Vénus impériale

The fact that there is no French review for a movie directed by the most famous old wave director speaks volumes of the ill-fated nature of the project ; more than a continous biography ,it's more a succession of little pictures ,almost sketches ;taking the biggest liberties with history (Pauline's fate is anyway just a footnote in her big brother's saga), it is now frivolous ,foot loose and fancy free, now (though seldom) dramatic :it's Delannoy's and his screenwriter Philippe Hériat 's wish,but it' Sacha Guitry's reality!So neither the old cinema de papa buffs (I'm one of them) nor (and anyway they panned everything Delannoy did,which was sometimes quite unfair)the young Turks of the notorious Nouvelle Vague got anything out of it and the amorous adventures of Pauline B are considered a bitter failure in Delannoy's native country.

Most of the precedent reviewers point out that the editing is absurd,the story incoherent , and some actors (Micheline Presles,notably) wasted.It's a lavish picture book ,with a cosmopolitan cast (French ,Italian,German and even Irish -Boyd-), but completely hollow ,with now and then ,a good idea (the statue episode,the jig saw puzzle), which does not make it a 2h15 good movie for all that.

Take the prologue in Corsica ;Pauline's early days are rather obscure;the long stroll across the country ,arm in arm , seems to be straight out from a musical ,and one can imagine Napoleon (Raymond Pellegrin,who had already played the emperor in Guitry's "Napoleon" ,by no means one of this director's best)sing to his siblings about the big plans he has made for them.Incidentally , Napo did not want Pauline to marry Freron because he was not a high born gentleman,but because he had proposed to another lady.

The Santo Domingo (against Toussaint Laverdure's rebellion) episode is a curious jumble : studio exoticism , the earnest playing of Massimo Girotti jars with the erotic swagger of Gina Lollobrigida (who was Delannoy's Esmeralda a few years back);although she played around , Pauline attended her husband till he died of yellow fever .

Except for the scenes with the sculptor (in which Gina strips bare ,but do not expect to get an eyeful ,one only sees her back),the italian vignette is insignificant .

The count (Stephen Boyd ,who was given a thoroughly ridiculous part: his tooth ,his wild ride,his death under an apple tree (!)) represents one of the many lovers of Napo's sister ;besides ,when he is introduced to her in her Paris dwelling , the woman who shows the way looks like her madam who was waiting for another man with a foreign accent.

It's true that all Napo's siblings were incapable and that Paolina (he frenchified her name when he rose to power)was his favorite ;she proved it later on when she visited him on Elbe Island and the gift of the jewels is historically accurate .

Do not get we wrong.I'm not the kind of N.V. afficionados who is anxious to put disparagement over cinema de papa ;most of the reviews I wrote about Delannoy's works are favorable ;but ,frankly,sport, here ,he proves that big budgets do not mean great achievements

IMPERIAL VENUS (1963) is an elaborate Italian-French co-production which chronicles the exploits of the sister of Napoleon Buonaparte from the time of the dictator's initial conquests to his exile on Elba. As played by Gina Lollobrigida, Paulette (later dubbed Paolina after she marries a Roman prince) is beautiful, willful, impulsive, and not a little promiscuous, yet she remains devoted to her brother through thick and thin, the only family member who doesn't abandon him in his darkest hours. It's well-acted by an international cast and engages our interest because it strips a host of larger-than-life characters down to human scale and invests the drama with passion, emotion and flawed, recognizable behavior.

The story begins in Marseille as Napoleon's immediate family--mother, siblings, uncle--are crammed into a small apartment waiting for Napoleon (Raymond Pellegrin) to return from his military victories in Italy. When he returns the group sets about behaving like a typical dysfunctional family. Mother disapproves of Napoleon's marriage to Josephine. Napoleon disapproves of the man Paulette wants to marry and effectively blocks the marriage, inciting the first of many emotional outbursts from Paulette. A pattern soon develops of arranged marriages for Paulette, beginning with General Leclerc (Massimo Girotti), who is sent to quell an uprising on Haiti and meets a tragic end, and then Prince Borghese (Guilio Bosetti) of Rome. All the while, Paulette seeks out a steady stream of affairs with other men, usually military officers. The man she finds herself attracted to early in the film, the charming and gentle Colonel Jules de Canouville (Stephen Boyd), is sent to a distant outpost by the jealous Leclerc, but turns up later on and becomes the last great love of Paulette's life, despite the fierce opposition of Napoleon.

The story travels back and forth across Europe and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, covering a 15-year period, but stays focused on Paulette and her comings and goings. The settings and costumes evoke a sense of dwellings and clothing that are lived in rather than newly created on a movie set. It helps that we see the characters doing everyday things, indulging in small pleasures and suffering pains and sorrows that normal people do. When we see Napoleon, it is usually only in relation to his sister, so the global upheavals that he instigates through his hunger for power take a back seat to the squabbles with his headstrong sibling. He sincerely loves and cares for her, but also wishes to control her. She loves her brother, but wants happiness on her own terms with whomever she wishes. It's a deeply felt but difficult relationship for both of them and it gives the film an intimacy that few historical melodramas of this type achieve.

