L'âne d'or

In the wake of Fellini's way over the top ancient Rome epic Satyricon, it was always obvious that there would be the inevitable deluge of imitators. Well, strange as it may seem there was not a great tidal wave of like pieces, there were a few and this is by far the best of them all. It is therefore a great pity that now it is so difficult to track down.

The Golden Ass is quite simply a joy from start to finish. Samy Pavel and John Steiner make a great comic double act in the first third of the film. Steiner especially is quite magnificent, with witty asides to the camera and perfect comic expressions. Bouchet in the female lead is as lovely as you would expect.

Not at all easy to find, but well worth taking some time over.