Customer Reviews

Camille 2000 [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Camille 2000 is a tale of a rich Italian businessman, Armand, who falls in love with Marguerite, a rich French Madam. The story follows the opera "La Traviata", which is not new territory for Metzger (Carmen, Baby), and is based on the Alexandre Dumas story "Lady of the Camellias". The most interesting aspect of this film is the use of color, the extravagant costumes, and the photography. This film has a reputation as being a sort of "soft-core" sex film, but actually it is very tame compared to many other adult films from that decade. The film does have some flaws, such as editing and acting, however it is visually soothing. The soundtrack by Piero Piccioni is the best psychedelic film music I have ever heard. A good choice for fans of that "Peter Max" look.

An old story gets a soft-porn twist in Metzger's 1970 outing. Some artfully framed sex scenes, Piero Piccioni's catchy, sexy soundrack, and some fun costumes of the period-imagining-the-not-too-distant-furture make the enterprise a cut way above most films of this genre. Production design fans will like it for no reason other than its aesthethic, which recalls Pietro Germi's great TENTH VICTIM of four years earlier (1966). This was Metzger's best foray before Zalman King usurped the genre (you know, TWO MOON JUNCTION and all that jazz). What one should really do though is find the incredible score by Maestro Piero Piccioni (available on Easy Tempo Records). It's a seductive tapestry of orchestral, psychedelic, and organ-funk sounds with a never-ending bass line.

Art...uh, no. Wack, fun filmmaking of its period, most certainly.

CAMILLE 2000

(USA - 1969)

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision)

Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

During a visit to Rome, the romantic Armand (Nino Castelnuovo) falls in love with a promiscuous young Countess (Daniele Gaubert), but their unlikely romance is opposed by Castelnuovo's wealthy father (Massimo Serato), and Fate deals a tragic blow...

A sexed-up love story for the swinging Sixties, adapted from a literary source (Alexandre Dumas' 'La Dame aux Camellias') by screenwriter Michael DeForrest, and directed with cinematic flair by Radley Metzger who, along with Russ Meyer and Joe Sarno (amongst others), is credited with redefining the parameters of 'Adult' cinema throughout the 1960's and 70's. Using the scope format for the last time in his career, Metzger's exploration of 'la dolce vita' is rich in visual excess (note the emphasis on reflective surfaces, for example), though the film's sexual candor seems alarmingly coy by modern standards.

Production values are handsome throughout, and while the actors are slightly hamstrung by post-sync dubbing, the performances are engaging and humane (Castelnuovo and Gaubert are particularly memorable). Though set in an unspecified future, Enrico Sabbatini's wacked-out set designs locate the movie firmly within its period, and Piero Piccioni's 'wah-wah' music score has become something of a cult item amongst exploitation devotees. Ultimately, CAMILLE 2000 is an acquired taste, but fans of Metzger's brand of elegant softcore erotica won't be disappointed.

This was the first film that a) introduced me to the films of Radley Metzger and b) introduced me to the erotic film genre. I was working as an usher in a movie theater during my high school years and this was my first X-rated movie experience. It played on a double bill with Pasquale Festa Campenile's 'THE LIBERTINE' but 'CAMILLE' was the standout. At 15 years of age, I had yet to see a film by Fellini and more European horror or genre films. What I loved about 'CAMILLE' was the technicolor images, the fantastic pop jazz music score by Piero Piccioni and the two beautiful actresses Daniele Gaubert and Erika Remberg. People were coming to the theater and being disappointed that the film was not hard core enough for an X but this was 1969 and even the soft core genre was not established yet,at least in my town. Metzger was a genius in photographing the male and female form to the point of taking it beyond the pornographic image. This film made such an impression that I tried to see every film by Metzger but I was too young to get into the theater( I did sneak in to see 'CARMEN BABY' ) and over the years I have seen all of his films but 'CAMILLE 2000' was and always will be his true masterpiece in my eyes. Adapting the Camille legend to swinging Sixties Europe , Metzger weaves his tragedy with outstanding set pieces which still dazzle the eyes . The quality fluctuates with scratches appearing at the reel changes but the exuberant technicolor is still there . Kudos for First Run Features for preserving this beautiful time capsule of erotic cinema for the ages, I'm sure Camille would have approved. Enjoy it for its beauty and nostalgia.

I love it. Awesome to find this. I stumbled upon a burned copy of the soundtrack for this movie in San Francisco, not knowing it was a soundtrack, and loved it. Eventually I googled it and it led me hear. What a nice suprise. Fun movie. Thank you!

Well, the first Metzger movie we watched was "the Image" needless to say it is BRILLIANT! THerefore we (unfortunately) compare every Metzger movie with this one....(we never can make through the movie "the Image" without having sex:-), this movie is ok if you watch it as being a "normal" movie of the 70's, don't expect explicit sex scenes and the story is ok.

I purchased this DVD for Camille 2000 and expected to be swept away with the film's lush and sensual sensibilities. Instead, I had to stop watching it 30 minutes into it. The transfer is terrible. It's full of scratches and it's out of focus or taken from a very old film stock. It's truly terrible and felt that I was ripped off because DVDs today have a certain standard for image quality which this one obviously disregarded. It's not worth paying for this. Wait until a better transfer comes along.

Not so pornographic for an erotic movie while not so erotic for pornography, this story of a female entertaining one man to spend money on another was, probably, shocking work at the arriving in the last century seventies.

Nice bodies and beautiful actresses / handsome actors sustain some pleasure for viewing.

Lame, lame, lame. Rich men, expensive brothel... blah, blah, blah. Waste of money. Don't believe me? Rent it first.