Marquis de Sade

This film presents a wildly inaccurate portrayal of the historical De Sade ( - even getting his name wrong ...Donatien Aldonse, not Donatien Alphonse, is the man's correct name.) And it is a shame as De Sade is a richly complex character who, when honestly examined, illuminates a time of great change in france's opinions of madness, justice, priviledge and morality. This film-maker's treatment of history resemble's that of Winston's in the correction room at the ministry of truth in Orwell's 1984. This film approches the nadir of the continuing misunderstanding of genius right along side Mickey Rourkes portrayal of Charles Bukowski as Snagglepuss the Effeminant Beatnik Lion in the otherwise enjoyable movie, Barfly. All that aside, the film does serve as an occasion for some arousing nude photography and the depiction of erotic scenes of humiliation and torture. The women used for the elegant opening credit sequence are voluptous and beautifully depicted and certainly worth the price of a rental.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film. . . it's actually an insightful film about the influences and the character of the Marquis De Sade. Dark Prince examines both the Marquis himself, and the social milieu in which he lived (France during the French Revolution). What Dark Prince reveals is that the real monster during this dark period of French history was not the Marquis himself, but the forces which fought to silence him, i.e. the aristocracy and its supporting forces (the courts and other institutions of the law). I hope I don't make this film sound too dry and analytical, cause it's quite an entertaining, albeit dark and sometimes disturbing, look at the life of the Marquis De Sade. After watching this film, you won't look at the Marquis De Sade in the same light again.

quoted as an erotic drama, i found this actually a funny film. i don't doubt it has some sort of unraveling about this famous character in history, but Nick Mancuso acts in such a way that you just can't stop to gniffle and smile. sorry to say to the people who think this is acted seriously, but he reminded me of a 18th century Al Bundy!!!

but therefore this film is guaranteed to have you hooked for it's time.

First this movie claims "Based on the true story of the notorious Marquis de Sade." but in fact is pure fiction. Do not expect any historical accuracies. While Nick Mancuso looks like he had a fun time playing the role of the Marquis, much of the cast could have used acting lessons before filming began. Still, there was not much of a role for Mr. Mancuso to play anyway. The story attempts to build but never gets off the ground. The final scene that it does build to is a complete let down. After 92 minutes I felt cheated. The only thing left for some people to watch is for a few glimpses of bare breasts, usually very brief and in dark rooms. I am just glad this movie is over and I can watch something interesting like paint drying on the wall.

This movie is not very bad tjough. But one cannot find anything new about the personality of Marquis de Sade from this movie. The movie tries to stay on the borderline between erotic and insightful and it cannot succeed at either. The cinematography is really bad (straigh-to video quality)