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:

You Don't Have To Go To A Museum To See An X-Rated Picasso.

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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

Referenced in Gloria mundi (1976)

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Soundtracks

Sonates
Domenico Scarlatti
Performed by Huguette Dreyfus
Disques VALOIS

User Reviews

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.