Pourvu qu'on ait l'ivresse (1974)

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Director:

Rinaldo Bassi

Writers:

Rinaldo Bassi (writer)
Alfred de Musset (novels)

Release Date:

10 October 1974 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Period Piece | Duel | Erotica | Obsession | Mistress

Cast

Denyse Roland	...	Gamiani
Alain Noury	...	Octave
Paul Guers	...	Desgenais
Jean Valmont	...	Edouard
Olivier Hussenot	...	Le vieux prêtre
Stefania Careddu	...	Mme Levasseur
Gabriella Giorgelli	...	La tante
Christine Parat-Roblin
Jean-Paul Solal
Valérie de Tilbourg	...	Fanny

Also Known As:

As Long as One Is Intoxicated (International: English title)
I piaceri della contessa Gamiani (Italy)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Erka Cinematografica

Solid Period Erotica

In the early 1970s period erotica were very popular in Europe. Mostly these were comedies or horror/sex hybrids. Pourvu qu'on ait l'ivresse is a little different, as this is an erotic drama (set in the 18th century, in France), albeit one that doesn't take itself too seriously. For a mainstream film it is too exploitative and for an exploitation film it is too pretentious, but if (unlike some critics) you are not obsessed with shoving every film into some sort of category it is quite enjoyable for what it is.

The casting is excellent for the male roles but very questionable for the female ones, especially the lead. Denyse Roland's acting range appears extremely limited - she keeps the same facial expression throughout the film and she generally appears rather bland. Her role requires passion and sensuality, but she appears timid and passive. Although she's beautiful, it's more the beauty of a good looking supermarket check-out operator; it is difficult to accept that she is the cause of so much emotional distress.

A stroke of genius was the use of Carmina Burana as the film music. Finally some film maker remembered that the subject of Carmina Burana is debauchery and that it is therefore very well suited to support scenes of that kind. Several scenes were clearly written to fit with the music and these are the best scenes of the film. A year earlier, the Italian sex comedy Il Tuo Piacere E Il Mio had also used Carmina Burana (with the text translated into Italian though), but without filming any scenes for the music.