Marquis de Sade's Justine (1969)

A woman named Justine is used and abused by all manner of perverts, freaks and sexual deviants.

Director:

Jesús Franco (as Jess Franco)

Writer:

Harry Alan Towers (as Peter Welbeck)

Stars:

Klaus Kinski, Romina Power, Maria Rohm

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Klaus Kinski	...	Marquis de Sade (as Klaus Kinsky)
Romina Power	...	Justine
Maria Rohm	...	Juliette
Rosemary Dexter	...	Claudine
Carmen de Lirio	...	Madame de Buisson
Akim Tamiroff	...	Du Harpin
Gustavo Re	...	Desroches
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Madame Dusbois
Serena Vergano	...	Prisoner
José Manuel Martín	...	Victor (as José Manuel Martin)
Mike Brendel	...	Pierre
Harald Leipnitz	...	Raymond
Horst Frank	...	Marquis de Bressac
Angel Petit	...	Jasmin
Sylva Koscina	...	Marquise de Bressac

Storyline

A woman named Justine is used and abused by all manner of perverts, freaks and sexual deviants.

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Plot Keywords:

death | murder | false accusation | nudity on stage | stage show | 

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Taglines:

An erotic fantasy horror from the tortured pen of The Marquis de Sade.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy USA West Germany Liechtenstein

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

13 June 1969 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Deadly Sanctuary

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aica Cinematografica S.R.L, American International Pictures (AIP), Corona Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 105 min (Italian) 124 min (2002 video release) (uncut) 124 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview on the Anchor Bay DVD release, Jesús Franco says he originally wanted Rosemary Dexter as Justine, but the American partners in the film insisted upon Romina Power. Franco compared her performance to a window dummy.

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Goofs

The sound we hear on the soundtrack (at c. 26 minutes) is clearly the spanking of bare flesh but the film shows that the blows only strike clothed buttocks.

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Connections

Version of Marquis de Sade's Justine (1977)

User Reviews

Beautiful, yet uninspired sleaze.

On paper, this looks like THE greatest exploitation idea ever! The vicious writings of Marquis de Sade brought to the screen by no less a person then the Godfather of sleaze: Jess Franco! And starring the fabulously outrageous Klaus Kinski as the Marquis. And there are several other aspects about this film that indicate that you're about to see a triumph in the euro-exploitation field. Like the rather big budget. Franco normally makes the most out of small budgets but here he actually had the chance to work with decent set pieces, costumes and actors. The cast is more than decent with Jack Palance, Howard Vernon (Franco regular) and the ravishing Maria Rohm and Romina Power. This latter one plays the title role and – as well as the entire film – disappoints. The movie is a series of unspectacular events and I never saw Franco this tame! Marquis de Sade: Justine is low on violence, low on nudity and extremely low surprises. Kinski is dreadfully underused and the whole thing is just too correct! Which is NOT Franco's trademark…

Of course, it's very stylish and guided by brilliant music. The sets are gorgeous and the two leading ladies remain a joy to stare (preferably when they keep their mouths shut). This certainly isn't Franco's finest film but I'll still prefer it over 99% of the amateurish crap that is brought out nowadays. Franco rules, but he had a bad day here!