Striptease

This lushly filmed melodrama is somewhat of a lost movie; unless you can find the ancient VHS tape from the elusive "Mogul" label, you simply will not be able to experience this beautiful and intelligently written film, featuring an impressive cast. Corrine Clery once again ignites the screen with that stunning body of hers, as prominently featured here as it was in "The Story of O" from two years prior. "Insanity!" however, is a more serious production, and it is actually not an "exploitation" film, despite the enormous amount of nudity on display.. Clery plays Anna, a successful actress who walks away from her career while she is at the top of her game. She is hiding from the world, and working as a glamorous exotic dancer in a local nightclub in the Canary Islands. One night she is spotted by Alan, played by the always excellent Terrance Stamp, who becomes fascinated with the beautiful Anna when he catches her sexy nightclub act. Alan recognizes Anna from her films, and feels like there is a story there, and as a washed up film director himself, she could be the inspiration he needs to launch a career comeback. Filmed as a kind of "movie within a movie," Alan invites Anna to live with him, and she begins to share her story of a tragic romance that came to a life altering end, that caused her to retreat from the world. We see Anna's story in flashbacks; Anna in Paris, with her young love, a relationship that goes bad when Anna experiences a miscarriage after her lover winds up in prison. It's all very melodramatic, with scenes of the Eiffel Tower and romantic walks through the streets of Paris, highlighted by the beautiful Francis Lai score..Of course when Paul's wife (the stunning Pilar Velazquez) arrives home from a trip, in her blue Ferrari, and finds a nude Corrine Clery shacking up in HER house, with HER man, whom she is supporting financially, she is not at all pleased. In the end, she calls upon "Daddy" to the Canary Islands to take care of the situation. Daddy turns out to be the one and only Fernando Rey, in one of his typical "dirty old rich man" portrayals, (Luis Bunuel's "Tristana") who pulls up in his Rolls Royce, with his teenage girlfriend on his arm, ready to take Anna out of the picture, leaving the playing field open for his spoiled bitch daughter. Anna turns down his offer of wealth and a place in elite society, in one of the most powerful scenes in the movie..she basically calls him a slimy pig! At the heart of the story is one man's search for the humanity that he has lost with his youth, a humanity that can only be regained through his connection with the young, and still idealistic Anna.. How this gem has not been rediscovered and restored for a bluray release, is a mystery, as it has so much going for it, such as the dream cast of cult film favorites, the abundant nudity, and beautiful Francis Lai score, and the stunning location photography. Until that time comes, that old VHS tape from Mogul can be had, for around 100 bucks...

This 1970's French/UK flick shares its title with a later Demi Moore film. It's not really any better, but it's far less annoying than the later film. A jaded film director (Terence Stamp) is "re-inspired" after he catches the act of a beautiful stripper (Corrine Clery), who was once a successful actress, but left the profession for personal reasons. He ends up casting her in a new project, but their not-so-platonic personal relationship creates friction between him and his fiancée (Pilar Velazques)and also her wealthy father, who is one of his producers.

This movie has a couple things going for it. Terence Stamp is always at least as good as, and usually much better than, the films he appears in. This is no exception. Then there's Corrine Clery (pant! drool! slobber!) who, just as she did in her first film "The Story of O", spends half her screen time either stripping or stripped (for better or worse though, she doesn't get tied up and/or whipped here like in the earlier movie). Clery would actually turn out to be a pretty decent actress, later appearing in the excellent Italian film "Hitch-Hike" and as a Bond girl (albeit in "Moonraker", one of the lesser Bond films). She's certainly not bad here (and far, far less irritating than Demi Moore).

Unfortunately, with the exception of Fellini's "8 and 1/2" and Truffaut's "Day for Night", these reflexive films about the lives of filmmakers are never very good. And the end of this one is ridiculously, even laughably, melodramatic. It's better than the Demi Moore movie "Striptease", but don't necessarily take that a recommendation.

In this movie, Terence Stamp plays a film director who has scored a tremendous hit with his first film. But after that early success he finds himself depressed and lacking in ideas for a new project. Since the film was made during a low point in his own career, it is possible to imagine that Mr.Stamp found some resonance in the character he plays to himself and his own career. Certainly, fans can amuse themselves by spotting (presumably, unintentional) self-references in the dialogue to movie-making and the state of mind of those who make them. Corinne Clery, in one of her earliest roles, does a fine job playing an out of work actress who sparks Stamp's imagination.

It's a long way from being a masterpiece but it will maintain the interest of its stars' fans if not of a wider audience.