This tale of a woman who becomes a willing slave to the men she loves was banned in the UK for 25 years though it’s debatable these days as to what’s more shocking – Corinne Cléry’s sexual subservience or Udo Kier’s flared Cerruti trousers.
Dramatising the controversial sadomasochistic novel by Pauline Réage, Emmanuelle director Just Jaeckin takes a dreamy, soft-focus, shampoo commercial approach to the sexual content, though it remains eye-opening.
The addition of then-fashionable feminism – by withstanding all the pain and humiliation her lovers dish out, O proves herself stronger than they are – barely excuses the exploitative tableaux.
However, Jaeckin’s often unintentionally funny erotic epic stands as a 1970s landmark that blurred the soft- and hard-core imagery of its “anything goes” era.
The Story of O makes Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) look like a romantic fairytale.
O, a photographer
Corinne Cléry René
Udo Kier Sir Stephen H
Anthony Steel Pierre, O’s valet
Jean Gaven Anne-Marie
Christiane Minazzoli Thérèse
Martine Kelly Master I
Henri Piégay Eric, Master III
Jean-Pierre Andréani Master lV
Gabriel Briand Monique
Eva Carson Jeanne
Nadine Perles Andree
Albane Navizet Yvonne
Florence Cayrol Claire
Sylvie Olivier The Commander
Gabriel Cattand
Director
Just Jaeckin
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The addition of then-fashionable feminism – by withstanding all the pain and humiliation her lovers dish out, O proves herself stronger than they are – barely excuses the exploitative tableaux.
Sir Stephen H
