The Story of O

Histoire d'O (1975), known is English speaking countries as The Story of O, is still supercharged with eroticism nearly 30 years after it was made. I watched the French Region 2 PAL, and was rewarded with the cleanest version I have ever seen. There is Corinne Clery, and 7 women with appreciable exposure.

The film was banned in the UK for many years.

O is in love with Rene (Udo Kier), who takes her to a chateau to be trained as a slave. There she is whipped and abused in every imaginable way, but does it willingly out of love, and finds a good deal of pleasure there. Upon graduation, she is told that Rene is giving her to Sir Stephen (Anthony Steel), his half brother. O learns to love Sir Stephen, seduces a model, then convinces her to go through training so she can give her to Rene. Sir Stephen asks O to be branded and to wear clit rings to show that she belongs to him.

Histoire d'O (1975) day two. The reason for so much exposure in this film is partly due to the rules for the women at the chateau. They must:

Never wear underwear.
Always have their breasts exposed
Never cross their legs
Submit to any man

God needed 10 commandments, but they get the job done with only 4. Of course, all whipping is done nude. Here is a rough breakdown of the nudity.

Albane Navizet - Breasts
Christianne Minazzoli - Breasts and buns
Ewa Carson - Breasts
Jehanne Blaise - Breasts, bush and buns
Li Sellgrin - Breasts
Nadine Perles - Breasts, bush and buns
Sylvie Olivier - Closeup of her clit rings.

This region two includes a dubbed and an original French language version, optional subtitles, and two interesting shorts about the Paris Museum of Erotic Art, which appears to be well worth seeing. If you have the ability to play Region 2, this is well worth renting.

This may well be the best piece of soft core ever made.

currently available only in region 2 DVD

NUDITY REPORT

it is a softcore sex film. see main commentary

The Critics Vote

no major reviews online

The People Vote ...

With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 5.3

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My 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. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. 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, I evaluate it as a full C+, as very good softcore, but you probably need to see it on DVD for acceptable viewing quality.