Naughty Girl – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1956
Director: Michel Boisrond
Writers: Roger Vadim, Michel Boisrond
Cast: Brigitte Bardot, Jean Bretonnière, Françoise Fabian, Raymond Bussières, Mischa Auer, Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, Jean Lefebvre, Darry Cowl, Bernard Lancret, Marcel Charvey, Lucien Raimbourg, Robert Rollis

Release Date: September 3rd, 2024
Approximate running time: 83 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"One-of-a-kind screen legend Brigitte Bardot (Contempt) is at her sauciest as the precocious daughter of a Parisian nightclub owner in the colorful and delightful Naughty Girl (1956). The father is accused of forgery and flees the city, entrusting her care to a playboy lounge singer whose life is soon turned upside-down by Bardot’s unforgettable CinemaScope dance routines." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Naughty Girl comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 25.7 GB

Feature: 24.9 GB

Though there is some minor source debris, overall the source is in great shape. Flesh tones look healthy, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and the image retains an organic look. For the most part, colors look very good; that said, there are a few moments where they are not as strong as they should be.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced; that said, range-wise, things sound very good. It should be noted that songs being sung are not translated.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer for Les Femmes (1 minute 59 seconds, DTS-HD mono French with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historian Samm Deighan.

Summary:

Michel Boisrond directed Naughty Girl. He is also known for Come Dance with Me!, The Man Who Was Worth Millions, and Tender Moment.

Gangsters frame Paul Latour, a nightclub owner, for a crime he didn't commit, forcing him to flee the country. Latour entrusts the care of his rambunctious teenage daughter Brigitte with the nightclub headline performer Jean Clery until he is able to clear his name and return home. Will Jean be able to handle Brigitte’s wild ways, or will he be able to tame her?

Though Brigitte Bardot had appeared in 13 films before Naughty Girl, her career didn’t really take off until she began her collaborations with Roger Vadim, who wrote Naughty Girl’s screenplay. Their collaboration began while she was married to Roger Vadim, and they continued to work for another 16 years after they divorced. After their separation, they would make three more films, including her next-to-last film, Don Juan (Or If Don Juan Were a Woman).

Though Naughty Girl has all the elements that one would expect from a romantic comedy, the result is far from a conventional take on this genre. Where more conventional romantic comedies are characters who fall in and out of love, Naughty Girl is a romantic comedy in which one character's love for another goes unnoticed until the finale. That said, it is precisely this character's unrequited love that drives the narrative.

Where Brigitte Bardot’s most celebrated films play up her sexuality, there is only one moment in Naughty Girl that falls into this category. In this scene, Brigitte Bardot, who's wearing a bikini, distracts the gardener, who proceeds to water the pool she's just jumped into. Brigitte Bardot spends most of Naughty Girl looking adorable instead of being a full-blown sexual force of nature.

Brigitte Bardot (Contempt) delivers a captivating performance that overshadows the entire group, performance-wise. For Naughty Girl, she’s given a lot to do when it comes to moments of humor, and her comedic timing is flawless. Jean Bretonnière’s portrayal of the nightclub singer is another performance of note. His character serves as the perfect comedic foil to Brigitte Bardot’s character.

Besides being a romantic comedy, Naughty Girl is filled with musical numbers in which both of its leads shine. As mentioned before, humor plays a significant role in the story that unfolds, with one of the main comedy bits revolving around the nightclub singer trying to hide Brigitte from everyone who visits his apartment. That said, some of the comedy veers into full-on slapstick, notably an absurd finale that erupts into an all-out brawl. Ultimately, Naughty Girl is a highly entertaining farce that's a must see for fans of Brigitte Bardot.

Naughty Girl  gets a strong audio/video presentation from Kino Lorber, and its main extra is an informative audio commentary track, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Please, Not Now! – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France/Italy, 1961
Director: Roger Vadim
Writers: Roger Vadim, Claude Brulé, Jean Aurel
Cast: Brigitte Bardot, Joséphine James, Mireille Darc, Edith Zetline, Michel Subor, Jacques Riberolles, Claude Brasseur

Release Date: January 2nd, 2024
Approximate running time: 89 Minutes 26 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"When Sophie, a photographer’s model (Bardot), is jilted by her boyfriend (Jacques Riberolles), she becomes convinced she is the victim of a family curse, and takes shotgun in hand to eliminate her romantic rival (Joséphine James). Meanwhile, a young bachelor (Michel Subor) attempts to defuse Sophie’s rage, and win the slightly demented blonde for himself." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Please, Not Now! comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.4 GB

Feature: 21.1 GB

The sources look excellent; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 57 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

Summary:

Directed by Roger Vadim, whose other notable films include And God Created Woman, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Blood and Roses, Barbarella, and Pretty Maids All in a Row. Please, Not Now! would mark Brigitte Bardot’s third of five collaborations with Roger Vadim, her ex-husband. Their other collaborations were And God Created Woman, The Night Heaven Fell, Love on a Pillow, and Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman.

Barbara, an American, has been having an affair with Sophie's boyfriend Philippe, leaving Sophie heartbroken when she finds out. A chance encounter introduces Sophie to Alain, with whom she quickly builds up a friendship, oblivious to the fact that Alain has fallen in love with her. When she finds out that Philippe is taking his new girlfriend to a ski resort, she convinces Alain to come along and pretend that they are in love. Will Sophie win back Philippe, or will she let the love that is right in front of her slip away?

The opening credits, which feature Sophie driving crazily around Paris, narrowly avoiding and causing a few collisions, perfectly set the tone for what follows. Please, Not Now! is a romantic comedy that has elements that are synonymous with Hollywood screwball comedies. Notably, psychical comedy like throwing a pie in someone's face, blowing up a stove, or moments that are sped up for effect.

The focal point is Brigitte Bardot (Contempt) in the role of Sophie, a scorned woman who refuses to give up on the man who left her for another woman. Though her sex appeal is on full display, it is actually moments of humor where she shines the brightest. Another performance of note is by Michel Subor (Le petit soldat), whose character Alain is the straight man that perfectly complements Brigitte Bardot's ditzy performance.

From a production standpoint, there is no area where Please, Not Now! does not excel. The briskly paced narrative ensures there is never a dull moment, and when it comes to humor, it always hits the mark. Roger Vadim’s direction is solid, and though the visuals have some inventive compositions, their ultimate strength is how they let the performances take center stage. Brigitte Bardot's memorable bath tube strip tease, where the image is diffused to cover up her naked flesh.

Roger Vadim’s relationship changed, not only personally but professionally, over the course of the five films he made with Brigitte Bardot. There is no denying the role he played in her career and how the films they made together are arguably her best films. Ultimately, despite being a standard love triangle romantic comedy, the result is a film that is elevated by Brigitte Bardot and Michel Subor’s exceptional performances.

Please, Not Now! gets a first-rate release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Barbarella – Arrow Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: France/Italy, 1968
Director: Roger Vadim
Writers: Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Claude Brulé, Vittorio Bonicelli, Clement Biddle Wood, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Jean-Claude Forest, Charles B. Griffith
Cast: Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O'Shea, Marcel Marceau, Claude Dauphin, Véronique Vendell, David Hemmings, Ugo Tognazzi, Antonio Sabato, Jean Saudray, Kitty Swan, Fabio Testi, Romolo Valli, Silvana Venturelli

Release Date: November 28th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 98 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono English, LPCM Mono French, Dolby Atmos English
Subtitles: English SDH, English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $59.95

"It is the year 40,000AD. When evil scientist Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea) creates a deadly weapon with the potential to cause mass devastation, the President of Earth dispatches Barbarella (Fonda) to hunt him down. Crash-landing in an icy wilderness somewhere within the Tau Ceti planetary system, Barbarella is rescued by Mark Hand (Ugo Tognazzi, La Cage Aux Folles) and guided by the blind angel Pygar (John Phillip Law, Danger: Diabolik) to Durand's lair in Sogo, a city of corruption and debauchery, where an encounter with the Great Tyrant Black Queen (Anita Pallenberg, Performance) and her minions throws her mission into jeopardy." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4k 16 bit at Fotokem, Burbank. Sections of an original 35mm interpositive were also scanned in 4k 16 bit to replace sections in poor condition on the original negative. The film was restored and graded in 4K SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision by Silver Salt Restoration, London."

Barbarella comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 86.8 GB

Feature: 75.8 GB

Though there are moments in Barbarella that are not going to look flawless, notably the opening and closing credits sequences and special effects moments, the bulk of this transfer looks excellent, and it has a solid encode from Fidelity in Motion. This new transfer from Arrow Video will come as a revelation to most fans of Barbarella; it is easily the best this film has ever looked on home video. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 5/5 (LPCM Mono English, LPCM Mono French, Dolby Atmos English)

This release comes with three audio options, a LPCM mono mix in English, a LPCM mono mix in French, and a Dolby Atmos mix in English. All of the audio mixes sound excellent; you can’t go wrong with any of these tracks. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise ambient sounds and the score sound appropriately robust. That said, the newly created Dolby Atmos track sounds amazing. Also, when compared to previous home video releases, the LPCM English and LPCM French tracks have never sounded better. Included are removable English SDH for the English language tracks and removable English subtitles for the French language track.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include alternative opening credits (2 minutes 21 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), alternative closing credits (1 minute 16 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), an option to listen to the isolated score, and an audio commentary with film critic Tim Lucas. 

