Customer Reviews

Immoral Tales

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

 

 

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.

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

This film had almost everything going for it...beautiful young women, interesting plots ect. However, it falls short of being erotic enough to satisfy purveyors of true Euro-erotic classics such as The Story of O, or even Emmanuel. There is a lot of close up shots of young women's hairy armpits and genitals but the film holds back on showing some of the violence it implies in one of the segments. The film consists of four separate story lines, each having it's own interesting outcomes. However, as I stated before, it falls short of being an outstanding erotic film. It is just a "good" one.

When you compare most 'erotic' (and I use that term loosely) films made nowadays to real erotic films (like this one) made in the seventies, there's really no comparison. Immoral Tales is a serious film with some implied (but very erotic) moments.

My only complaint is in the third story, where the Queen is about to choose a 'bride'. Unfortunately, there's no full-on love scene, which would've been a terrific payoff after all the nonsense that preceded it (lots of naked young women running around...which is all right if you're into that sort of thing).

It doesn't contain as many full-on sexual situations as Emmanuelle, or Story of O, and that's part of the problem. Immoral Tales doesn't go far enough - the premises of each tale is extremely erotic...but it falls flat in the actual execution.

An artfully photographed collage of decadence through they eyes of director Walerian Borowcyck. Not a classic but rather a small art film most memorable for it's final sequence-designer Paloma Picasso (none other than Pablo's daughter!) as an aristocrat with a healthy "taste" for blood. Foreign film fans with a moderate interest in chic kinkiness will find this rare film amusing but those who want a better look at director Borocyzck may want to check out "Story of Sin" should it ever come to video or DVD.

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.

The dark basements of the human behavior are plenty of nastiness, it's indeed a huge sewer, a deep end alley that must be buried, ignored, overlooked and neglected for the sake and preservation of the memory.

Immoral tales is one of these disturbing films which deals with that sort of unpleasant and accusing items about just a few want to talk and take into account. Ferocious hypocrisy supports the double moral that masks of unpolluted dress through these four demolishing stories.

Not recommended for squeamish.

As understood, this work is a blue-paper for The Beast, while three sex-saturated segments occurred in royal France, where characters' deed leaved much more to viewers' imagination than was disclosed-and a modern time young people sea-shore session is either rather of interest to psychologists than to an ordinary watcher.

A very charming acting and beautiful music add advantages to his work-of-who-knows-what-of.

Technically, DVD white shrift English subtitles are hardly seen on a B&W background.

IMMORAL TALES is one of the bits of art-house erotica that's sure to fall short of pleasing modern audiences. It's ponderous sex-scenes are their own penance for those will to sit through them, failing to hold much interest outside of exposed flesh and suggested depravities. There is little content here or drama for that matter, just boring sexual-tableaux, drawn out to feature length. The cinematography is occasionally interesting, but never truly captivates the eye beyond lensing exploitative elements of period dress being pulled of young ladies, in period settings.

If you purchase this expecting something titilating/sexy/erotic you're going to be disappointed. IMMORAL TALES is an art film with four stories in it. They are:

THE TIDE: A young French couple talk philosophy and have sex on a beach. Pretentious and boring. Honestly, do you know anybody who gets randy talking about Plato and the like?

THERESE THE PHILOSOPHER: Oh no. More philosophical garbage, but in an unexpected twist, Therese strips naked and makes love to a courgette. Interesting, but like its predecessor, pretentious.

ERZSEBAT BATHORY: More self absorbed arty-farty twaddle in this tale of Countess Elizabeth Bathory and her lining up young virgins to have slaughtered for her blood bath. Lots of female nudity and a couple of good shower scenes but... blah.

LUCREZIA BORGA: A priest indulges his sexual fantasies, and the tale ends with him baptizing a baby for its unknowing parents. I guess this tale's trying to put some message across about how purity and sex are linked... but I'm not an intellectual so I'll leave that to some other reviewer. Was I shocked? No. Was I entertained? Bored? Yes. Really the only redeeming features are in my review: Gore, nudity & sex with vegetables. Whatever tickles your fancy, I guess.
For a shocking movie that makes you think, I recommend Pasolini's SALO: THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM over BORING TALES.