Le malizie di Venere

Pretty to look at with marvellous lakeside, mountain, woodland, seashore settings and not forgetting the delectable, Laura Antonelli. But that's pretty much all the plus points. The Leopold von Sacher-Masoch tale is a difficult one to get across at the best of times but the choice of lead actor is crucial and here Regis Vallee appears to not even understand his own role, let alone convey to us his feelings. It's not all his fault, the terrible jingly muzak doesn't help and nor does the slow pace. I guess it must have seemed a good idea to have voice over for passages from the book but when they are so inappropriately spoken over glossy clichéd scenes, it detracts and even, for me, denigrates the original work itself. Antonelli does her very best, ever ready to be seductive, loving, hateful and even violent but we just don't buy it. Jess Franco's movie of the same name that came out the same year is better but then it's Venus in Furs in name only! For anyone keen enough to try again with the theme, I recommend the 1994 film of the same name by Seyforth and Nieuwenhuijs.

Massimo Dallamano's adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's controversial literary work presents a visually sumptuous yet emotionally hollow exploration of obsession and psychological manipulation. The film succeeds in creating an atmosphere of decadent luxury, with rich cinematography that luxuriates in textures of fur, silk, and flesh, but struggles to find coherent emotional grounding beneath its beautiful surface.

Laura Antonelli delivers a commanding performance as the enigmatic Wanda, wielding her sexuality with calculated precision while maintaining an air of mysterious detachment. Her presence dominates every frame she occupies, transforming what could have been mere exploitation into something approaching genuine psychological complexity. Régis Vallée provides adequate support as the tormented Severin, though his portrayal occasionally feels more reactive than truly engaged with the character's deeper psychological wounds.

The production design deserves particular praise, creating environments that feel both opulent and suffocating. Dallamano's camera work lingers on details - the way light catches on velvet, the interplay of shadows across skin - building a visual language that speaks to the film's themes of voyeurism and desire. However, the pacing frequently stumbles, with moments of genuine tension interrupted by sequences that feel more concerned with aesthetic display than narrative momentum.

While the film tackles mature psychological themes with some sophistication, it never quite transcends its exploitation origins. The exploration of trauma and its manifestation in adult relationships shows promise but lacks the depth needed to make the more disturbing elements feel genuinely necessary rather than merely provocative.

This movie combined the overrated novel of Leopold Sacher-Von Masoch (who gave us the word 'masochism'), the talent of underrated Italian director Massimo Dallamano, and the physical charms of European sex diva Laura Antonelli. It has often been confused with the identically titled Jesus Franco movie released about the same time. It is not quite as good as Franco's surreal masterpiece or Dallamano's own follow-up "What Have You Done to Solange?" (which was easily better than ANY Franco movie). Still it is certainly not a waste of time and it does adhere pretty faithfully, perhaps too faithfully, to the banal source novel.

The movie tells the story of a jaded cad who meets a beautiful young woman (Antonelli) and falls in love in love with her after spying on her showering, masturbating, and having sex with strange men. The problem is that she also reminds him of a maid who relentlessly teased him as a adolescent by having sex with the butler while he watched. The woman falls in love with him, but her love quickly sours into contempt when he insists that she beat him and openly cheat on him with various men. This is one of those movies like Godard's "Contempt" or Polanski's "Bitter Moon" where you want to jump onto the screen and slap the protagonist for scorning the adulation of the kind of beautiful woman who most mortal men will never enjoy (but then this guy would probably like that).

Antonelli would go on to be one of Italy's biggest female stars after she went from taking all her clothes off in movies like this to taking all her clothes off in more arty, big-budget fare. This movie is fairly unpretentious at least. Antonelli has her hair dyed blonde and is nearly unrecognizable (at least, until she gets undressed for the first time), but her performance, though regrettably badly dubbed into English, is quite passable. Dallamano also delivers a lot of the superior visual style he would demonstrate in later films like "Solange?". Fans of "Eurotica" who want to venture beyond established auteurs like Franco, Jean Rollins, Walerian Borowzyx, and Jose Larraz would be well advised to check this one out.

This is an Italian adaption of the book of the same name. I haven't actually read the book myself, although I am very familiar with the seminal song 'Venus in Furs' by The Velvet Underground. So I had a basic idea that this story is about a sadomasochistic relationship between a couple – Severin and the 'whiplash girl-child' (Wanda). The song is of course a bona fide untouchable classic, the film somewhat less so. Nevertheless, it's still a stylish and effective slice of Eurotica.

It tells a tale about Wanda (Laura Antonelli) who is driven by her masochistic husband Severin into sexually dominating him. This entails her being blatantly unfaithful and treating him contemptuously. As time progresses he struggles with his own rules.

The movie benefits from the sure hand of director Massimo Dallamano who was responsible for two excellent later films the giallo What Have You Done to Solange? and the giallo-poliziotteschi crossover What Have They Done to your Daughters? Venus in Furs isn't in the same bracket as those but then it is a very different type of film. It's pretty playful tone-wise for the most part, with a cheerful lounge soundtrack. It also looks pretty good with some decent locations, while Antonelli is great to look at as well. It is fairly erotic with a lot of classy nudity but be warned it does also contain a pretty notorious moment where we are treated to the sight of a couple of horses banging each other. Its horses for courses if you can excuse the pun.

Overall, though, this is a pretty good erotic drama. Also it should not be confused with the Jesus Franco film of the same name, also from 1969, which is similarly impressive but has nothing whatsoever to do with the novel Venus in Furs.

I hear that this version of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's isn't faithful to the original story. Having not read the book (yet!) I can't say if that's true or not, but as a film in its own right; this version of Venus in Furs really is something special. Massimo Dallamano is best known to cult film fans for his incredible Giallo What Have They Done to Solange, as well as the less successful follow-up What Have They Done to Our Daughters, although this is a film that is a success for very different reasons. The plot focuses on a nobleman named Severin. He believes that a man is the sum of his childhood traumas; and his childhood, which involved punishments for voyeurism, has lead to him exhibiting some perverted desires. He meets the beautiful Wanda and wants their relationship to exist on a plain where he is dominated by his lover. He begins to ferry her around as her chauffeur and enjoys watching her have sex with other men...but as their relationship continues, he begins to question his own motivations.

Venus in Furs is an incredibly beautiful film. The cinematography is scintillating and this really helps to bring on the story. Lead actress Laura Antonelli is beautiful also and the director uses her and her character well. Régis Vallée is the main standout on the acting front with his understated, yet believable performance as the central perverted character. It's clear that the film relies on atmosphere more than story and the character's decisions are what drive the plot forward more than anything else. The film could easily have been turned into a low rent skin flick in the hands of a less talented director; but Dallamano clearly values his subject material and treats it in a respectful manner. The film does manage to justify the lead character's motivations and while masochism may be an alien concept to some people; the film should be fairly easy to get on with even for someone with no prior knowledge of it. However, this is not a film for everyone and if you like your films plot heavy then Venus in Furs will do nothing for you; but for me, this is a beautiful and memorable film and tracking down a copy is well worth the effort.