Review of The Oldest Profession

The 1st (prehistoric) episode opens brightly, doesn't really go anywhere, but you can't take your eyes off Michèle Mercier for a moment: she has a body for the ages (no pun intended). The 2nd (Roman) is a familar yarn, with a funny ending. The 3rd (Napoleonic) is a clever tale with Jeanne Moreau looking and acting sexier (and looser) than I have even seen her before; usually when you think of Moreau you think "great actress" and not "sex symbol", but this episode shows that she was in fact one of the most voluptuous actresses of her era. The 4th (Belle Epoque) has dazzling Raquel Welch (though nowhere near Moreau's league in this particular movie), but goes on too long. The 5th (contemporary), despite some lively acting by the two girls, is pretty much a dud. The 6th is a baffling non-futuristic "futuristic" oddity where Jean-Luc Godard unleashes a whole bag of weird audiovisual tricks on the audience; its biggest joke may be just how out of tune it is with the rest of the film! It's like watching a Western episode in a Horror anthology. Good production values throughout. **1/2 out of 4 on the whole.