Le malizie di Venere

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.

The 1969 "Venere in pelliccia" could have been Laura Antonelli's big break, had it been released in Italy. It would have predated "Malizia" by four years, but due to censorship problems, it came out in other European markets only. Finally, in 1975, in Italy as well – but in a heavily edited and changed version. More on that later.

The lake Tegernsee in Upper Bavaria: Writer Severin's leisure is interrupted when the gorgeous model Wanda arrives at his hotel. He can spy on her through the wooden wall between their rooms, and quickly falls in love with her. After a rather old-school advance, they get together. Severin then discloses his sexual fantasies: In his view a man is defined by his childhood experiences and traumas. For him, this means he has to suffer in a relationship, both physically and mentally. Wanda on the other hand is used to cheat on her partners, but she falls in love with Severin and agrees to play along in his games. This means for her to have sexual encounters with other men, enforced and watched by Severin. But after a couple of weeks, during their honeymoon in Spain, Wanda is sick of it and the relationship spirals downwards into disaster…

This may sound very plot- and dialog- driven, but it actually isn't. Characterisation and motivations are explained very quickly and mostly through thoughts (in voice-overs). It's up to the viewer to interpret the rest, although there are instances where this doesn't work out completely. Especially regarding Wanda's actions I was not convinced throughout. At one point she is obviously sick of it all, beats Severin down and we see him hurt and bruised. But in the next scene, the bruises are gone (some time must have passed) and they are back in their role playing. Why would she stay with him after that, given that she is a nymphomanic, self-confident dream girl and can do whatever she wants? But maybe that's just me who can't see that, as said, it's up to the respective viewer. A little bit of explanation would have helped, especially since this is a rather short film, not reaching the 90 minutes mark.

Problems like these are easily forgiven, as this is a fantastic film to watch. The visuals are incredibly well- made, every single scene is shot perfectly. The locations are beautiful, too, especially the lake and meadows of the first half. The score supports the plot perfectly. A fascinating mix of 60ies lounge-piano and wild, psychedelic flower-power feel.

And oh boy, this movie is hot. Incredibly hot. For the time of production, it goes surprisingly far, but this is still the time when you couldn't show all and had to be creative. The amount of nudity (including full frontal) and sex scenes performed by Laura Antonelli is absolutely incredible, and the director and camera knew what they were doing. Tasteful and absolutely arousing.

Speaking of the actors, Régis Vallée performs decently and is convincing, although he may seem a little bit too passive towards the end of the film. Laura on the other hand puts her heart and soul into her role. She steals most of the scenes with Vallée, and definitely not just for appearances.

Now let's speak of the Italian version of 1975. You can see by the way it was made that the censors have had problems with two things: The sado-masochistic aspect of Severin wanting to suffer, and some of the sex scenes were too explicit. So they brought in Vallée to shoot a background story: Severin is in jail (and later in court), being accused of the murder of that guy Bruno (they shot some extra scenes with that actor, too). Severin tells the story of his relationship to Wanda and how it could come to the murder. It is terribly boring. The 1969 scenes are arranged differently (mixing Bavaria and Spain scenes at random), and strongly edited. The voice-overs, all the "suffering" dialogs, all gone. It's not true the sex scenes were all cut, many are completely intact. Others were shortened, for the scene at the lake, when Severin satisfies Wanda orally, they even added a filter on the right side of the picture in order to cloak what's going on. And the horse sex scene is gone, too, luckily. The film was re-dubbed completely and shows Severin as a normal guy who falls for Wanda, who is the one to openly cheat on him and cause them to break up which leads to the murder. Anyway, the 1975 one is a total waste of time and should you decide to watch it, you should do it before you watch the 1969 version.

Overall, this is a very good film and an absolute must-see for fans of Laura Antonelli (although I didn't like her dyed hair and the strong make-up too much). The sexual liberality is surprising, sometimes shocking, clearly the film was way ahead of the times. Superb cinematography and soundtrack, convincing actors and a controversial subject – but go for the 1969 version please.

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.

If the sight of a big floppy horse's dobber dribbling spunk isn't enough to convince you that by this point Italian cinema had discarded restraint and headed off for 'pushing boundaries' territory, then I don't know what will. Except maybe the other bits of this film that don't involve horse porn.

Severin is some sort of messed up guy who can't get over the time he was spying on a maid doing the nasty with some guy, getting caught, getting slapped around, and then being held between the maid's boobs (I'm not sure if that part was strictly legal in 2017). Now an all grown up messed up pervert, he finds himself spying on attractive model Wanda, who likes to dress up in furs and do a bit of invisible banjo playing - and she knows Severin is watching!

Eventually these two hook up and Severin wants Wanda to sleep with other guys in front of him and beat him up and all sorts of crap and at first Wanda seems to think this is the ultimate freedom until she starts getting second thoughts (right about the time Severin gives her a letter that would serve as an alibi should Severin end up dead during their crazy sex games!).

But is she really fed up or is her rage and beatings part of some elaborate game? And what about the lesbian house maids? Or the bizarre fantasies of Severin. Or the last ten minutes? No really? What was that all about? Was it her or some other chick?

If you like boobs, pubes, short-changed dudes and lesbian interludes you'll like this one I guess. I can't believe I actually paid money for this! Or an HMV voucher - something like that.

This potentially interesting film falls flat mainly due to a VERY leisurely pace that sucks the life out of the movie. Instead, we are left with a somewhat kinky, rarely entertaining movie that probably could have been much better with a few adjustments. This film may prove to be of some interest to those who have seen other films named "Venus In Furs", and it is a pleasant distraction for fans of the gorgeous Laura Antonelli, but it would prove to be of little interest to anyone else.