Immoral Tales (film)
Encyclopedia
Immoral Tales is a 1974 French anthology film directed by Walerian Borowczyk
. The film was Borowczyk's most sexually explicit at the time. The film is split into four erotic themed stories that involve the loss of virginity, masturbation, bloodlust and incest.
After the release of Immoral Tales, Borowczyk's began to fall out of favor from film critics. Modern critical reception to the film is that it is not one of Borowczyk's strongest works.
) who takes his 16-year old cousin to the beach to perform fellatio
on him in tune to the waves of the incoming tide. The second story is titled Thérése Philosophe and involves a teenage country girl (Charlotte Alexandra
) who intermingles sexual desires in her imagination with her dedication to Christ after being locked in her room. The third story features Elizabeth Báthory
(Paloma Picasso
) as a Countess who murders young girls in order to gain eternal youth by bathing in their blood. The final story involves the daughter of Pope Alexander VI
, Lucrezia Borgia
(Florence Bellamy), having sex with her male relatives.
. The second story is taken from an anonymous sacrilegious novel from the 18th century. The third story is a re-telling of the case of Elizabeth Báthory
from the study of surrealist poet Valentine Penrose.
A fifth story in the Immoral Tales was originally planned, but was taken out of the film and developed into the feature film La bête
(1975).
Among modern reviews, Allrovi gave the film three stars out of five, feeling that first two stories did not work as well as the second two as well as stating that it was Borowczyk's move from "arthouse material and toward softcore; as such, the material displays its director's characteristic intelligence but lapses into exploitation a little too often". In an overview of Borowczyk's work in the film magazine Senses of Cinema
, Immoral Tales is referred to as his weakest amongst his first five feature films and that "an unsensational approach to the material and detached gaze of the camera make it closer to a surrealist text than a pornographic movie." David Kehr wrote a review for the Chicago Reader praising that the film "contains some very elegant images" but compared it negatively to Borowczyk's followup Story of a Sin which Kehr proclaimed "avoided the trap of superficiality by adopting an ironic mode. Here, he seems entirely too sincere—and more than a little dull."
Walerian Borowczyk
Walerian Borowczyk was a Polish film director. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. His career as a film director was mainly in France.-Biography:...
. The film was Borowczyk's most sexually explicit at the time. The film is split into four erotic themed stories that involve the loss of virginity, masturbation, bloodlust and incest.
After the release of Immoral Tales, Borowczyk's began to fall out of favor from film critics. Modern critical reception to the film is that it is not one of Borowczyk's strongest works.
Plot
The film is separated into four stories. The first story involves André (Fabrice LuchiniFabrice Luchini
Fabrice Luchini is a French stage and film actor.-Biography:Fabrice Luchini was born in Île-de-France, Paris, into an Italian immigrant family, who were fruit and vegetable vendors. He grew up around the neighbourhood of Goutte d'Or in Paris's 18th arrondissement...
) who takes his 16-year old cousin to the beach to perform fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
on him in tune to the waves of the incoming tide. The second story is titled Thérése Philosophe and involves a teenage country girl (Charlotte Alexandra
Charlotte Alexandra
Charlotte Alexandra is an English film actress born in 1955. She is best known for her appearance in several controversial, sexually-explicit feature films in the mid- to late-1970s....
) who intermingles sexual desires in her imagination with her dedication to Christ after being locked in her room. The third story features Elizabeth Báthory
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
(Paloma Picasso
Paloma Picasso
Anne Paloma Picasso known professionally as Paloma Picasso, is a French/Spanish fashion designer and businesswoman, best known for her jewelry designs and signature perfumes. She is the youngest daughter of famed 20th-century artist Pablo Picasso and painter and writer Françoise Gilot...
) as a Countess who murders young girls in order to gain eternal youth by bathing in their blood. The final story involves the daughter of Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
, Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...
(Florence Bellamy), having sex with her male relatives.
Production
The film's stories are taken from various sources including surrealist writers and poets. The first story in the film is taken from surrealist writer André Pieyre de MandiarguesAndré Pieyre de Mandiargues
André Pieyre de Mandiargues was a French writer born in Paris. He became an associate of the Surrealists and married the Italian painter Bona Tibertelli de Pisis...
. The second story is taken from an anonymous sacrilegious novel from the 18th century. The third story is a re-telling of the case of Elizabeth Báthory
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
from the study of surrealist poet Valentine Penrose.
A fifth story in the Immoral Tales was originally planned, but was taken out of the film and developed into the feature film La bête
La bête
The Beast is a French erotic comedy-horror-drama film directed by Walerian Borowczyk. Although sometimes compared with Beauty and the Beast, there are no parallels in the plot except that it features the relationship between a beast and a woman....
(1975).
Reception
After the release of Immoral Tales, Borowczyk's began to fall out of favor from film critics. New York Magazine wrote a negative review referring to the film as "episodic and disjointed, but also written with a great deal of stupidity" and describing the story-telling, directing, acting and photography in the film as "wretched".Among modern reviews, Allrovi gave the film three stars out of five, feeling that first two stories did not work as well as the second two as well as stating that it was Borowczyk's move from "arthouse material and toward softcore; as such, the material displays its director's characteristic intelligence but lapses into exploitation a little too often". In an overview of Borowczyk's work in the film magazine Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Senses of Cinema publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career overviews of the works of key directors, and coverage of many...
, Immoral Tales is referred to as his weakest amongst his first five feature films and that "an unsensational approach to the material and detached gaze of the camera make it closer to a surrealist text than a pornographic movie." David Kehr wrote a review for the Chicago Reader praising that the film "contains some very elegant images" but compared it negatively to Borowczyk's followup Story of a Sin which Kehr proclaimed "avoided the trap of superficiality by adopting an ironic mode. Here, he seems entirely too sincere—and more than a little dull."