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:

The film was originally to have been directed by Orson Welles, Luis Buñuel and Federico Fellini.

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

Skip to Fellini

Three separate stories:

- Skip the first one. Just do it. If you really must ogle the young Jane Fonda, get Barbarella.

- Your call on the second one. Okay, but not memorable.

The third story makes the film. It's "Fellini-esque"! Fellini's wild imagery makes narrative sense (well, sort of), when applied to the story of an addled English actor stumbling around Rome at breakneck speed. The segment also features a startlingly original image of evil (an "Anglican devil," I think that's the Terence Stamp character's phrase). Maybe it's just me, but the segment's conception of the devil is among the spookiest things I've ever seen on film; and when you get right down to it, it makes a lot more theological sense then ugly, scaly guys with tails.