Contes immoraux (1974)

Director:

Walerian Borowczyk

Writer:

André Pieyre de Mandiargues (story)

Release Date:

28 August 1974 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Four Erotic Tales That Take Us Back Through The Centuries

Plot:

Four erotic tales from in various historical eras. The first, 'The Tide', is set in the present day...

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Pope | Disturbing | Advice | Mass Murder

Cast

Lise Danvers	...	Julie
Fabrice Luchini	...	André
Charlotte Alexandra	...	Thérèse
Paloma Picasso	...	Elisabeth Bathory
Pascale Christophe	...	Istvan
Florence Bellamy	...	Lucrezia Borgia
Jacopo Berinizi	...	Pope Alexander VI
Lorenzo Berinizi	...	Caesar Borgia
Philippe Desboeuf	...	Friar Hyeronimus Savonarola
Nicole Karen
Tomas Hnevsa		(as Thomas Hnevsa)
Mathieu Rivollier		(as Mathieu Rivolier)
Robert Capia
Gerard Tcherka
Kjell Gustavsson

Also Known As:

Immoral Tales

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (1977) | Australia:R | West Germany:(Banned) (original rating) (cinema release) | West Germany:Not Rated (re-rating) | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:X | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Argos Films

Soundtrack:

Messe de Notre Dame

Not as immoral as I hoped it would be!

Walerian Borowczyk is best known for his 1975 sleaze flick 'The Beast', and with that film in mind; I don't think I was unjustified going into this one expecting some bizarre pornography. However, it turns out that isn't what this film is at all; it's actually 'erotica', which is unfortunately not so interesting. Sure there's plenty of hot female nudity, but it's all really slow and barely erotic in the slightest. As the title suggests, this film depicts 'tales' which are immoral; and there are four in total. The first is very simple but nicely put together. We follow a pair of cousins stuck on a beach together by the tide. The older and more sexually experienced of the pair sees it as an opportunity to teach the younger a thing or two. This story is not particularly impressive on the substance front; it's very short and not a lot happens, but it is really beautifully shot and anyone that appreciates good looking cinema will surely find something to like about it.

I figured the first tale would be just a taster since it is so short, but unfortunately things go downhill from there and the second tale is the worst of the four. It takes on a period setting and basically just follows a young woman locked in her bedroom. Again, the cinematography is nice (though none of the locations are anything like as good as the beach in tale one) but the tale itself drags on too long to approaching anything like what I would call 'erotica'. The film is slightly redeemed by tale number three; which is by far the best of the bunch. Elizabeth Bathory has featured in cinema a few times; though not often enough. This tale again is slow and beautiful but the story actually holds some interest and Paloma Picasso's perfect naked figure emerging from a bath is blood is likely to be the only thing I will go on to remember about this film. I figured that if the fourth tale could match the third then the film would be a success overall; but unfortunately it's a turgid affair and doesn't compliment the penultimate story as well as I'd hoped. Split into four we have one good story, one decent one and two weak ones...not enough to recommend the film for unfortunately.