Walerian Borowczyk's first erotic feature, Immoral Tales presents a veritable cavalcade of depravity: cosmic fellatio, transcendental masturbation, erotic fairy tale, blood-drenched lesbianism and papal incest.
Released by: Arrow Video
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Production Year: 1974
Region Code: A
Running Time: 1:43:08 Theatrical / 2:05:25 Original
Audio: French LPCM 2.0 Mono
Video: 1080p (1.66:1 Aspect Ratio)
Subtitles: English
THE FILM:
"Immoral Tales" is a French anthology that tells four or five (depending on which version you watch) stories, each delving further back in time, as if to suggest that the same issues recur constantly throughout human civilization, whether involving notorious historical figures like Lucrezia Borgia and Erzsébet Báthory, or present-day teenagers. Capitalizing on the relaxation of censorship laws, "Immoral Tales" would transform Walerian Borowczyk's image from brilliant but obscure avant-garde artist to one of Europe's most confrontational filmmakers when it came to trampling on sexual taboos.
The Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack contains two versions of the film. In the theatrical cut there are four stories, "The Tide," "Thérése Philosophe," "Erzsebet Bathory," and "Lucrezia Borgia." In the original five-part conception also known as "The L'age d'or cut," the short film "La Bête" AKA "The True Story of the Beast of Gévaudan," that was later expanded into Borowczyk’s feature length film "The Beast," is also included.
The Tide - This story involves 20 year old André (Fabrice Luchini) and his 16 year old cousin Julie (Lise Danvers). André demonstrates his control over Julie by continually giving her orders. He takes her to a secluded beach where he plans to make use of his lurid intentions. The sound of waves crashing is put to good use in this film as it coincides with the actions of the young couple. The cinematography is terrific with the countryside and ocean, both looking gorgeous.
Therese Philosophe - This tale is about young Therese (Charlotte Alexandra) who has been unjustly punished. She is to spend three days and three nights locked in her bedroom. But instead of contemplating her punishment, Therese's mind strays and she begins to have sexual fantasies involving objects in her bedroom. She eventually loses control and gives in to temptation. Unfortunately she later crosses paths with a vagrant who cannot control his urges when he sees Therese.
La Bête - This is the story of The Beast of Gévaudan, that is spreading fear in the Massif Central region of France. A young woman (Sirpa Lane) ventures in to the woods after her lamb and encounters the ferocious beast. After running through the never ending woods trying to escape the monster, the beast eventually catches up to its prey. However, the beast does not kill her. Instead, it proceeds to rape her. The story does not end as one might expect.
Erzsebet Bathory - Here we have a story about Countess Elisabeth Bathory (Paloma Picasso). The countess, along with her squire Istvan (Pascale Christophe) and a soldier, visit the villages and settlements of Nyitra County, Hungary. There, young virgin girls are rounded up, to be taken home with the countess. Once they arrive, the girls bathe one another and are left nude. Countess Bathory concocts a drink and serves it to the girls. What follows next is a mass of wild girls first pawing at the countess and then at one another with an eruption of violence and ultimately, betrayal.
Lucrezia Borgia - In this final tale of depravity, Lucrezia (Florence Bellamy) and her husband Giovanni Sforza travel to visit Lucrezia's father, Pope Alexander VI (Jacopo Berinizi) and her brother, Cesare (Lorenzo Berinizi). You will quickly learn that there is no love lost between Lucrezia's father and her husband. Following a nefarious deed, we see that Lucrezia, her father and brother, share a bit too much love for one another in the form of a ménage à trois. In the final scene of the film we see a baby, a product of incest, being baptized.
AUDIO:
This Blu-ray comes with one audio option, a French LPCM 2.0 Mono track. I thought the track was excellent. Whether it is the sounds of crashing waves, erotic moans or the accompanying score, the audio track does a wonderful job. Throughout the entire film, the balance of dialogue, score and sound effects remained very stable. I did not encounter any negative issues with the audio. Optional English subtitles are also included.
VIDEO:
"Immoral Tales" comes to Blu-ray courtesy of a new high definition transfer thanks to Arrow Video. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.66 Aspect Ratio. Some stories may look better than others, but the film looks outstanding. I thought the colors were rich and natural looking. Blood certainly has a crimson appearance. Skin tones look very natural from Julie's pink lips in "The Tide" to the milky white skin of the abducted girls in "Erzsebet Bathory." The amount of fine detail present in some of the close ups is amazing for a film over 40 years old. Black levels look fine as well. The grain looks great throughout the film. I did not notice any problems whatsoever with the video quality.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Introduction by Borowczyk expert Daniel Bird (5:14)
Love Reveals Itself (16:42) - Production manager Doninique Duvergé-Ségrétin and camera operator Noël Véry discus the the films production. Noël Véry talks about using a special camera mount for Boroczyk's films and even gives a demonstration. The pair talk about the casting for the film, including the fact that Isabelle Adjani was approached for the role of Julie in "The Tide," but she declined. There are some interesting details offered in this featurette. I was surprised to learn that the blood used in a certain scene, was real pigs blood. More surprising is that after the scene was shot, the blood was used to make black pudding. (In French with English subtitles)
Obscure Pleasures: A Portrait of Walerian Boroczyk (1:03:15) - This is a newly edited archival interview with Walerian Boroczyk that was filmed for the UK's Channel Four "Visions" documentary strand in 1985, but never aired. Mr. Boroczyk discusses his interest and foray in to the field of animation. Periodically, snippets of animation are played during the interview. The conversation next shifts to sex in cinema during which, clips from various films are displayed. Walerian Boroczyk also talks about his interest in painting and makes a comparison to film-making. Fans of Boroczyk will most likely find this interview more interesting than I did, simply because other than this film, I am not very familiar with his work. He was very open and honest in this interview which anyone can appreciate. (In French with English subtitles)
Blow-Ups (4:43) - Viewers are given a glimpse at some of Walerian Boroczyk's art, including his prize-winning lithographs and poster designs.
Trailer (2:18)
Reversible sleeve featuring Borowczyk's own original poster design
Illustrated booklet containing new writing on the film by Daniel Bird and an archive piece by Phillip Strick
IN CONCLUSION:
The subject matter of "Immoral Tales from Arrow Video may not appeal to everyone, but this Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic. There are a number of good extras included as well. This release also contains a DVD for added value. Fans of Walerian Boroczyk or those interested in exploitation films should consider purchasing the film. Arrow Video has done a fine job and fans should be extremely pleased with this release.
OVERALL: 4.5 / 5