Gina Lollobrigida was one of the most beautiful and voluptuous movie stars of her time, but was also a superb actress. She carries this production on her shoulders and takes the audience through the highs and lows, good times and hard times of a woman who rose well above her station thanks to her family connection and who never bothered to adjust her behavior to the rules and mores of the class she was thrust into. Lollobrigida conveys dissatisfaction with the strictures of life in a palace but also radiates the joy of her moments of happiness, particularly with de Canouville. She only truly develops a sense of responsibility when faced with great adversity as when her husband, General Leclerc, is under siege in Haiti. She displays no fear, but rises to the occasion, visiting wounded soldiers and fever victims in the island hospital, raising the morale of the other French ladies by holding dance classes, and seeking out her husband at the fort he is defending in his hour of need.

It's a good-looking Technicolor film with locations throughout Europe and well-appointed, but not ostentatious, sets created at Cinecitta Studios in Rome. The ladies are dressed in an impressive array of attractive gowns that look authentic and not overly showy. The poignant music score by celebrated Italian composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino veils the proceedings with a sad, romantic aura.

The VHS tape screened for this review contains the American television version of the film which runs 121 minutes, 19 minutes shorter than the 140-minute running time that IMDb lists. As a result, the action cuts rapidly from one section of the story to the next, sometimes jumping ahead several years without any appropriate transitions. It was filmed in English, although all the dialogue is post-dubbed, with the English-speaking performers in the cast, including Lollobrigida, dubbing their own lines. The widescreen compositions suffer from the full-screen presentation on the tape viewed. A letter-boxed DVD transfer of a restored print would be a real treat for fans of historical dramas and Italian epics of the 1960s. Unfortunately, such a seemingly old-fashioned genre has yet to find the favor among younger film buffs that other notable Italian genres of the era (sword & sandal, horror, westerns) have at this time.

This is not great historical drama. Rather it is a vehicle for very beautiful movie star. Like many films of this era, it focused on selling sex as love, not a great message for young women of the era. That being said, this is Great movie for Stephen Boyd fans. He is just beyond perfect and oh so seductive. If you love, love, love Stephen Boyd, this is a must see film; although sadly, his screen time is limited.

The correlations between this movie and "Queen Margot" are unmistakable. Yet these are different historic episodes with related themes. The royal princess figure who makes sexual conquests and in the thick of it all, remains faithful to virtues outside the bedroom. This film skips over the exciting parts, focusing on bedroom scenes and non action sequences. The action sequences are merely explained, or brought into being without being shown. For instance, the battle scenes are never shown, but the death and destruction that follows is filmed. There are a few shots of carnage after the battle is over. This does make for some boring cinema, but directors want to keep under budget, and battle scenes are costly. However, the action could easily have been implied in a more passionate way, and more carnage scenes would have helped move the movie along. Napoleon's sister, who is the "Imperial Venus" here, is a reasonably likable character, and lets not forget how beautiful the legendary actress is, so she does bear watching. The affairs are usually with handsome men, which makes it hard to relate to with sexually active American women of today, who instead prefer homelier guys they think they can use and have power over. Still, it is amusing to see Stephen Boyd's smirkish face as he romps through this film. All the actors do a fine job, which is all that keeps this film from severe boredom. Not an exciting movie, but there are a variety of characters well portrayed. Could be a movie to watch with a romantic interest.

I saw VENERE IMPERIALE when it first came out, in its Italian version, in its full-length, glorious cinematography, and I must say that most reviewers have missed the point in evaluating the film. This is a great epic on the life of a woman legendary for her beauty and love affairs. While many scenes are perhaps too static, resembling scenes from an historical frieze, others have adequate tone, pace and atmosphere, do projecting a real feel for the times and people depicted. I never thought the film was overlong when I saw it, but it is obvious it could have used better editing, a faster pace in some places. Nothing wrong with the art direction and the use of location for the external scenes. If anything, I would have entrusted the screenplay to Jacques Prévert and Jean Aurenche, who did such an outstanding job in NOTRE DAME DE Paris, instead of using five writers as Delannoy did. Too many people, perhaps too many hands involved. Delannoy loved Gina Lollobrigida, and directed her well. I never understood the negative criticisms directed at Lollobrigida as an actress. Those who pan her performance in this film should have a good look at Sophia Loren's in MADAME SANS-GÊNE. That's mediocrity for you. Gina at least was beautiful to look at, and possessed true star quality. One regret, though: why use Micheline Presle so sparingly? She was so wonderful a presence and deserved far more screen time than was given here.