimalchio (Mario Romagnoli), a wealth-loving ex-slave who has spurned his wife in favor of a pleasures of a young boy; he toils on a slave galley, fighting off the advances of Lichas (
Alain Cuny) -- the ship's burly wall-eyed captain; he steals an albino hermaphrodite demi-god who is reputed to be able to tell the future; and fails to summon the enthusiasm to make love to a whore-priestess. Along the way, we witness a parade of prostitutes in ancient Rome's pleasure quarters; watch performance by Vernacchio (Fanfulla), an actor whose on-stage specialties include farting and public amputation; and the wonton devouring of a human corpse for financial gain. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide