Venus in Furs (1969)

A musician finds the corpse of a beautiful woman on the beach. The woman returns from the dead to take revenge on the group of wealthy sadists responsible for her death.

Director:

Jesús Franco (as Jess Franco)

Writers:

Jesús Franco (screenplay), Malvin Wald (screenplay)

Stars:

James Darren, Barbara McNair, Maria Rohm

Cast

Cast overview:
James Darren	...	Jimmy Logan
Barbara McNair	...	Rita
Maria Rohm	...	Wanda Reed
Klaus Kinski	...	Ahmed Kortobawi
Dennis Price	...	Percival Kapp
Margaret Lee	...	Olga
Adolfo Lastretti	...	Insp. Kaplan (as Aldo Lastretti)

Storyline

In Istanbul, a jazz trumpeter pulls the murdered body of a young woman from the surf. He remembers her from the night before, when he saw her at a millionaire playboy's party and then later watched as she was assaulted by the party's host and two of his friends. In confusion, Jimmy, the musician, leaves for Rio where he finds the sympathetic ear of Rita, a singer who invites him to live with her and helps him recover his equilibrium and his musical ability. Then, into the room walks a woman who looks like Wanda, the murder victim. Jimmy pursues her, not caring if she's alive or dead. What's going on?

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Plot Keywords:

rape | lingerie | woman in jeopardy | trumpeter | murder | 

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Taglines:

A Masterpiece of Supernatural Love and Hate!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Klaus Kinski replaced Rossano Brazzi.

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Quotes

Jimmy Logan: She was beautiful, even though she was dead.

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Alternate Versions

The Italian release lists Hans Billian as a director instead of Jesus Franco.

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Connections

Featured in Jesús in Furs (2005)

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Soundtracks

Theme for Love
Written by Stu Phillips
Performed by Stu Phillips

User Reviews

Surrealism at its best

Surrealistic erotic shocker from Jess Franco – the film is often incoherent but Franco's style has such verve and flavor that it overcomes this. The storyline remains intentionally vague, adding to the film's overall dreamlike sensibility. Maria Rohm – another of Franco's amazing female stars, every bit as intoxicating as Soledad Miranda – stars as a woman seeking revenge who becomes acquainted with a disillusioned jazz trumpeter (the plot, Franco says in his interview on the DVD, was based on something trumpeter Chet Baker told him, about being lost in fantasy when he plays). The storyline was modified slightly to accommodate an association with the then-popular Venus In Furs book, but is otherwise an original tale. Often distorted, this sadistic sex thriller remains a compelling stylistic piece of storytelling, set in exotic locales with mesmerizingly exotic women and a visual style (despite some heavy handed flash editing that Franco has later claimed he didn't care for) that is quite intriguing – wrapped in a neat 60's jazz score by English rocket Manfred Mann.

Details

Country:

UK Italy West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1969 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Venus in Furs

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematografica Associati (CI.AS.), Terra-Filmkunst, Towers of London Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1