Pierre Louys Movies

In this early '80s semi-erotic adventure set in pre-WW I times, an arms dealer decides to recreate the essence of Aphrodite (Pierre Louy's 1896 classic of erotic literature) by inviting guests to a Mediterranean island for a 3-day fun and frolic fest. What ensues are scenes a-plenty depicting various degrees of sexual expression that would certainly be considered quite mild by later film standards. ~ Rovi

Adapted from Pierre Louys' 1898 novel La Femme et le Pantin, That Obscure Object of Desire is the 30th and final film from the great Luis Buñuel. Recounted in flashback to a group of railway travellers, the story wryly details the romantic perils of Mathieu (Buñuel favorite Fernando Rey), a wealthy, middle-aged French sophisticate who falls desperately in love with his 19-year-old former chambermaid Conchita. Thus begins a surreal game of sexual cat-and-mouse, with Mathieu obsessively attempting to win the girl's affections as she manipulates his carnal desires, each vying to gain absolute control of the other. Brimming with the subversive wit which characterizes all of Buñuel's finest work, That Obscure Object of Desire takes satiric aim at a decadent, decaying society riddled by political unrest and moral bankruptcy. The picture is absurdist even in its casting -- Rey's dialogue was dubbed by the French actor Michel Piccoli, while the two-faced, hot-and-cold Conchita is played, logically enough, by two different actresses (Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina, respectively), with the character's dialogue spoken by yet a third performer. The same Louys novel was also filmed by Josef von Sternberg in 1935 as the Marlene Dietrich vehicle The Devil Is a Woman, and again in 1959 as Julien Duvivier's La Femme et le Pantin, starring Brigitte Bardot. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Director Josef Von Sternberg and his greatest discovery, Marlene Dietrich, worked together for the last time on this historical melodrama, which was a notorious and controversial box-office flop in its day. Antonio Galvan (Cesar Romero), a young military officer, meets a mysterious and alluring woman named Concha Perez (Dietrich) and soon falls under her seductive spell. Antonio excitedly confesses his love for Concha to his friend Don Pasqual (Lionel Atwill), an older and higher-ranking officer. Pasqual is horrified when he learns of Antonio's infatuation; years ago, he met Concha, and it was the start of a long and disastrous relationship in which the cold-hearted woman would repeatedly lure him into her romantic web, drain him of his wealth, and then leave him for wealthier prospects elsewhere. While he has learned the hard way, Pasqual has never been able to cure himself of his addiction to Concha's charms, and when he encounters Concha with Antonio at a boisterous street festival, Pasqual is overcome with jealousy and challenges Antonio to a duel for Concha's affections. Shortly after The Devil Is a Woman's unsuccessful initial release, the United States State Department and the Spanish government both tendered objections to Paramount Pictures about what they felt were insulting depictions of the Spanish people and their leadership. Paramount pulled the film from circulation, and it was thought to be lost for some time until Dietrich provided a print from her personal collection for a Sternberg retrospective in 1959; the movie has since been released on home video. John Dos Passos co-authored the screenplay, based on a novel by Pierre Louys which Luis Bunuel later adapted as That Obscure Object of Desire. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi