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Camille 2000 More at IMDbPro »

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13 reviews in total

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
good portrayal of ups and downs of relationship, 8 July 2002

Author: LesHalles from Los Angeles

The other comments I have read all seem accurate to me (except I don't think Maguerite is necessarily an aristocrat, but the poor protege of one). The innocent nudity, the gorgeous photography and glamorous Roman locations, the capturing of a moment of social freedom in the sixties, are all superb. Although the director has a reputation for making exploitation films, at least in the year 2000 it doesn't seem to me that this film qualifies as one, since the nudity, sex and drugs are relatively tame, and the film now reads as a serious dramatic effort, at least to me.

What I found fascinating about the film was the portrayal of the progress of the emotional relationship of Armand and Marguerite- it covers how they met, love won and lost several times, their emotional conflicts and life choices as a result of their feelings for each other. In this it seems to me highly realistic, perceptive and insightful. It captures the emotional life of the very wealthy, young and beautiful elite- joy, confusion, hedonism, love and also despair.

It follows the evolution of the relationship in such detail that, at times, I found the film dragging a bit, but this was a minor problem for me compared to the joy of seeing such a deep exploration of their relationship. Instead of the single roller-coaster ride of snipped-down Hollywood fare, we enter fully into another world by dwelling there through several different plot climaxes.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
One of the great masterpieces of cinema, with lounge music., 11 August 2004

Author: Jerry Lopez (jrrylpz1) from London, England

I first heard about this film through its music. The late Piero Piccioni was one of Italy's finest composers from the hey day of Italian cinema in the 60's and 70's.

The write up for this movie descibes it solely in terms of sex and eroticism... but it so, so much more. It is like a wonderful painting depicting the heart wrenching trials and tribulations of two lovers, who spend a great deal of time hiding from the truth. Daniele Gaubert is superb in this, and you almost fall in love with her yourself (she, like her on screen persona, also had a tragic early death at the age of 44, from cancer). I am not a big fan of Metzger but this one is a must for all fans of lush 60's cinema.

It is how the 60's (the none 'Hippies' anyway) would like to be remembered.... ultra stylish, hedonisitic, with the heartache of love lost. (Let us pray Hollywood leaves this film be and not 'create' one of their awful remakes)

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
In That Limbo Between Garbo and Austin Powers..., 13 March 2003
Author: david melville (dwingrove@qmuc.ac.uk) from Edinburgh, Scotland

OK, the pace is slow and the sex now looks tame, but Radley Metger's once-notorious Swinging Sixties update of the old romantic warhorse is worth sticking with - if only as a time-capsule of the decade that inspired it. The scene has shifted from Belle Epoque Paris to 'dolce vita' Rome, and the dying courtesan (Daniele Gaubert) is not a consumptive but a junkie. But she's still the 'Lady of the Camellias' - with flowers aplenty. Watch a vase of them zoom hilariously in and out of focus as her young lover (Nino Castelnuovo - whose career looked so promising in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg!) teaches her the true meaning of orgasm.

All jokes aside, this version is surprisingly close to the Alexandre Dumas fils novel, with its dark core of eroticism and death. Most of the sex takes place in Marguerite's stunning white boudoir - ceiling mirrors, chiffon drapes and invisible plastic chairs. At the film's end, our heroine is confined to an oxygen tent after her last fatal OD. Visually, the setting is more or less identical. Her on-and-off love affair with priggish young Armand reaches its 'climax' at an eye-popping S & M theme party. (Cue for aluminium Paco Rabanne dresses and copulation in a giant gold cage!) This slick Vogue-ish sadism is sleazy but not gratuitous: it mirrors the cruelty at the story's heart.

Sorry, I'm making all this sound like Art, which it's not. Metzger's direction is alternately stylish and ham-fisted, and as for the acting of Mlle. Gaubert...well, let's just say Garbo and Sarah Bernhardt can rest safely on their laurels. The supporting actors are the veritable cream of Eurotrash - Silvana Venturelli as scheming sex-pot Olympe, Roberto Bisacco as libertine Gaston, Eleonora Rossi-Drago as high-fashion procuress Prudence - but they have far too little to do. The real star of this film is set and costume designer Enrico Sabbatini. His work makes Austin Powers look like an exercise in restraint!

David Melville

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Elegant Erotic-Drama, 15 August 2001

Author: herolder from Bern, Switzerland

While there are quite a few nude scenes, I'd rather think of Camille 2000 as a Drama than an Eroticfilm. The sex scenes a pretty tame compared with modern films, but much more elegant. The whole film is made in a beautiful style. The settings and costumes have this wonderful 60ies look. And not only the women are attractive, also the men are goodlooking. The story about a naive young man coming to the jet set of Rome and falling in love with the wrong girl may be not exactly new but hardly I have seen it better and more gripping. The actors are not that charismatic, but fitted almost perfectly in their roles. Highly recommended. Rating: 9/10.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
'La Dolce Vita', Metzger-style!, 14 January 2005

Author: Libretio

CAMILLE 2000

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision)

Sound format: Mono

Whilst visiting Rome, an amorous nobleman (Nino Castelnuovo) falls in love with a beautiful young libertine (Daniele Gaubert), but their unlikely romance is opposed by Castelnuovo's wealthy father (Massimo Serato), and Fate deals a tragic blow...

A sexed-up love story for the swinging Sixties, adapted from a literary source (Alexandre Dumas' 'La Dame aux Camelias') by screenwriter Michael DeForrest, and directed with freewheeling flair by Radley Metzger who, along with the likes of Russ Meyer and Joe Sarno, is credited with redefining the parameters of 'Adult' cinema throughout the 1960's and 70's. Using the scope format for the last time in his career, Metzger's exploration of 'la dolce vita' is rich in visual excess (note the emphasis on reflective surfaces, for example), though the film's sexual candor seems alarmingly coy by modern standards. Production values are handsome throughout, and the performances are engaging and humane (Castelnuovo and Gaubert are particularly memorable), despite weak post-sync dubbing. Though set in an unspecified future, Enrico Sabbatini's wacked-out set designs locate the movie firmly within its period, and Piero Piccioni's 'wah-wah' music score has become something of a cult item amongst exploitation devotees. Ultimately, CAMILLE 2000 is an acquired taste, but fans of this director's elegant softcore erotica won't be disappointed. Next up for Metzger was THE LICKERISH QUARTET (1970), which many consider his best film.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Metzger Movie Magic, 5 April 2010

Author: Dirtymoviedevotee (dries.vermeulen@hotmail.be) from Brugge, Belgium

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

In adapting Alexandre Dumas' timeless and oft-filmed tale of doomed courtesan Marguerite Gautier as an eye-popping vision of a decadent near future filtered through late '60s rose-tinted glasses, Radley Metzger created a full-fledged kitsch masterpiece that got him some of the best reviews of his entire career. Underneath its colorfully campy exterior however beats a warm heart, courtesy of its central romance treated with surprising delicacy, beautifully acted by both leads. Best known for his jeune premier turn in Jacques Demy's innovative French musical THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, handsome Nino Castelnuovo makes for a dashing yet vulnerable Armand. Gorgeous Danièle Gaubert - whose life would tragically parallel her character's, passing away at the age of 44 in 1987 - proves much more than an outrageously attired fashion plate, breathing life into the seemingly shallow party girl everyone covets but no one can truly possess. It was to be the undisputed highlight of a brief and disappointing career that ended with George Englund's ludicrous suspense on the slopes crime drama SNOW JOB in 1972, that lowly potboiler's sole merit being Gaubert's meeting with Olympic ski champ Jean-Claude Killy, her husband until her untimely death.

The familiar story has been moved from Paris to Rome though original French character names have been somewhat illogically retained. Kept woman to an elderly Duke, flighty Marguerite's the toast of the jet set when she catches the eye of Armand Duval, in town to meet up with his absent industrialist father, played by the excellent Massimo Serato whose best work was still ahead of him, performing creepy character turns in underrated "gialli" like Armando Crispino's AUTOPSY and Antonio Bido's BLOODSTAINED SHADOW. Although his friend Gaston (Roberto Bisacco who had portrayed Paris in Franco Zeffirelli's ROMEO AND JULIET and would go on to star in Sergio Martino's terrific TORSO) tries to dissuade him, he's already smitten. Touched by his sincerity but harboring a deep dark secret, the professional mistress takes him under her wing while simultaneously attempting to avoid emotional involvement. Dazzling use of multiple mirrors during their extended lovemaking sequences has been met with both delight and derision, a bold mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous which effectively places the film almost beyond camp, still dating it as a product of its excessive decade.

Naturally, things have to go wrong at some stage. Having fallen in love for the first time, Marguerite starts pawning off her expensive jewelry in order to keep her unwitting boyfriend in the manner he's accustomed to. Their romantic seaside holiday's rudely interrupted by Armand's dad who believes her to be a gold-digger until she defiantly confronts him with evidence to the contrary, surely Gaubert's finest acting moment in the entire film, albeit closely followed by the traditionally noble suffering once her health goes south. Convinced by his father that Armand would be better off without her, Marguerite pretends she no longer cares about him which only sends him scurrying towards her erstwhile rival Olympe, played by voluptuous Silvana Venturelli whose finest hour came in Metzger's LICKERISH QUARTET the following year. These shifting affections give way to one of the most amazing sequences in the director's entire body of work, a hedonistic S&M party thrown by Olympe with Armand taunting his former lover, shackled to the latest in a long line of aristocratic "sponsors" (Philippe Forquet's Comte De Varville), by disrobing and doing the hostess in plain view ! Dramatic lighting galvanizes Venturelli's sensational curves, cavorting amid certifiably crazy set design by Enrico Sabbatini whose operatic sense of grandeur would similarly illuminate Dario Argento's elusive FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET.

Every aspect of CAMILLE 2000 breathes absolute opulence, from the eternal city's timeless locations given a velvet sheen by revered cinematographer who shot Vittorio De Sica's GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINI'S and Zeffirelli's BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON to the alternately groovy and lushly romantic score by Piero Piccioni of Lina Wertmüller's SWEPT AWAY fame. Though Metzger's movies played respectable first run venues, they're frequently lumped together in hindsight with the rest of the decade's "adults only" cinema, including the sort of sleazy no budget sexploitation that can't even begin to compare, not just where the budget's concerned but in terms of directorial talent or dedication. While a surfeit of surface gloss forces the film uncomfortably close to fashionista fascism at times, Metzger's mercurial meticulousness saves the day, his sensitivity as both filmmaker and story-teller extending to the inclusion of an openly gay character portrayed in a for the time uncommonly sympathetic light, dress designer Gody (one shot Zachary Adams), one of Marguerite's few friends to show genuine concern as her health deteriorates.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Stunning and refreshing version of Dumas' novel, 31 March 2009

Author: pbutterfly from United States

This is a superb film, witty, stylish, and beautifully conceived and executed. One of the things I love most about Metzger's work is the way he takes classic literature--in this case Dumas' "The Lady of the Camellias"-- and reworks them for a modern audience. Earlier renditions of this story--such as Cukor's 1936 film starring Greta Garbo, "La Traviata," and seven silent movie versions--were unable to depict the life of a courtesan with such frankness, showing what is after all one of the main aspects of a courtesan's life: her moments in the bedroom. The film, while intensely erotic, is also very much about love. The lovers want to look at one another and experience moments of wonderment at the sheer existence of the other more than they want to do bedroom antics. They are young and beautiful, and their beauty as well as her illness makes us feel achingly the fleetingness of love and youth. Moreover, the joy of youth and the erotic play out in every aspect of the film. The stylish sets and costumes, the lush party scenes, and the sensual music depict a world of pleasure-loving children who never want to grow up, but want to continue enveloping themselves in brightly-colored adult playgrounds full of sensory stimulation. The stigma normally associated with a courtesan is stripped away in this world of pleasure, in which life lived to its fullest is the ultimate goal, and an early death is a small price to pay. In this sense the parallel to some of the concerns of the swinging sixties is brilliantly captured. A 1969 review from Roger Ebert disappointingly puts down this movie, and yet Ebert's own script for "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" is no more than a crass joke, with no feeling for the humanity of its characters or for the dignity of love, sex, or even life. He ridicules the moment when Camille is breathing heavily, not understanding that the depiction of female pleasure on the screen was so necessary to our understanding of the heroine's journey.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Deeply moving and true to Dumas' masterpiece, 3 March 2008

Author: scormus from Switzerland

Radley Metzger is not to everybody's taste but this is less extravagant than others of his and avoids the most extreme excesses. Bringing the classic Dumas story up to date was a highly (over?) ambitious task, trying to project the characters and their interactions over such a time span, but it works remarkably well. The futuristic setting looks rather dated now, but it must have been quite convincing at the time as a portrayal of a fin-de-siècle jet-set world and does not adversely the main theme.

The chemistry between principals is almost tangible, and most of all the way their emotions are handled by the their eye-expressions in the "jail party" scene. Several supporting characters are outstanding - the malevolent Baron de Varville and the manipulative Olympe provide weight, while seemingly carefree Gaston provide much needed balance.

One trick I would have expected from Metzger given his penchant for bizarre symbolism was to have made the opening scene a production of "la Traviata". But he showed his true talent in the closing moments.

Best, Metzger remains true to the original story, modifying only as dictated by the modern context and making the translation with skill and sensitivity. From beneath the superficiality and cynicism, a deeply moving film emerges.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
This Movie Touched My Heart, 19 December 2007
Author: anharmyenone from USA

I'm glad I saw it. There are life lessons about love, sex, art, pleasure, honesty, and denial here. Radley Metzger at his best is a very honest and true-to-life filmmaker. Even when he's being surreal and throwing illusions at you like in "The Lickerish Quartet" he's being brutally honest and teaching you something about yourself and about life. Neither prudish, nor libertine, just honest, Metzger artistically explored the areas of life that other filmmakers either avoided or treated with juvenile snickering attitudes. Of course he was a businessman too and his choice of subject matter was no doubt shaped in part by what was commercially viable, but he was also a brave and dedicated craftsman who helps us still to understand and grow wiser. The emotional impact of this film is not unlike "Therese and Isabell", though the eye candy in this film makes it an easier viewing experience. Not all of Metzger's films hold up today, but this is one that does.

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Interestingly super-sexual bit of arousal, 23 December 1999
Author: Milpool from Fredericton

Camille 2000, which could be called the first of the modern, adult films, was among those trendsetting, forward-looking pictures that marked the end of the 1960's. That said, it's not a fantastic film, but fairly well done. The pill popping, hard driving female of the film is asked, at the opening of the picture, whether she ever comes down. "Not if I can help it," she replies, tossing another handfull of drugs into her mouth. In a sense, that's the theme of the film; lurid and risque for the time, but somewhat tame compared to today's endless stream of mindless porn films.

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