Histoires Extraordinaires (1968)

A nice triptych with three different stories made by three different directors and casts (with the commonality that they are stories by Edgar Allan Poe). I found the first segment the weakest. Story-wise, I thought the middle one was the best, and visually the last one. Since the segments are all short, it is quite easy to watch.

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I found the stories not at all divergent in quality, but remarkably equal. Given how I rate the directors, it is quite surprising. The first story featuring Jane Fonda on horseback is by Vadim, whom I don't hold in high regard. However, I consider this the strongest work I've seen from him so far. Miraculously enough, it manages to avoid the kitsch that constantly lurks in the background, and although it didn't overly captivate me, it is much better than his early work in particular, also in terms of timing. Malle's story, on the other hand, falls far below his best level. We only see what he is truly capable of at the beginning, when the two Wilsons are still children. The story is a bit too short for the build-up I had hoped for, and the climax is considerably weaker. Fellini certainly doesn't reach his best level either in a film that is similar in content to 8 1/2 but shows traits of a few later and lesser films like Casanova and Satyricon. Ultimately, I consider all the stories worth 3 stars, so the film deserves it too.

That makes it the best film from the Bardot box set.

Translated from Dutch · View original

BB #39

A triptych of stories by Edgar Allan Poe.

In the first part, we see Jane Fonda as a countess, an absolute ruler who does not know the meaning of the word 'no'. Filmed just after Barbarella, but here she is even more beautiful and her outfits are even more revealing. In the second part, the equally blonde Katia Christine makes a brief appearance, and that confused me for a moment – Jane Fonda yet again? No, not really; she just looks quite a bit like her. Furthermore, a young Alain Delon as a slightly unhinged army officer, BB playing a disastrous game of cards wearing a black wig, and a duel with a masked man – isn't there an unwritten rule about how that ends? And then the third part, with Terence Stamp and a lot of hallucinatory goings-on I'm English, to me the Devil is cheerful, agile - he looks like a little girl.

Of the three installments, I didn't find the middle one, Malle's segment, particularly impressive—and BB also somewhat below par, to avoid using a word like "disappointing." Vadim's opening is nice, but relies heavily on Fonda and her trifles. Part three is visually stunning, but lacks a decent plot just a little too much. Still, Fellini wins, albeit by a hair's breadth.

Compared to the BB series, I find it primarily a cabinet of curiosities, not something that seriously competes if I were to start thinking about which BB films are the best. Hors compét, I suppose.

Translated from Dutch · View original