Lady Libertine (1983) from Tuna

Lady Libertine (1984) is the long awaited DVD issue of "Frank and I," an erotic film based on the anonymously penned Victorian novel of the same name. It is an example of 1980s "couples erotica," originally shot in Europe for late night American cable showings on the Playboy Channel. It is most notable for the court battles it inspired. Supporting actress Sophie Favier became a respectable TV presenter in France after she made this film, and she sued to prevent it from being re-released. She lost the case, so we now have a chance to see Private Screening's remastered and uncut DVD.

Christopher Pearson plays a 19th century gentleman who sees a young lad walking in the middle of nowhere, clearly with no means of support. The squire brings young Frank home, takes a liking to him, and is about to put him a proper boarding school and turn him into a gentleman, when the need arises to cane him. The resultant body exposure reveals that Frank is actually Frances (Jennifer Inch). This changes everything, and it doesn't take long until they are intimate. Needless to say, this puts a strain on Pearson's relationship with his city girlfriend (Sophie Favier). He finally convinces his girlfriend to take charge of educating Frances and turning her into a lady. Meanwhile, he hears the girl's complete story, including the punishment she received in a whorehouse because she was not willing to prostitute herself.

If this is your kind of material, you will not be disappointed. This film captures the spirit of Victorian era pornography and presents lovely women completely naked and being naughty, including a famous game show host. It even adds spanking, caning and whipping for fetish fans, all in an immaculate and unexpurgated transfer.

   

DVD INFO

  • no widescreen

  • no extra features

  • remastered, uncut transfer

 

NUDITY REPORT

Sophie Favier shows everything in two sex scenes that she would love to forget.

Jennifer Inch shows everything throughout the film
DVD Book

The Critics Vote ...

  • No major reviews online

 

The People Vote ...

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this is a C+ on our scale, since it is a must-see for genre fans.

Return to the Movie House home page