Venus in Furs (1969 film)
Encyclopedia
Venus in Furs is a 1969 Italian supernatural erotic thriller film
directed by Jesús Franco
and starring James Darren
.
The film (also known as Paroxismus and Black Angel) bears only a superficial resemblance to the 1870 Venus in Furs
novel by Leopold von Sacher Masoch. The title and character names in Franco's original script were changed to the novel's for commercial reasons. Franco's movie is a surreal supernatural erotic thriller about unattainable love and how far one is willing to go for the person they desire. It is not a study in masochism as portrayed in the novel.
James Darren plays a jazz musician who becomes obsessed to the point of madness with the mysterious fur-clad Wanda (Maria Rohm), only to find her dead body washed up on the beach.
wrote a negative a review of Venus in Furs on its initial release, stating that the film "features much inept fancy moviemaking (including echoes of "La Dolce Vita
" and even "Vertigo
"), some semi-nudity, and virtually endless confusion".
Erotic thriller
The erotic thriller is a film and literary sub-genre which consists of a mixture between erotica and thriller. The genre increased in North American popularity from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, before declining in marketability.-1980s:...
directed by Jesús Franco
Jesús Franco
Jesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...
and starring James Darren
James Darren
James William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
.
The film (also known as Paroxismus and Black Angel) bears only a superficial resemblance to the 1870 Venus in Furs
Venus in Furs
Venus in Furs is a novella by Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the best known of his works. The novel was part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called Legacy of Cain. Venus in Furs was part of Love, the first volume of the series...
novel by Leopold von Sacher Masoch. The title and character names in Franco's original script were changed to the novel's for commercial reasons. Franco's movie is a surreal supernatural erotic thriller about unattainable love and how far one is willing to go for the person they desire. It is not a study in masochism as portrayed in the novel.
James Darren plays a jazz musician who becomes obsessed to the point of madness with the mysterious fur-clad Wanda (Maria Rohm), only to find her dead body washed up on the beach.
Cast
- James DarrenJames DarrenJames William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
- Jimmy Logan - Barbara McNairBarbara McNairBarbara McNair was an African American singer and actress.Born Barbara Jean McNair in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, McNair studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago...
- Rita - Maria RohmMaria RohmMaria Rohm is an Austrian actress.She is famous for appearing in many exploitation films directed by Jesús Franco in the late 60s. She was married to film producer Harry Alan Towers from 1964 until his death in 2009...
- Wanda Reed - Klaus KinskiKlaus KinskiKlaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski , was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre , Woyzeck , Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde .-Early...
- Ahmed Kortobawi - Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
- Percival Kapp - Margaret LeeMargaret Lee (British actress)Margaret Lee is a British actress who was a popular leading lady in Italian films in the 1960s and 1970s...
- Olga - Adolfo Lastretti - Insp. Kaplan (as Aldo Lastretti)
- Jesus FrancoJesús FrancoJesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...
- Jazz musician (uncredited) - Manfred MannManfred MannManfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
- Jazz musician (uncredited) - Paul MullerPaul Müller (actor)Paul Konrad Muller is a Swiss character actor. Notice: In fact his real name is "Muller" not "Müller". It seems that it is not possible to change the false written name in the headline of this article.- Theatre :...
- Hermann (uncredited) - Mirella Pamphili - (uncredited)
Reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote a negative a review of Venus in Furs on its initial release, stating that the film "features much inept fancy moviemaking (including echoes of "La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come...
" and even "Vertigo
Vertigo (film)
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
"), some semi-nudity, and virtually endless confusion".