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Immoral Tales – Arrow Academy (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1974
Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Writer: Walerian Borowczyk
Cast: Lise Danvers, Fabrice Luchini, Charlotte Alexandra, Paloma Picasso, Pascale Christophe, Florence Bellamy, Jacopo Berinizi, Lorenzo Berinizi, Philippe Desboeuf, Marie Forså, Sirpa Lane

Release Date: September 8th, 2014
Approximate Running Times: 103 Minutes 8 Seconds (Theatrical Version), 125 Minutes 25 Seconds (Uncut Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono French (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region B (Blu-ray)/Region 2 PAL (DVD)
Retail Price: OOP

"Walerian Borowczyk's first explicitly erotic feature, Immoral Tales presents a veritable cavalcade of depravity: cosmic fellatio, transcendental masturbation, blood-drenched lesbianism and papal incest. It tells four stories, each delving back further in time, as if to suggest that the same issues recur constantly throughout human civilization, whether involving notorious historical figures like Lucrezia Borgia and Erzsébet Báthory, or present-day teenagers. Capitalising on the relaxation of censorship laws, Immoral Tales would transform Borowczyk's image from brilliant but obscure avant-garde artist to one of Europe's most confrontational filmmakers when it came to trampling on sexual taboos." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The master was produced by Argos Films. This film was transferred and restored from the 35mm Interpositive, and the Thérèse Philosphe sequence was transferred from a 35mm low contrast print made from the 16mm reversal original element. The picture was graded and restored in High Definition. All work was carried out at Scanlab under the supervision of Isabelle Raindre of Argos Films."

Immoral Tales comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.2 GB

Feature: 34.2 GB (Uncut Version), 28.1 GB (Theatrical Version)

The sources used for these two versions are in great shape, and any remaining debris or imperfections are minor. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, contrast looks very good, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. Though these transfers are not as strong as the other films released by Arrow Academy, they are still easily the best they have ever looked on home video. Also, this release uses seamless branching for the two versions.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in French with a removable English subtitle. The audio is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; and ambient sounds are well represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 20 seconds, LPCM mono with French text, no subtitles), an introduction to the film by Daniel Bird (5 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a segment where several Walerian Borowczyk collaborators get together and discuss him titled Boro Brunch: Crew Reunion (7 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a featurette titled Love Reveals Itself: Making Immoral Tales (16 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles) with comments from producer Dominique Duvergé-Ségrétin and camera assistant/cinematographer Noël Véry, two versions of a documentary about erotic artifacts titled A Private Collection (12 minutes 12 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), and A Private Collection: Oberhausen Cut (14 minutes 31 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), an alternate version of Immoral Tales titled Immoral Tales: L’Age d’Or Cut (125 minutes 25 seconds, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), reversible cover art, and a 28-page booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled A Plate Full of Cucumbers written by Daniel Bird, Contemporary Reviews, an essay titled Immoral Tales written by Phillip Strick, an essay titled A Private Collection written by Michael Brooke, and information about the restorations. The alternate version titled Immoral Tales: L’Age d’Or Cut includes the segment titled The True Story of the Beast of Gevaudan.

Included with this release is a DVD that has the same content as the Blu-ray included as part of this combo release.

Summary:

Directed by Walerian Borowczyk, an animator turned provocative filmmaker whose notable films include Goto, Isle of Love, Blanche, The Beast, Story of Sin, and The Margin.

There are four (five if you include The True Story of the Beast of Gevaudan) that make up the narrative for Immoral Tales. Also, each of these tales is set in a different time period, starting with the modern day and working its way back to the fifteenth century.

Though Walerian Borowczyk’s films have always dealt with provocative subject matter, Immoral Tales, at that moment in his career, was by far and away his most graphic in regards to its depiction of sexuality.

The Tide: A young man takes his cousin to a private beach, and once they have arrived, he uses the tide to teach his inexperienced cousin the pleasures of oral sex.

Thérèse Philosphe: To curb her sexual desires, a woman is locked in a room, and once inside, she lets her mind run wild as she uses the various objects in the room to satisfy her unfulfilled sexual desires.

The True Story of the Beast of Gevaudan: One day, while strolling through the woods, a woman comes face-to-face with a beast who devours her sexually instead of killing her.

Erzsebet Bathory: In order to retain her beauty, a countess rounds up virgins and bathes in their blood.

Lucrezia Borgia: Unable to conceive a child due to her husband’s impotence, a young woman enlists the help of her father, the pope, and her brother, a cardinal, who help in her quest to have a child.

From a visual standpoint, all of these sequences are impeccable shots, and the production design on each is astounding. Every frame has been composed with the utmost care and for maximum effect. A few of the standout moments include the moment when the tie arrives and the characters in the first story simultaneously reach climax. Another exquisite moment is the scene in the fourth story where Erzsebet Bathory bathes and caresses her flesh with the virgins’ blood. Of course, the short titled The True Story of the Beast of Gevaudan is a visual feast for the eyes that has to be seen to be believed. And this sequence would later be expanded into Walerian Borowczyk’s next feature, The Beast, with the footage that comprises the short serving as a dream sequence in the feature film.

The subject matter in these sequences leans heavily towards the taboo, as two of them deal with incest, another involves the aforementioned beast who fornicates with a woman, and another involves mass murder. Not surprisingly, the second short Thérèse Philosphe involving the young woman pleasuring herself is the weakest of these five tales. Without giving too much away, it does end with an ironic twist. While the opening The Tide and closing segment, Lucrezia Borgia, would be neck and neck for the strongest out of these stories, With that being said, the best performances come from the remaining two stories: Paloma Picasso in the role of Elisabeth Bathory (her one and only screen appearance) and Sirpa Lane (Beast in Space), who portrays the object of desire in the story titled The True Story of the Beast of Gevaudan.

Immoral Tales gets a solid release from Arrow Academy, highly recommended.

Note: The U.S. release by Arrow Academy is still in print.