It should be noted that these three songs, Barbarella (Main Theme), Love, Love, Love Drags Me Down, and An Angel Is Love, are silent when listening to the isolated score track. Also, another song, I Love All the Love in You, is an instrumental version, where the version in the film has vocals.

Extras on a second disc, a single-layer Blu-ray include an image gallery (83 images - stills/lobby cards), a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), US TV spot (55 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), three US radio spots (2 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a video essay titled Dino and Barbarella by Eugenio Ercolani on producer Dino De Laurentiis (14 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Fabio Testi discusses his early career as a stuntman and body double for John Phillip Law on Barbarella titled An Angel’s Body Double (24 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor/director Ricky Tognazzi discusses the life and work of his father and Barbarella star Ugo Tognazzi titled Tognazzi on Tognazzi (21 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with camera operator Roberto Girometti titled Framing for Claude (17 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with film fashion scholar Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén on Jacques Fonteray’s world-changing costume designs titled Dress to Kill (31 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an in-depth discussion between film and cultural historians Tim Lucas & Steve Bissette on the impact and legacy of Barbarella titled Love (113 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Paul Joyce’s behind the scenes featurette titled Barbarella Forever! (14 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an appreciation of Barbarella by film critic Glenn Kenny titled Another Girl, Another Planet (23 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, six double-sided collector’s postcards, a double-sided fold-out poster, and a 120-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Barbarella Psychedela written by Anne Billson, an essay titled Jean-Claude Forest’s Barbarella written by Paul Gravett, an essay titled Barbarella, Ambassador of Peace and Love written by Véronique Bergen, an essay titled Barbarella, the Unintentional Beacon of Retrofuturism written by Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén, Barbarella 1968 British Press Book, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

In the year 40,000, Barbarella (Jane Fonda) is given the assignment of tracking down a scientist named Durand Durand, who was last seen on the planet Lythion. Barbarella’s mission starts off badly when her spaceship crashes. Along the way, when she isn’t battling robots, monsters, and children, she rewards the men who help her. Will Barbarella be able to find Durand Durand and stop him from using the deadly weapon he has created, or will she lose herself in her new-found pleasures?

They don’t make films like Barbarella anymore. Its free love message and psychedelic style are both products of the late 1960s. Director Roger Vadim (Pretty Maids All in a Row) has worked with and been married to some of cinema’s most beautiful women. While making Barbarella, he was married to its star, Jane Fonda (Spirits of the Dead), and Barbarella would also serve as the last time they worked together, though they remained married for another five years. Barbarella oozes with style, as Roger Vadim creates a world that defies logic as it resembles Barbarella’s comic book source material more than real life.

Barbarella is filled with a copious amount of eye candy, and most of it comes from its leading lady, Jane Fonda, whose entrance into the opening credits is without a doubt the most erotic to grace any film opening ever. The fun doesn’t end there, as Roger Vadim concocts several scenes that are specifically designed to showcase Jane Fonda’s undeniable sex appeal. The two scenes that immediately spring to mind are when Barbarella has sex the old-fashioned way and not via a pill for the first time. And the scene where Durand Durand tortures her, and she destroys his torturing machine with her sexual desire

The cast is a who’s who of late 1960’s cinema. The entire cast is a delight to watch. David Hemmings (Deep Red) is delightfully bizarre in the role of Dildano, who is part of a secret underground movement to overthrow The Great Tyrant. Anita Pallenberg (Performance) is diabolically evil and alluring in the role of The Great Tyrant. Marcel Marceau (Shanks) gives a deliriously witty performance in the role of Professor Ping, and Milo O’Shea (Theatre of Blood) in the role of Durand Durand perfectly captures the essence of a super villain. That said, the weakest performance is by John Phillip Law (Danger: Diabolik) in the role of Pygar, a blind angel who regains his ability to fly after some arousing encouragement from Barbarella.

Barbarella's wonderfully cheesy score includes the following songs: “Barbarella”, “Drag Me Down”, “Love Theme from Barbarella” and “An Angel is Love”. All of which were composed by Charles Fox, who would later rise to fame by writing music for classic television shows like Happy Days and The Love Boat. The look of Barbarella is one of its main reasons why it works so well as a film: because of cinematographer Claude Renoir’s (Blood and Roses) impeccable lighting and photography. Ultimately, Barbarella is one of those films that never gets dull, no matter how many times you watch it, and Jane Fonda takes her clothes off.

