Review of Venus in Furs

Introduction

Based on a book by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (which, I must confess, I haven`t read), `Venus in Furs` tells the story of Severin (Régis Vallée) who, as a child, spied on the maid having sex with the butler and was slapped by her when she saw him. Evidently growing up as a `peeping Tom` and associating sex with pain, Severin, now a grown man, lives on a private resort in which the log cabins have secret rooms for him to spy on the residents.

One day, Wanda (Laura Antonelli) comes to visit and Severin wastes no time in moving into his secret room in her cabin to watch her. He becomes obsessed with her after watching her masturbate while wearing a fur coat and notes in his diary that "A woman in furs is somehow more excitingly erotic than otherwise dressed or undressed". He didn`t realise that she knew that he was watching, a fact that made her experience all the more pleasurable. With obvious compatible sexual interests, the two quickly marry and their relationship dominates their lives and leads to increasingly extreme behaviour that tests Severin`s ability to cope with the arrangement and his own sanity.

Sacher-Masoch`s notorious 1870 novel of pain, pleasure and perversion was based on a real relationship he had with Fanny Pistor and has been adapted into film three times, in 1967 by Jess Franco, by Victor Nieuwenhuijs and Maartje Seyferth in 1994 and this version by Massimo Dallamano in 1969.

Video

The anamorphic 2.40:1 transfer is of reasonable quality but it is obviously from untreated source material, so some damage is evident, as is some surface grain, low contrast and softness.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono English soundtrack is clear as the dialogue was obviously recorded in post-production. The score is very late sixties, with Hammond organ and sitar featuring prominently - it`s the sort of music that featured in `The Pink Panther` and the Austin Powers films.

Features

Skippable trailers for some other Shameless releases: `Flavia the Heretic`; `Ratman`; `The Black Cat`; `The Frightened Woman`; `Night Train Murders` and `The Killer Nun` precede the menu and can also be viewed as part of the `Forthcoming Attractions` option on the menu.

There is also the Theatrical Trailer.

Conclusion

I have never read `Venus in Furs` or any of Sacher-Masoch`s work, so watched this without any preconceptions. I only found out about its lofty heritage when researching for this review. Without knowing that the film was a faithful adaptation, though set in the late 1960s, I would have dismissed it as a silly piece of Euro-erotica.

The film does have some substance and is not an entirely shallow skin flick, but the character development is virtually non-existent and the root of Severin`s obsession is, unlike Mark Lewis`s `scopophilia` in `Peeping Tom`, under-developed, making Severin a character with whom it is difficult to empathise. The brevity of the film (81 minutes) doesn`t help, but the film is not as well written as Michael Powell`s 1960 masterpiece.

I wasn`t over-enamoured with the film which I found rather dull (even the scenes of sex, nudity and S&M), not living up to the promise of the cover art and the "She`ll beat you into ecstasy!" tagline. However, fans of the book or the other films may welcome the release, for the first time in the UK, of Massimo Dallamano`s adaptation of `Venus in Furs`. It`s worth noting that the BBFC required cuts of 2 minutes and 32 seconds to give the DVD an 18 certificate but, if you so wish, you can see the cut scene in its entirety on the Shameless website.