Immoral Tales (1973)

An erotic collection of short stories, an anthology comprised of tantalizing tales about sexual desire and its diverse manifestations.

Director:

Walerian Borowczyk

Writers:

Walerian Borowczyk, André Pieyre de Mandiargues (story)

Stars:

Lise Danvers, Fabrice Luchini, Charlotte Alexandra

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lise Danvers	...	Julie / André's cousin - Story 1
Fabrice Luchini	...	André / Julie's cousin - Story 1
Charlotte Alexandra	...	Thérèse - Story 2
Lisbeth Hummel	...	Lucy Broadhurst - Story 3
Paloma Picasso	...	Elisabeth Bathory / Countess - Story 4
Pascale Christophe	...	Istvan - Story 4
Florence Bellamy	...	Lucrezia Borgia / Pope's daughter - Story 5
Lorenzo Berinizi	...	Caesar Borgia / Pope's son - Story 5
Jacopo Berinizi	...	Pope Alexander VI - Story 5
Philippe Desboeuf	...	Hyeronimus Savonarola / Friar
Tomas Hnevsa	...	(as Thomas Hnevsa)
Mathieu Rivolier
Robert Capia
Gerard Tcherka
Kjell Gustavsson

Storyline

Four erotic tales from in various historical eras. The first, 'The Tide', is set in the present day, and concerns a student and his young female cousin stranded on the beach by the tide, secluded from prying eyes. 'Therese Philosophe' is set in the nineteenth century, and concerns a girl being locked in her bedroom, where she contemplates the erotic potential of the objects contained within it. 'Erzsebet Bathory' is a portrait of the sixteenth-century countess who allegedly bathed in the blood of virgins, while 'Lucrezia Borgia' concerns an incestuous fifteenth-century orgy involving Lucrezia, her brother, and her father the Pope.

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Plot Keywords:

brother sister incest | fellatio | female pubic hair | female underarm hair | masturbation | 

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Taglines:

Four Erotic Tales That Take Us Back Through The Centuries

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Italian Hungarian

Release Date:

28 August 1974 (France)

Also Known As:

Immoral Tales

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films,Syn-Frank Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 115 min (uncut) 125 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original version screened in 1974 was made up of five, not four episodes. Borowczyk removed one episode, 'The True Story of the Beast of Gevaudan', and expanded it to feature length as The Beast (1975). In 2010, a print of the original short film of 'The True Story of the Beast of Gevaudan' was discovered in a French archive. The uncut version was shown at New Horizons Film Festival in Poland on 24th of July 2013, and subsequeny included on the 2014 Arrow Blu-ray release.

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Quotes

Julie: Since last summer, I have met five boys.
André: What do you mean you "met" them?
Julie: We'd meet.
André: Where?
Julie: At parties. We kissed.
André: And that's all?
Julie: Yes.
André: On the lips?
Julie: No, Mum was always nearby.
André: Untouched. Thanks to my aunt. But today, she is far away...

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Connections

Edited into The Beast (1975)

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Soundtracks

Sonates
Domenico Scarlatti
Performed by Huguette Dreyfus
Disques VALOIS

User Reviews

Some Crazy European Stuff

Four tales from various historical eras. The first, 'The Tide', is set in the present day, and concerns a student and his young female cousin stranded on the beach by the tide, secluded from prying eyes. 'Therese Philosophe' is set in the nineteenth century, and concerns a girl being locked in her bedroom, where she contemplates the erotic potential of the objects contained within it. 'Erzsebet Bathory' is a portrait of the sixteenth-century countess who allegedly bathed in the blood of virgins, while 'Lucrezia Borgia' concerns an incestuous fifteenth-century orgy involving Lucrezia, her brother, and her father the Pope.

Such a crazy film. From the very plot synopsis, you might think this was something like Woody Allen's "Everything You Wanted To Know". I mean, heck, these are vignettes about unusual sexual practices, right? But the intent is clearly different. Allen was being funny and not all that risqué.

This film, on the other hand, has almost no humor and seems to be made for one purpose: to put as many nude women in one film as humanly possible. Granted, it is still a good film in some ways and has an artistic merit. It is not pornographic. But seeing as a similar film could have been made with only a fraction of the nudity, it is clear what the intention was.