Barbarella gets an exceptional release from Arrow Video that comes with a stunning audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Les Liaisons Dangereuses – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1959
Director: Roger Vadim
Writers: Choderlos de Laclos, Claude Brulé, Roger Vadim, Roger Vailland
Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Philipe, Annette Stroyberg, Madeleine Lambert, Jeanne Valérie, Nicolas Vogel, Boris Vian, Gillian Hills, Paquita Thomas, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Simone Renant

Release Date: November 12th, 2019
Approximate running time: 109 Minutes 22 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959), starring Jeanne Moreau (Jules and Jim) and Gérard Philipe (La Ronde), is a provocative adaptation of the classic novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Updated to present-day France by director Roger Vadim (Barbarella), the film follows Valmont (Philipe) and Juliette (Moreau) as they manipulate each other into having extra-marital affairs. Juliette points Valmont towards the 16-year-old Cécile (Jeanne Valérie), since she has eyes on Cécile’s prospective fiancé Court (Nicolas Vogel). Sex becomes sport in this deliciously backstabbing drama which notably features a score by jazz legend Thelonious Monk." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Les Liaisons Dangereuses comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.3 GB

Feature: 33 GB

Reportedly, this transfer was sourced from a 4K master created by Eclair for TF1 Films. The source used for this transfer looks excellent. Image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the grain remains intact.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. This audio track is in excellent shape; dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer ( 3 minutes 56 seconds, DTS-HD mono French with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Kat Ellinger, author and editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine.

Summary:

Directed by Roger Vadim, whose other notable films include And God Created Woman, Blood and Roses, Barbarella, and Pretty Maids All in a Row. 

The narrative revolves around a decadent couple who exploit inexperienced lovers and get a taste of their own medicine when one of them falls in love with one of their sexual conquests.

Over the years, there have been ten film adaptations of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The most notable adaptations are Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liaisons, Miloš Forman’s Valmont, and Roger Kumble’s Cruel Intentions. Seventeen years after Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Roger Vadim would direct Une femme fidèle, his second adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Though there are advantages to being the first film to adapt literature, most notably being the first visual interpretation of a literary work, there are also negatives to being the first film adaptation of a literary work. Most notably, issues related to censorship in Roger Vadim’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses fall into the latter category.

Given that Les Liaisons Dangereuses was a novel that stirred controversy from the moment it was released, it’s appropriate that Roger Vadim direct the first film adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, since he’s a filmmaker whose films garnered an ample amount of controversy.

Anyone who is remotely familiar with Les Liaisons Dangereuses or its many film adaptations should thoroughly enjoy Roger Vadim’s adaptation. And though he transposes the story to a modern setting, this does not lessen the impact of this adaptation since the elements from the novel are intact.

Performance-wise, the cast is all very good in their respective roles, especially Gérard Philipe's (The Red and the Black) exquisite portrayal of Vicomte de Valmont, a narcissistic seducer who views sex as a game. Though women are the focal point of Roger Vadim’s cinema, Gérard Philipe's performance is the heart and soul of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Other performances of note include Jeanne Moreau (The Bride Wore Black) in the role of Juliette de Merteuil, Vicomte de Valmont’s rival and lover; Jeanne Valérie (Hired Killer) in the role of Cécile Volanges, Juliette’s teenage cousin who falls prey to Vicomte’s cruel game; and Annette Stroyberg (Blood and Roses) in the role of Marianne Tourvel, a diplomat's wife who’s another one of Vicomte’s victims. At this time, Annette Stroyberg was married to Roger Vadim, and psychically, she bears many similarities to Roger Vadim’s ex-wife, Brigette Bardot.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where this adaptation does not excel. The premise is superbly realized, the narrative gives key moments an ample amount of time to resonate, and the stunning black-and-white cinematography does a great job reinforcing the mood. Standout moments include the scene where she seduces Cécile and the poetic finale where Juliette gets her comeuppance. Ultimately, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a solid adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s novel of the same name.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses gets a solid audio/video presentation from Kino Lorber that comes with an informative audio commentary, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Vice and Virtue – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France/Italy, 1963
Director: Roger Vadim
Writers: Claude Choublier, Roger Vadim, Roger Vailland
Cast: Annie Girardot, Catherine Deneuve, Robert Hossein, O.E. Hasse, Philippe Lemaire, Luciana Paluzzi, Howard Vernon

