Barba Azul

This movie was basically awesome: consistently statuesque women, exquisite castles, campy acting, ridiculous script, plenty of nudity, six murders, Richard Burton, and a pervasive, Euro-style charm that made even the sleaziest moments really fun and laughable. We ended up getting this as a Sybil Danning/Raquel Welch fan, and were really blown over by the film's consistent campiness and general Eurosleaze greatness. As far as Eurotrash goes, "Bluebeard" is double platinum. This was a really big budget production, and a lot of money went into the art direction. That said, expect great looking costumes and sets, which often rival the women as overall cinematic eye candy. I have to mention the ladies again, because they are stunning. Listen to this cast: Raquel Welch, Sybil Danning, Joey Heatherton, Virna Lisi, Nathalie Delon, Karin Schubert...."Bluebeard" plays out like a virtual "Whos Who" of A-list 1970's bombshells. Anyway, the script is ludicrous and silly, as is Joey Heatherton's performance as the female lead, but Richard Burton does a terrific job holding everything together. Raquel Welch plays one of the murdered wives, (and a nun to boot), and she's in the film for about 10-min. Sybil Danning plays a prostitute, and she has a pretty dank lesbian scene, but her screen time is similarly brief. The film's mystery elements are pretty predictable, but the whole affair is campy and attractive enough for it not to matter much. It is a bit long, and there is a tasteless hunting scene where a range of animals are shot, but I can't discount how fun most of this was. A Eurosleaze classic. ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet

This film has a lot of neat ideas, some beautiful women, and Burton as world-weary Baron with a campy, phony, middle-European accent. The script is clever and the sets are lavish, with Bluebeard's estate evoking E. A. Poe's Prince Prospero's: a different color dominating each separate room.

Only Dmytryk fails as a director. The material frankly begs for someone like a Roger Vadim or even Roger Corman. BLUEBEARD should have been more fun, more intelligent than the Vincent Price movies of the time (such as THEATRE OF BLOOD) or even those of Roger Vadim (such as PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW), and yet it isn't. The script demands macabre humor and erotica, and Dmytryk couldn't deliver either, even in his heyday (and this film was made at the end of his slow, sad artistic decline).

However, I personally enjoy this movie more for what it could have been than what it is. Unlike Chaplin's MONSUIER VERDOUX, and other "Bluebeard" movies directed by various people (from Edgar G. Ulmer to Claude Chabral) this is one film not inspired by the true story of Landru. It much more hearkens back to the original Perrault fairytale, only done in the modern times with Burton's Bluebeard as a proto-Nazi. It's not a bad idea for a film, but someone more hip, with more energy, was needed to pull it off.

Enjoyable, campy fun featuring a number of beautiful women, most of whom go nude, a seductive score by Ennio Morricone, good old fashioned direction from Edward Dmytryk that stresses atmosphere and setting, and that uses the flashback structure to good effect. Burton is an amusing Bluebeard and he's a lot more enjoyable here than he was in The ExorcistII(77), and Joey Heatherton who worked with Dmytryk in Where Love Has Gone(64)is well cast as the only American and the film's only likable character. Though Heatherton's look is not period, her charm and appeal to Burton's Bluebeard is believable, especially since most of Bluebeard's other wives are depicted somewhat unflatteringly. Though the film's treatment and attitude towards women is largely exploitive, and the film could be better paced, it's nonetheless diverting trash and thanks to a clever ad campaign and trailer it was a hit when released in theaters in 1972. The theatrical trailer is featured on Anchor Bay's DVD.

Tis is a soporific remake titled ¨Bluebeard¨(1972) by Edward Dmytryck with the great star Richard Burton as a German Baron noted for his blue-toned beard . Big-budgeted as well as mediocre picture upon a known personage who knocks off series of beautiful women . A World War I pilot Kurt Von Sepper (Richard Burton) whom everybody envies as a "ladykiller" actually is one - after he beds the women he's after, he murders them . As he contacts European women , he seduces and eventually kills them in order to carry out his dark purports . His latest wife is an American beauty named Anne (Joey Heatherton) ; later on , Bluebeard explains to Anne that he found an easier alternative to divorce when he grew bored with his former spouses . Among those getting the ending curtain call from "bluebeard" (is a type of serial killer ; specifically, it is a man who murders his wives or lovers , this type is named after the fictional "Bluebeard") are Rachel Welch , Natahalie Delon , Virna Lisi , Karin Schubert and Agostina Belli .

This murder/drama is based on lady killer Henry-Denise Landru who seduced and murdered several women . The flick narrated by means of flashbacks , being realized in luxurious style ; it packs irony , drama , nudism , chills , suspense , kitsch situations and a lot of killings . Average acting by Richard Burton as an aristocrat who has a psychopatic urge to strangle gorgeous women . Exceptional group of European and American actresses , topbilled second after Richard Burton, Raquel Welch only has a little more than 8 minute screening time of this two hour long film . The speaking voices of almost all the European actresses in the film were re-voiced by Annie Ross . Enjoyable musical score by the great Ennio Morricone , including a sensitive and thrilling leitmotiv . Colorful as well as evocative Cinematography by Gabor Pogany . The motion picture was regularly directed by Edward Dmytryck and considered to be one of his worst movies . Filmmaker Edward , better known for overtly personal movies such as The Caine Mutiny was a craftsman whose career resulted to be interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ among others.

Other films dealing with this known character , Henry ¨Bluebeard¨ Landru , -who was really father of various children, disposed and married 11 wives and killed them in order to feed his little family , being subsequently beheaded- , are the followings : ¨Bluebeard¨ (1901) by George Melies ; ¨Bluebeard¨ (1944) by Edgar G Ulmer with John Carradine , Jean Parker , Nils Asther ; ¨Monsieur Verdoux¨ (1947) with Charles Chaplin and Martha Ryer ; ¨Bluebeard's 10 honeymoon¨ by W.L. Wilder with George Sanders , Patricia Roc and Corinne Calvet ; ¨Bluebeard¨(1963) by Claude Chabrol with Charles Denner , Stephane Audran , Danielle Darrieux , Michele Morgan and Hildegarde Neff ; and ¨¨Bluebeard¨(2009) by Catherine Breillat with Dominique Thomas and Lola Creton .

Forgive the 10 minutes or so of Richard Burton's (thankfully) sporadic organ playing. Instead, appreciate the plot (yes, this movie actually has one), dialog (especially the fast flying quips between the LUSCIOUS Joey Heatherton and Burton), acting (rather subdued for an Italian production), and production values of this rather well made film. There is no embarrassing zooming in and out with the camera, no corny sudden bursts of melodramatic music and barely any footage thst should have wound up on the cutting room floor. The women are portrayed across a broad spectrum: Strong willed, weak willed, not so bright and intelligent. Heatherton's attempt at analyzing Burton in order to stay alive is clever and well played out and the film has the usual ironic Italian ending.