Immoral Tales

Starring:Lise Danvers, Fabrice Luchini, Charlotte Alexandra, Paloma Picasso, Pascale Christophe, Florence Bellamy, Jacopo Berinizi, Lorenzo Berinizi, Nicole Karen, Tomas Hnevsa, Mathieu Rivollier, Robert Capia, Gerard Tcherka, Kjell Gustavsson, Philippe Desboeuf, Marie ForsÃ¥
Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Immorally a waste of $$
Immoral...no. More exploitative than anything else
Big build-ups, but no resolution....
Everyone seems to have missed several points
Interesting! Different!

Immoral Tales
Starring: Lise Danvers , Fabrice Luchini , Charlotte Alexandra , Paloma Picasso , and Pascale Christophe
Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305808104
Release Date: 2000-06-20

Customer Reviews:

Immorally a waste of $$.......2004-02-28

I purchased this not expecting much, which is to be expected if your into these types of films, but i do enjoy eroticy. There was nothing to enjoy about this one. I find it hard to believe that even those who like "artsy erotic" would enjoy this. constant panning of the camera & quick scene changes were very frustrating. Such as the young lovers on the beach, I was shown more of the beach, cliffs & waves than I was shown of the characters, and then it was just quick shots too "up close" or
from too far away. Big disappointment!

Immoral...no. More exploitative than anything else.......2003-07-02

With the reputation Walerian Borowczyk (boroh-chick) had, I eagerly sprang to get this video ages ago. I just saw it again and well,... anyway, this quartet of stories features tales that are more exploitative in showing copious amounts of female genitalia rather than being immoral.

The Tide, based on a story by Andre Preyre de Mandiargues, is set in contemporary France (then 1975) about a twenty-year old man who seduces his sixteen year-old cousin Julie, on the beach, using his age difference to bend her to his will. He is a bit of a bossy sort, and I was surprised to see her obey him meekly. It's mostly talky, with some pompous dialogue of the using the rise of tides as analogous to his desire of her. There's a nice close-up of Julie's lips and she looks nice in the altogether. Even so... (Rating: 3 out of 5)

Therese the Philosopher is about a religiously devout French girl in 1890 who is wrongfully punished and is locked in a room for three days. What happens in that room? To quote words she heard from God while at church: "Reveal yourself by showing your weakness, your sensuality, your pride, your craven, selfish indolence." And also, I'll never think of cucumbers the same way again. As for the story, so what? (Rating: 2.5 out of 5)

The next two stories are significantly better. The third story, Erzebet Bathory, has the notorious Blood Countess going to a village to round up young girls for her dastardly pleasures, under the masquerade of granting eternal bliss and grace for those touching her pearl-encrusted gown. This has about twenty or so girls in the altogether, and they go into a crazed frenzy when they see Bathory in her dress. Does Bathory have a bath? Find out for yourself (Rating: 4 out of 5)

The fourth story, set in 1498 Florence, would probably be considered immoral, as it involves Lucrezia Borgia having a threesome with Pope Alexander VI (her father Rodrigo) and a cardinal (her brother Cesare) while they send her impotent simp of an uptight husband, Giovanni Sforza away. Meanwhile, monk Hieronymous Savonarola rails against the immorality of the church, of priests openly displaying their sons, until he is captured and becomes Dominican barbeque. (Rating: 4 out of 5)

I think this quartet tried to subtly shock given the theme in each one. It doesn't do so effectively. However, for the sake of showing several nubile girls full frontal, I suppose this is more a curio than anything. Slow moving and more sensationalistic and exploitative than shocking. (Overall rating: (3+2.5+4+4)/4=3

Big build-ups, but no resolution...........2003-05-14

I believe it has been mentioned that this film, while an adequate entry in its genre, does not quite deliver the goods. This is profoundly accurate, and describes the film to a T. The director--I'm not even going to bother trying to spell his name from memory--has proven that he CAN deliver the goods (a la "The Beast"), but here his stories fall short of the money shot, as it were. It gives one a case of what I call "mental blue balls": The copious nudity and gynocological close-ups are here, but that is it. Where a full-on sex scene would have brought each story to its logical conclusion, we are left hanging with an "after the fact" sort of setting.
The implied oral in the first vignette is seen fleetingly, and from a distance at times, and ultimately comes off as forgettable; the vegetarian delight in the second act is understandably made low key, so that's forgivable; the third act is loaded with skin, but the Countess and her assistant's seduction scene never even got started, and would have been perfect; and lastly the orgy with the pope and his kids is woefully down-played and short. It's almost as if the director had developed a conscience or something by that time. The girl in that act is outrageously sexy, and is on display quite a lot, but instead of the perfect sex scene--which would have been similar to the finale of "the Beast", but with a pope instead of a wolf or whatever--we get quick shots of basically nothing. All the action there seems to happen off-screen.
This genre demanded better, and the director was capable of it, but for some reason kept pulling back at key moments which really reduced the overall value of the film, I think.
It's interesting to note that "La Bete" was originally part of this series, but was withdrawn instead to have it's own full length feature. So I'm really left wondering "WTF?", since it fulfills its mission so much better than this one.

Everyone seems to have missed several points.......2003-05-01

In the Lucretia Borgia short, I have noticed that several reviewers (here and on other web sites) referred to the orgy as being with a "priest." Make no mistake, Lucretia is getting it on with her DAD (the Pope) and her BROTHER, after daddy has sent her husband off to be murdered! These allegations were never proven in real life, but they make an amusing story. The baby being baptized at the end is her offspring, presumably with her own father (the baby's father AND grandfather rolled into one!)

As far as the four stories tying together, one of the factors that connects them is the underwear. They make a big point of showing historically authentic underwear, which should make this film interesting to costume enthusiasts as well as perverts. Each one depicts (loosely) a real life story or series of events, each farther back in history. As a music history major in college (way back when), I can tell you the music is also authentic -- anyone basically familiar with the pre-baroque repertoire will recognize several well-known performances. The "Hayaducki" by Nikolai von Krakau was a delightful choice, as was the Machaut Mass for the papal orgy scene.

This film is not for the even vaguely prudish or squeamish, but if you can dig a real life lesbian "vampire" in a bathtub of blood, and an incestuous, murderous orgy with the Pope and his two kids, this is the film for you!!

Plus, Paloma Picasso has really beautiful eyes, which are prominently featured in several closeups. Those shots alone, which were truncated in the VHS copy I've enjoyed these last 20 years, were enough to make me want to get the widescreen version in DVD.

Personally this is one of my all time fav's.

Interesting! Different!.......2002-12-11

You need to concentrate on this movie to understand what is going on. There are allusions to historical people. OK, not the greatest movie I have seen.

Contes immoraux (Original French ONLY Version - NO English Options)

Average customer rating:

Contes immoraux (Original French ONLY Version - NO English Options)
Director: Walerian Borowczyk
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Product Description

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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