Released in 1985, The Ribald Tales of Canterbury is a high-budget, lavishly produced adult adventure-comedy film that reimagines Geoffrey Chaucer’s classic literary work. Directed by Bud Lee and written by and starring his wife, Hyapatia Lee

The film follows the familiar Chaucerian framework: a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury engage in a storytelling contest to pass the time. The wager is simple—the traveler who tells the best erotic tale wins a small purse of money.

The Pardoner’s Tale (The Relics Scam)
The Pardoner—presented as androgynous or effeminate (hinting at Chaucer’s ambiguous sexuality)—sells fake religious relics to a gullible country couple, then “rewards” them with a threesome in exchange for their savings. Darkly comic.

Why It Remains a Classic Best

The film opens with a framing device, featuring a group of pilgrims gathered at the Tabard Inn, where they agree to engage in a storytelling contest. As the tales unfold, the audience is treated to a diverse array of stories, each one showcasing the ribald humor and wit that have come to define the Canterbury Tales.

While the film leaned heavily into its "X-rated" reputation, it remained surprisingly faithful to the structure of the source material, focusing on the Miller’s, the Reeve’s, and the Cook’s tales—stories that were always meant to be scandalous. Counter-Culture Appeal:

. Much like the pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Thomas Becket, the film invites the viewer into a rowdy, beer-soaked journey where the punchline is usually as sharp as the social commentary. It captures a world where the clergy are corrupt, the peasants are clever, and no one’s virtue is quite as intact as they claim.

The 1985 classic The Ribald Tales of Canterbury is a fascinating relic. It sits at the crossroads of literary adaptation and cult comedy. For those looking to revisit the "best" of the era, it offers a colorful, loud, and unapologetically lewd journey through an imagined medieval England—one where the wine is always flowing and no one's secret is safe for long.