Anita Pallenberg Movies

2009  
R  
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Stephen Frears, the director who bolstered his international reputation with his Choderlos de Laclos adaptation Dangerous Liaisons (1988), returns to the annals of period intrigue over 20 years later with this melodrama, which reunites him with Liasons scripter Christopher Hampton and star Michelle Pfeiffer. An adaptation of Colette's 1920 novel of the same name, the tale unfurls in late 19th century Paris -- La Belle Époque -- where numerous courtesans (or female companions of noblemen who occupied the royal courts) have worked their way up through the ranks of high society. Two retired courtesans, Charlotte Peloux (Kathy Bates) and Lea (Michelle Pfeiffer), meet for some routine gossip; Lea then meets Charlotte's hedonistic playboy son, nicknamed "Chéri" (Rupert Friend), and a passionate, erotic affair blossoms for the next six years between Lea and Chéri. Eventually, Charlotte makes an aggressive attempt to interfere with the situation by setting up an arranged marriage between Chéri and the virginal 18-year-old Edmée (Felicity Jones), the daughter of another ex-courtesan, Marie-Laure (Iben Hjejle). Lea feels irritated, and responds by seeking out young male lovers during a vacation in Biarritz, but the attached Chéri is not far behind, and in seemingly no time at all the two resume their bedroom liaisons. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Michelle PfeifferKathy Bates, (more)
2007  
 
Indie stalwart Abel Ferrara helms this quirky comedy about the goings-on at a downtown cabaret. Willem Defoe stars as Ray Ruby, the proprietor of a joint where all of the dancing girls have big dreams of working their way up to bigger and better things. But trouble begins to brew when money suddenly comes between Ray and his two associates, played by Bob Hoskins and Matthew Modine. Asia Argento and Drea de Matteo also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Willem DafoeBob Hoskins, (more)
2007  
NR  
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When a Michael Jackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris falls for a Marilyn Monroe impersonator (Samantha Morton) during a performance at a retirement home, the lovestruck pair retreats to a seaside castle in the Scottish highlands populated by a commune of reclusive impersonators. Earning a living can be a difficult endeavor in the City of Lights, and in order to make ends meet, one man has turned to mimicking the King of Pop. One day, while doing the moonwalk in an old folks home, Michael meets a beautiful Marilyn Monroe look-alike. When Marilyn suggests that Michael join her in traveling to the Scottish Highlands and move into a castle populated entirely by celebrity doppelgangers, the would-be gloved one readily accepts her invitation. Shortly after arriving at the castle, Michael and Marilyn find the commune preparing for their first-ever gala -- a lavish affair featuring appearances by Abe Lincoln, the Three Stooges, Buckwheat, Shirley Temple, Madonna, Sammy Davis Jr., and Charlie Chaplin. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Diego LunaSamantha Morton, (more)
2001  
 
Edina (Jennifer Saunders) launches an all-out offensive on her body fat by prying the champagne glass out of her hand, adopting a boot-camp fitness program, and engaging in an intensive detoxification program -- all because of the shrewish comments of girlfriends Patsy (Joanna Lumley), Katy Grin (Jane Horrocks), Fleur (Harriet Thorpe), and Catriona (Helen Lederer) at a luncheon that resembles a scene from The Women more than it does a Sex and the City episode. Patsy, too, experiments with her appearance, foregoing her blond forelock for the first time since the '60s. In a terrible fit of the munchies, Eddy chomps down on candle wax, then endures torment from God (Marianne Faithful) and the Devil (Anita Pallenberg) as she sleeps. Eddy does cheer up a bit during a second luncheon at which she gets to show off her new, trimmer figure, but she soon sinks back into old habits -- as does Pats, who feels naked without her signature coif. Meanwhile, on a lunch date of her own, Saffy (Julia Sawalha) finds that old school chum Taylor Johns (Julian Rhind-Tutt) is more interested in an acting role in her upcoming play than he is in getting reacquainted with her. Originally broadcast on BBC 1 on September 21, 2001, Absolutely Fabulous: Donkey marked series four, episode two of this popular Britcom. Rock diva Faithful reprises her role as God from Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout, while Pallenberg -- ex-girlfriend of several Rolling Stones and, allegedly, Faithful herself -- appears as the Devil. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jennifer SaundersJoanna Lumley, (more)
1970  
R  
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Even in an era of cinematic experimentation, Performance stands out as a visually daring major-studio film that deals with questions of sanity and identity rarely touched on in mainstream filmmaking. The elements of Performance certainly looked attractive to studio executives at Warner Bros. -- a gangster on the lam hides out in the home of a reclusive rock star -- especially since that musician was being played by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. But co-directors Nicolas Roeg (who also photographed) and Donald Cammell (who wrote the screenplay) had much more in mind than a walk on the wild side of swinging London. Chas (James Fox) is a sadistic thug who gains our sympathies only because men even crueler than he are out to kill him. After Chas arrives at the mansion occupied by Turner (Jagger) and his female companions Pherber (Anita Pallenberg) and Lucy (Michele Breton), what looks like a decadent idyll fueled by drugs and group sex turns into a series of mind games in which Turner challenges Chas' sexual preference and core identity. Even the film's one musical number, "Memo From Turner," is a William Burroughs-like monologue in which Turner fantasizes taking over Chas' role as a mobster, spewing insults to his colleagues. The film's cult status has been fueled by subsequent films of its co-directors (for Roeg, Walkabout, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Don't Look Now; for Cammell, White of the Eye), which explored similar themes employing the same kind of jagged editing and striking visuals. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
James FoxMick Jagger, (more)
1969  
 
