Histoires extraordinaires (1968)

Directors:

Federico Fellini
Louis Malle

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story) (segment "Metzengerstein")
Roger Vadim (adaptation) (segment "Metzengerstein") ...

Release Date:

23 July 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

the ultimate orgy of evil

Plot:

Three directors each adapt a Poe short story to the screen: "Toby Dammit" features a disheveled drugged...

Plot Keywords:

Catholic | Haunting | Priest | Desire | Army

Cast

Brigitte Bardot	...	Giuseppina (segment "William Wilson")
Alain Delon	...	William Wilson (segment "William Wilson")
Jane Fonda	...	Contessa Frederique de Metzengerstein (segment "Metzengerstein")
Terence Stamp	...	Toby Dammit (segment "Toby Dammit")
James Robertson Justice	...	Countess' Advisor (segment "Metzengerstein")
Salvo Randone	...	Priest (segment "Toby Dammit")
Françoise Prévost	...	Friend of Countess (segment "Metzengerstein") (as Francoise Prevost)
Peter Fonda	...	Baron Wilhelm Berlifitzing (segment "Metzengerstein")
Marlène Alexandre	...	(segment "Metzengerstein")
Marie-Ange Aniès	...	(segment "Metzengerstein")
David Bresson
Katia Christine	...	Young Girl (segment "William Wilson") (as Katia Christina)
Peter Dane
Georges Douking	...	Du Lissier (segment "Metzengerstein")
Philippe Lemaire	...	Philippe (segment "Metzengerstein")

Also Known As:

Spirits of the Dead (USA)
Tales of Mystery
Tales of Mystery and Imagination (UK)
Tre passi nel delirio (Italy)
Trois histoires extraordinaires d'Edgar Poe

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | Italian | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:16 | UK:18 (1990) (cut) | UK:X (1973) (cut) | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) (1999) | Finland:K-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Les Films Marceau

Trivia:

Peter O'Toole was originally cast as Toby Dammit. After he pulled out, Federico Fellini contacted a London casting agency and asked them to send the most decadent actors they had to Rome to see him. They sent Terence Stamp and James Fox, and Fellini chose Stamp.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Countess Frederique ("Metzengerstein") is urging the black stallion into the sea, her ermine-trimmed cloak is suddenly gone.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cinemacabre TV Trailers (1993) (V)

Soundtrack:

Ruby

Three top European directors take on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Roger Vadim's "Metzengerstein" is incredibly beautiful. It was shot around great-looking, crumbling oceanfront castles and is remarkably photographed, costumed and scored, it's just a shame the core plotting is so weak. The evil Baroness Frederique (Jane Fonda, the directors wife at the time) is an insatiable tyrant who presides over orgies and sadistic, dehumanizing games. When she destroys a pure soul, her distant cousin Wilhelm (Peter Fonda), horses and fire play a key role in her demise.

"William Wilson," by Louis Malle, is an entertaining reworking of the old doppelganger theme starring Alain Delon as a pure lout AND his better half, a exact copy who drives him crazy by putting a halt to his evil impulses. Odd story structure here and Brigitte Bardot (in a black wig) is good support during a fateful card game. And then comes the really good stuff.

"Toby Dammit" (released separately as "Never Bet the Devil Your Head"), a brilliant and sometimes chilling piece of enigmatic film-making from Federico Fellini. Terence Stamp is a marvel of facial expressions as boozy, obnoxious British movie star Toby Dammit, who falls apart at the seems upon arriving in Italy to start production on a Western reworking of the story of Christ. Instead he becomes imprisoned in his own personal hell. In every possible technical department, this segment is a triumph and the creepy finale (borrowing a key image from Mario Bava's KILL, BABY, KILL!) has lost absolutely none of its impact.

The score by Nino Rota and cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno deserve special recognition, as well. The version I saw (titled TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION) is subtitled, but a dubbed version also exists featuring narration by Vincent Price.