Release Date: March 17th, 2015
Approximate running time: 106 Minutes 42 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Two sisters navigate very different courses as they struggle to survive within the morally corrupt fascist regime. Juliette (Annie Girardot, The Piano Teacher) is surrounded by the spoils of war, being the mistress of a colonel (Robert Hossein). Meanwhile, Justine (Catherine Deneuve, Repulsion, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), whose husband is seized by fascists on their wedding day, is taken to a chateau in the country, where she is groomed to become a concubine for the Nazi elite." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Vice and Virtue comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.2 GB

Feature: 21.6 GB

Reportedly, this transfer is sourced from Gaumont's 2K restoration of the film. And outside of wartime documentary footage, the bulk of this transfer looks great, and any source debris is minor. Image clarity, contrast, and black levels look solid; compression is very good; and there does not appear to be any digital noise reduction.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option: a LPCM mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. This audio track is in excellent shape. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. The score sounds appropriately robust, and the ambient aspects of the soundtrack, like gunfire and explosions, are well represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 11 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles) and reversible cover art.

Summary:

Directed by Roger Vadim, whose other notable films include And God Created Woman, Blood and Roses, Barbarella, and Pretty Maids All in a Row. The screenplay for Vice and Virtue was adapted from the Marquis de Sade‘s novel Justine, ou les malheurs de la vertu.

The narrative revolves around two sisters, Justine and Juliette, whose lives take two separate paths. Justine’s life is one of virtue, while Juliette’s life is consumed by her vices.

When Roger Vadim directed Vice and Virtue, the only other feature film adaptation of the works of Marquis de Sade's at the time was Luis Buñuel’s L’Age d'Or, and by the late 1960's, there would be an onslaught of De Sade-inspired films, many of which were directed by Jesus Franco. The most notorious De Sade adaptation to date is Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.

When compared to other adaptations of the Marquis De Sade novel Justine, ou les malheurs de la vertu, Roger Vadim’s adaptation retains all the key essentials that drive Marquis De Sade’s literature. Roger Vadim's main contribution is the time period in which he set the story during the last two years of World War II, and at the beginning of Vice and Virtue, there is text from Roger Vadim explaining why he chose the setting and era in which Vice and Virtue takes place. Fortunately, one of the strengths of Marquis De Sade’s literary works is that they are not bound by any specific moment in time. Ultimately, their potency lies in the way that they effortlessly blur the lines between morality and sexuality.

The narrative for Vice and Virtue revolves around two sisters, Justine and Juliette. Juliette lives a decadent life where she is willing to do anything she has to get what and how she wants, while Justine leads a life that is the exact opposite. And though they are sisters, they are not reunited until the day after Justine’s finances were abducted by the Nazis. This is a pivotal moment in their relationship, as Juliette, whose life is in a good place, refuses to help her sister for fear that she will lose everything that she has worked for. From there, their lives do not cross over again until the final act, when Juliette, who has moved on to another lover, encounters Justine, who is being held prisoner at a castle occupied by Nazis. This time around, Juliette offers to help her sister, who no longer wants anything to do with her.

Content-wise, the scenes with the slave girls at the castle are the most Marquis de Sade-like moments. The women wear Roman-like gowns; they have no names, only the number that they have since been assigned. Also, these women’s only purpose is to satisfy their Nazi captors and their guests. Punishment for those who refuse to do what they are told is torture, and for anyone who tries to escape, they are executed and fed to dogs. It should be noted that the way in which these acts are portrayed is tame compared to other Marquis de Sade adaptations.

Visually, Roger Vadim once again does not disappoint, as every inch of every frame is exploited for maximum effect. The majority of films made during this era were shot in color. The use of black-and-white photography proves to be an inspired choice. One of the more profound moments visually is a scene where Justine, who has remained pure up until that moment, is finally thrown to the wolves. The way that Vadim photographs these moments, and more specifically, his leading ladies, is nothing short of exquisite.

Performance-wise, one would be hard-pressed to find any performances that did not rise to the occasion. And cast in the roles of the two sisters are Annie Girardot (Rocco and His Brothers) in the role of Juliette and Catherine Deneuve (Belle de Jour) in the role of Justine. If ever there was a case of flawless casting, then it would be in the case of these two actresses, who both effortlessly capture the essence of the characters they are portraying. Another notable performance is by Robert Hossein (Don Juan (Or If Don Juan Were a Woman)) in the role of SS Colonel Erik Schörndorf; it is his character that becomes Juliette’s lover after the first act of the film. Two notable cameos include Howard Vernon (The Awful Dr. Orlof) in the role of an SS official and Luciana Paluzzi (A Black Veil for Lisa) in the role of Héléna, one of the women being held captive by the Nazis. Ultimately, Vice and Virtue is a solid adaptation of the Marquis de Sade.

Vice and Virtue gets a solid audio/video presentation from Kino Lorber, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer