6/10
"Cut! OK, great work everyone; now, let's hose down the set and prepare another take."
24 March 2010
I'm not kidding, whenever there's two people on-screen in this, there's a pretty solid chance they'll strip and/or do it. Oh, I'm not really complaining, albeit it does get to be excessive. This and its 1984 sequel were on sale in a box-set(which, for some reason, promised me that it would contain "the full television series", yes, in those words), and this appears to be something of a cult-favorite. The DVD came with the French Uncut(and that is the language most commonly spoken in this, the other two dip in and out occasionally) and the English version. This is a review of the first-mentioned; I can't comment on what is censored in the other one. The running time, sans the short ending credits, is 100 minutes. This is about S&M, and thus about power struggles and love. The exploration of those isn't half bad, and this isn't as pretentious as one might fear. A woman identified only by the initial O is taken to a castle by her boyfriend for her "training". Yes, this can be misogynistic; maybe the bondage and whippings were the full extent of crossing of boundaries that they were willing to go. Perhaps it was a choice. I don't know. The production values are average, and this is largely kitsch. With that said, it holds several cool images, and there is good erotica to be found in the pile. The acting is reasonable; Udo Kier is enjoyable to watch as always, I think this is the first time I heard him speak a foreign tongue. As far as the plot goes, this is fine, and certainly has both beginning and conclusion. The pace is awkward at times, and it can certainly drag at points. There is just about constant female nudity, including full frontal, and a ton of sexual content in this. I recommend this to anyone interested, be it for the allure or curiosity about the controversy this caused. 6/10
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