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Romina Power,
Romina Power,
Maria Rohm,
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Jesus Franco,
Jesus Franco
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Blue Underground
: Foreign, Costume Drama/Period Piece, Spain, S/M, Erotica
: 124 min.
: English, French
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One of cult director Jesus Franco's most popular films, this uneven adaptation of the Marquis de Sade's notorious Justine stars Romina Power, daughter of actor Tyrone Power, in the title role. Justine and her sister Juliet (Maria Rohm) are poor orphans in 1700s France forced to leave school and find a way to survive in Paris. Juliet soon becomes a prostitute, while Justine is employed as a maid by Scrooge-like innkeeper Mssr. de Harpin (Akim Tamiroff). Eventually, Justine is falsely arrested for stealing a brooch and sentenced to death. Escaping prison with the murderous Mme. Dubois (Mercedes McCambridge), Justine becomes a fugitive. In her efforts to hide from the law, Justine finds herself captured first by a perverse gay Marquis (Klaus Kinski), who subjects her to various tortures, then by a group of sadistic monks led by Brother Antonin (Jack Palance in an amazingly bizarre performance). Rosemary Dexter was originally intended to portray Justine, and might have done a better job than the wooden Power, but appears only briefly in a lesser role. Heavily censored, various prints run 120, 105, 93, and 90 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Special Features:
- The Perils and Pleasures of Justine - Interviews with Co-Writer / Director Jess Franco and Producer Harry Alan Towers
- French Theatrical Trailer
- Poster & Still Gallery
- Jess Franco Bio
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| wasted space in the rental queue
by PGalloway
June 4, 2003 - 9:58 AM PDT
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11 out of 13 members found this review helpful
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Let's get one thing straight, I actually like schlocky films. They're like fondue: big fat flaming balls of cheese that you can't stop eating even as you say "this is really bad for me." That's what makes them fun. Doctor Phibes, Christopher Lee's Dracula movies, Hammer films galore; love them all. I couldn't watch this movie. Tedious, pretentious, and worse yet, it totally failed to capture the spirit of De Sade's work. Romina Power has all the acting skills of an Ikea bookshelf, her primary skill being to allow light to reflect off of her. Palance chews scenery, as usual, and perhaps with greater gusto than commonly seen: perhaps it was the nudity. Klaus Kinski is actually the best thing in the movie, the few minutes of his pensive wanderings around the cell in utter silence captures the feeling of being trapped that attempting to watch this movie produces. If there was a negative rating, this movie would get one. My advice, read the book: infinitely more entertaining, much more humorous, and you won't have to watch Romina Power try on her one of two facial expressions.
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.55)
77 Votes
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