This offbeat combination of reality and fantasy finds Glauco (Michel Piccoli) returning home from his job as an industrial engineer to find his wife (Anita Pallenberg) in bed with a headache. Deciding to fix dinner for himself, he reads from a gourmet cookbook as he watches television, or listens to the radio. He runs across an old .45 caliber handgun and he cleans the weapon between attending to his culinary creation. He later goes to bed, but rises when he is restless and goes to make love with the maid (Annie Girardot), after which he examines the newly painted revolver. After shooting his wife to death, he imagines he is driven to the ocean where he swims out to a boat bound for Tahiti and takes a job as a cook. The title is a reference to the notorious American gangster who could shoot his way out of any place but the police line in front of Chicago's Biograph Theater. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Michel PiccoliAnita Pallenberg, (more)
1969  
PG  
Michael (David Warner) is an independent businessman and a happily married man with two children. Traveling to the market one day, he is victimized by a nobleman who demands compensation for crossing his land. Michael leaves two horses and a caretaker on the noble's land after he has paid for passage. He returns for the horses when he discovers that the landowner has no legal right to demand the compensation. Michael discovers his caretaker has been beaten and the horses are near death. A court rules he must take back the horses in their pitiful condition, and he refuses to accept the verdict. His wife Elisabeth (Anna Karina) is killed by a stampede, pushing Michael over the edge. He succumbs to a life of crime, when he torches the nobleman's castle, but the evil count escapes. Michael becomes a hero as people join the cause in rebelling against the unpopular judgment, but he really only wishes to take back his horses and have the nobleman held accountable for his actions. He tracks the nobleman to another town and his rebel army kills the soldiers protecting the cowardly count. A rapist is hung for his crimes, and Michael agrees to turn himself in when officials promise his case will be heard again in this brutal tale of political crimes and reprisals of the common man. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
David WarnerAnna Karina, (more)
1968  
 
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A voluptuous outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor in this science fiction send-up. Barbarella (Jane Fonda), an interstellar representative of the united Earth government in the 41st century, is dispatched to locate scientist Durand Durand, whose positronic ray, if not recovered, could signal the end of humanity. Outfitted in an array of stunning Star Trek/Bond girl outfits and cruising around in a plush, psychedelic spaceship, Barbarella travels to the Tau Seti system and promptly crash-lands. She then spends the rest of the film discovering the joys of interstellar sex with a keeper of feral children (Ugo Tognazzi), a blind, beatific angel (John Phillip Law), and an inept revolutionary named Dildano (David Hemmings). Slowly but surely, she also finds her way to Durand Durand by moving from one exotic, Wizard of Oz-style locale to another. Along the way, she meets the kindly Professor Ping (a surprisingly verbal Marcel Marceau), a Eurotrash dominatrix named the Great Tyrant (Rolling Stones gal pal Anita Pallenberg), and the Concierge (Milo O'Shea), a strangely familiar lackey of the Great Tyrant who tries to destroy Barbarella with his great big organ of love. Jean-Claude Forest, who created the character Barbarella in 1962 for V-Magazine, served as visual advisor on the adaptation. The film's missing scientist character famously inspired the band name of '80s pop stars Duran Duran (who altered the spelling slightly). Almost two decades later, the film also inspired electronic act Matmos, which was named after the aqueous personification of evil unleashed by the Concierge at the movie's climax. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jane FondaJohn Phillip Law, (more)
1968  
 
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In this big-budget adaptation of Terry Southern's satiric sex farce (the sort of project that could get an immediate green light in the late 1960's and at practically no other time before or since), Ewa Aulin is Candy, a sweet young woman who doesn't seem entirely aware of the powerful sexual desire she brings out in men. While her father (John Astin) and mother (Elsa Martinelli) try to keep Candy in line, the task proves to be all but impossible, as she's seduced by a remarkable variety of men in her journeys, including a booze-addled poet (Richard Burton), a mystical guru who lives on a truck (Marlon Brando), a gardener from Mexico (Ringo Starr), a fanatical military man who refuses to leave his plane (Walter Matthau), a pair of uncomfortably high-strung doctors (John Huston and James Coburn) and even her own uncle (Astin, again). The Byrds and Steppenwolf contributed songs to the soundtrack; the screenplay was written by Buck Henry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Charles AznavourMarlon Brando, (more)
1967  
R  
When a young woman accidentally kills her ex-lover during a fight, she decides to conceal the body. Unfortunately, however, our anti-hero is less than honorable and becomes involved with not one but both of the men she finds to help her with his disposal at a construction site. And that's just one of the problems this little case of murder and deception starts. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Anita PallenbergHans-Peter Hallwachs, (more)

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